Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) is at the forefront of the revolution of additive construction, leading the Additive Construction of Maneuver Enabling Technology (ACME Tech) program for the United States Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (USACE-ERDC).
ACME Tech is an innovative construction system focused on building battlefield mobility, countermobility, and force protection structures. ACME Tech serves as a force multiplier by leveraging existing equipment, local materials, and reduced crew sizes through the use of robotics to support combat engineering missions. It results in decreased material waste through 3D printed adapted geometries for structural items and increased flexibility through on demand construction.
“This approach has the potential to change construction in several ways that are advantageous to the military. We envision that it will allow for decreased material usage through optimized shape geometries that are nearly impossible with traditional form-and-pour concrete construction methods, decreased logistical burden through the use of local materials in the mixtures, and decreasing crew sizes needed for construction.”
Jim Mantes, ARA Principal Program Manager
Under the ACME Tech program, ARA is developing structural designs of mobility- and countermobility-enabling items while leveraging indigenous materials of varying qualities that would be found at the point-of-need during construction, reducing the logistical and environmental burden of construction activities.
ARA is also developing a first-of-its-kind standalone software solution to convert 3D design files from CAD software into machine instructions for a 3D additive construction printer to operate, and creating a mobile additive construction equipment package that can be deployed by air, land, and sea to conduct construction operations in any environment.
ARA is a proven infrastructure leader with a long history of meeting warfighter needs while helping government agencies innovate to protect and defend U.S. interests. ARA provides the government with critical expertise to ensure our systems engineering efforts meet the highest standards while building capabilities for a better tomorrow.
