PITTSBURGH — The ARM Institute has posted a call for “rapid, high-impact projects that support the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Proposals that receive approval would be funded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was signed into law last week.

The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute is a public-private consortium dedicated to improving the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers through collaborative and other robots, as well as workforce training initiatives. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and its growing membership.

The initial call for projects was opened by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). However, ARM members can apply for the grants directly through the organization, which is part of the Manufacturing USA Institutes.

Relevant topics

Project topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Medical or non-medical countermeasures
• Grants to accelerate production of critical materials, equipment, and supplies
• Additional production facilities
• Technology road-mapping for pandemic response and recovery
• Using institute capabilities to strengthen state and community resilience
• Reshoring to the U.S. the manufacture of critical conventional drugs and ensuring supply chains for critical materials related to pandemic response
• Workforce development and training for manufacturing workers

Rolling deadline for projects

“This is a rolling submission process, but we encourage you to submit your ideas as soon as possible,” noted ARM. “The ARM Team will be reviewing and curating proposals on a weekly basis to submit to NIST for funding as soon as possible. Submit your proposal by midnight each Monday for consideration that week.”

If a project is chosen, NIST will ask the submitter for a more detailed budget as required. Organizations that submit a proposal will also be added to ARM’s Member Community, which is the primary contact can be reached at [email protected].