The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) awarded $80 million to a national public-private partnership in which The Culinary Institute of America is a collaborating member. The Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Innovation Hub is receiving the five-year grant to further the development of robotics. The CIA is among the 40 academic partners working with industry, government, and non-profit organizations as part of the Carnegie Mellon University-based ARM Institute.

Supported by the DoD, the ARM Institute is a collective effort to help revitalize American manufacturing and provide companies with a reason to invest in new technology. The CIA became involved when the college submitted a proposal to ARM focused around the further development of foodservice automation and manufacturing through advancements in smart robotics solutions.

“We are hopeful that our project in collaboration with ARM will be selected for development, considering its unique nature and ability to disrupt the foodservice industry,” says CIA President Dr. Tim Ryan. “Specifically, we believe the development of these technologies will cut down on food waste and increase efficiency and consistency.”

According to the January DoD announcement, “Robotics are increasingly necessary to achieve the level of precision required for defense and other industrial manufacturing needs, but the capital cost and complexity of use often limits small to mid-size manufacturers from utilizing the technology. The ARM Institute’s mission therefore is to create and then deploy robotic technology by integrating the diverse collection of industry practices and institutional knowledge across many disciplines.”

Other higher education institutions that are part of the ARM Institute include Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, MIT, University of Connecticut, Rochester Institute of Technology, Yale, and Purdue.