[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47298-47299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18129]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Robot Workcell Degradation Technology Exploration With the 
Manufacturing Extension Partnership National Network Consortium

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of research consortium.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an 
agency of the United States Department of Commerce, in support of 
efforts to verify and validate robot workcell health monitoring methods 
for use in the manufacturing industry, is establishing the Robot 
Workcell Degradation Technology Exploration with the Manufacturing 
Extension Partnership National Network Consortium (``Consortium''). In 
addition to supporting verification and validation of robot workcell 
health monitoring methods, the consortium intends to provide NIST with 
the opportunity to transfer technology to the U.S. manufacturing sector 
through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) National 
NetworkTM.

DATES: The Consortium's activities will commence on July 23rd, 2021 
(``Commencement Date''). NIST will accept letters of interest from MEP 
Center teams to participate in this Consortium from prospective 
participants until December 1, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Completed letters of interest or requests for additional 
information about the Consortium can be directed via electronic mail to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J'aime Maynard, CRADA Administrator, 
National Institute of Standards and Technology's Technology 
Partnerships Office, by mail to 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 2200, 
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, by electronic mail to 
[email protected], or by telephone at (301) 975-8408.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Consortium efforts are expected to yield 
practical lessons learned and guidance on the deployment and usage of 
the NIST-developed test methodology and companion sensor along with 
producing quantitative data from the test method and the host robot 
workcells. This will enhance NIST's research verifying and validating 
methods to assess robot workcell health degradation in addition to 
accelerating technology transfer into the manufacturing industry.
    NIST's Engineering Laboratory has developed a test method--
Identification and Isolation of Robot Workcell Degradation--that has 
the potential to efficiently assess the change in accuracy within a 
robot workcell, including those used in manufacturing operations. The 
test method is paired with the NIST-developed Position Verification 
Sensor (PVS--patent pending) to yield pass/fail output when the test 
method is executed with the PVS in a robot workcell. The test method 
and PVS are designed such that the change in accuracy of the key 
insertion can be measured to desired tolerances. This capability 
addresses the challenge that it can be costly to determine if the 
health of a robot workcell has degraded before quality and/or 
productivity are impacted. The test method and sensor require 
verification and validation from industrial partners. The Manufacturing 
Extension Partnership (MEP) National NetworkTM, a public-
private partnership with Centers in every U.S. state and Puerto Rico 
dedicated to serving small and medium-sized manufacturers, is uniquely 
positioned to enable this activity.
    Each pilot study will be performed at a MEP Center-selected 
manufacturing facility. Proof of concept studies, prior to individual 
pilot studies, may be conducted at an MEP Center or at a chosen 
technology integrator/builder facility.
    This CRADA Consortium involves the use of U.S. Government IP. NIST 
Invention entitled ``POSITION VERIFICATION SENSOR WITH DISCRETE 
OUTPUT'', US Patent Application 16/572,847, filed on September 17, 
2019, will be the IP that is used in this collaboration.
    This Consortium has specific objectives including:
    (1) Pilot the test method and PVS in manufacturing facilities 
through guided deployments by state-based MEP Center teams to obtain 
practical feedback, including quantitative performance data, lessons 
learned, and deployment guidance, regarding the viability of the test 
method and sensor in robot workcells;
    (2) During each pilot study, obtain information regarding the 
manufacturing operations, test method, and sensor performance including 
(a) data from the test method and sensor during its usage in a robot 
workcell health testing, (b) component-level data from the robot(s) 
that are interacting with the sensor, (c) process-level data captured 
from the overall workcell(s) that include the test method/sensor, (d) 
operational configuration information of the robot workcell including 
use case variants (e.g., robot picks up boxes weighing 5 kg and 10 kg 
as opposed to picking up boxes of the same weight), (e) maintenance 
logs and activities that document faults and failures of the workcell 
along with specific maintenance that is performed, and (f) feedback 
from manufacturing personnel (e.g., operators, maintenance personnel, 
plant managers, etc.);
    (3) Enable MEP Center teams to explore the development of a service 
of the NIST test method and/or the commercialization of the new sensor 
technology to ultimately promote transfer to the manufacturing 
industry; and
    (4) Enable MEP Center teams to promote a capability for 
manufacturers/

[[Page 47299]]

robot workcell end-users to detect degradation of process accuracy 
prior to it impacting product quality or operational productivity.
    There are numerous potential benefits to the participating MEP 
Center teams including:
    a. Acquisition of a research license of NIST's PVS technology to 
practice the invention to explore its commercial feasibility
    b. Feedback on the deployment, integration, usage, and maintenance 
(as necessary) of the sensor within relevant operational environments 
to determine if/where/how to make the technology more viable for 
commercialization
    c. Identification of the use cases and scenarios that the sensor 
and test method can be reasonably deployed
    d. Acquire advanced knowledge of potential degradations to process 
accuracy prior to degradations negatively impacting product quality or 
operational productivity
    e. If the sensor became commercially available, this could lead to 
the development of services using the sensor to improve the operations 
and efficiency of small and medium manufacturers.

Participation Process

    Eligibility will be determined by NIST based on the information 
provided by prospective participants in response to this notice on a 
first-come, first-serve basis. In accordance with the Consortium 
objectives, collaborators must be MEP Centers. Collaborator project 
teams must be entirely composed of MEP Centers or, if a project team 
includes non-MEP Center team members, the project team must be led by 
an MEP Center Collaborator. All participants will be required to sign 
the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) for this 
Consortium, and each participant will be bound to the same terms and 
conditions in consideration of participation in the Consortium. 
Participants will not be required to contribute any funds or pay any 
fee. NIST will evaluate the submitted responses from prospective 
participants to determine eligibility to participate in this 
Consortium. Prospective participants should provide a Letter of 
Interest with the following information to NIST's Consortium Manager:
    (1) A description of the MEP Center team's technical experience in 
integrating robot workcells and/or sensor technology into manufacturing 
facilities.
    (2) A description of the manufacturing use cases and deployments of 
robotic workcells that the MEP Center team would target for NIST test 
method and PVS deployment.
    (3) A description of services, if any, that the MEP Center team has 
provided in the domains of robotic manufacturing, predictive 
maintenance, or sensors.
    (4) List of interested MEP Center's anticipated team members.
    Letter of interest must not include business proprietary 
information. NIST will not treat any information provided in response 
to this Notice as proprietary information. NIST will notify each 
organization of its eligibility. NIST does not guarantee participation 
in the Consortium to any organization submitting a Letter of interest.

Alicia Chambers,
NIST Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2021-18129 Filed 8-23-21; 8:45 am]
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