The U.S. Army is relying on robotics to build barracks and infrastructure for soldiers, officials said Monday, noting that technology partnerships with industry are helping modernize military infrastructure through faster and more affordable construction.
As the Army pushes for faster contracting and sustained investment in modernization efforts, it is embracing advanced technologies to support its mission, industry representatives and Army officials said at the Association of the United States Army's annual meeting Oct. 13.
One way the Army is accomplishing this is by using 3D printing to build infrastructure that meets code standards set by the Department of Defense (DOD) — which the Trump administration renamed the War Department.
“For the Department of Defense, we have printed training for public transit, barracks, innovation centers, robotics labs and a variety of fixed infrastructure, clearly demonstrating that a robotic printer can be deployed to a site and … it can turn around, and it can turn around and turn out a lot,” said Bella Nowland, director of defense business development at construction technology company ICON.
The robotics used by ICON to print infrastructure “doesn’t need to sleep,” Nowland said, noting that the technology has improved construction efficiency for the Defense Department.
Most recently, the technology helped build three transit training barracks, a process that required the development of new codes to build “clean, safe and durable” living quarters for soldiers.
The use of robotically printed homes is not a new concept, but it is young – ICON has created the first fully 3D printed neighborhood outside of Austin, Texas, with 100 homes. The houses are built by adding layer by layer from a digital file.
“These types of partnerships with industry are important as the Army looks to rapidly modernize its legacy infrastructure,” said Maj. Gen. John T. Reim, joint program manager for armaments and ammunition and commanding general of Picatinny Arsenal.
“Acquisition is a team sport and it was incredible,” Reim said. “I've had the privilege of conducting nine ribbon-cutting ceremonies here over the last year. As you know, we're bringing new features online and replacing outdated production methods.”
The major general said the Army is currently overhauling its World War II-era munitions facilities with automation, modular production lines and data-driven manufacturing to make them safer, more flexible and able to sustain production beyond wartime peaks.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Gavin Lawrence, deputy chief of staff for logistics and operations at Army Materiel Command (AMC), said the industry has brought technological capabilities such as digital engineering and digital twins. This allows the Army to map processes, increase workflow efficiency and remove human error from operations.
“You know, AMC, we're not where we need to be yet, but I'm telling you, we have a number of initiatives… We're looking at how we can use advanced manufacturing to repair parts, get the right to repair and the associated appropriate authorities, and work with the organizations here now to create digital twins of our platforms so we can reverse engineer and get the technical data that we need,” Lawrence said.