AMO Deputy Director Rob Ivester discusses the U.S. manufacturing sector’s energy footprint and the importance of helping manufacturers.
Innovation is a collaborative exercise that works best when industry, government, and research institutions put their heads together to identify and solve our nation’s biggest challenges. The Government University Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR), which provides a unique forum for dialogue among top government, university, and industry leaders of the national science and technology enterprise, recently held a meeting in Washington, DC on October 25-26. The meeting focused on the technical characteristics of emerging industrial technologies and considered the economic and social implications of a ‘fourth industrial revolution’ that builds on the digitization breakthroughs of the past several decades. Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) Deputy Director Rob Ivester, along with representatives from the private sector and universities, sat on a GUIRR panel on “Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and Advanced Analytics.” Panelists discussed the research, development, and deployment of IoT advanced analytics tools across the industrial sector. Dr. Ivester explained the importance of focusing on reducing barriers to the scale-up and adoption of emerging technology and the role AMO in taking in bridging the gap between universities and the private sector. AMO’s most recent venture into the IoT is with the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute, which seeks to spur advancements in smart sensors and digital process controls to drive energy efficiency of U.S. manufacturing. These new technologies and improved real-time analytics create opportunities for unprecedented streamlining and control of manufacturing processes, resulting in highly efficient and competitive manufacturers in the U.S.
GUIRR was an opportunity for government, university, and industry leaders to explore cross-sector collaboration activities and consider the economic and social implications of the fourth industrial revolution. New technologies with enhanced communication, connection, and analysis features are changing the way we think about manufacturing, and this revolution will require all stakeholders to work together to achieve common goals and ensure that the U.S. remains a leader in manufacturing.
Learn more about how these smart technologies are changing the manufacturing landscape here.