Cincinnati, Oh – The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining and the MTConnect Institute announced the start of the first phase of the MTConnect Challenge: Creating Manufacturing Intelligence, a U.S. Department of Defense – Defense-Wide Manufacturing Science and Technology (DMS&T) ManTech sponsored competition that seeks to engage and stimulate development of advanced manufacturing intelligence applications that utilize the MTConnect standard. MTConnect is an open, royalty-free set of communications standards intended to foster greater interoperability between manufacturing equipment, devices, and software applications.
The announcement was made today at the [MC]2 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Challenge 1, open April 12-May 31, 2013, seeks ambitious yet achievable ideas that harness innovation and manufacturing intelligence breakthroughs. Winners will be announced June 21, 2013. Challenge 2, open July 1, 2013-January 31, 2014, is for software applications that address the objectives of the challenge. Challenge 2 finalists will be announced March 14, 2014, with winners named at the [MC]2 Conference, taking place in April 2014.
Entries will be judged on the following criteria:
- Benefit to Manufacturing Intelligence: Potential to create achievable and measurable benefit to manufacturing intelligence
- Creativity and Innovation: Advance a breakthrough concept and/or methodology
- Practicality of Concept: Viability, ability to be effectively implemented and deployed in a manufacturing setting
- Impact on Industry: Creation of manufacturing intelligence from differing manufacturing processes, facilities, and types of equipment and devices
- Overall Quality: Adherence to all requirements set forth by the MTConnect Challenge
A wide variety of entrants is encouraged, including developers, manufacturing professionals, students, scientists, educators, and more. Team submissions are also encouraged.
More details about the challenge can be found at http://mtconnect.challenge.gov/.
About NCDMM
The NCDMM delivers optimized manufacturing solutions that enhance the quality, affordability, maintainability, and rapid deployment of existing and yet-to-be developed defense systems. This is accomplished through collaboration with government, industry, and academic organizations to promote the implementation of best practices to key stakeholders through the development and delivery of disciplined training, advanced technologies, and methodologies. For additional information, visit the NCDMM at www.ncdmm.org.
About MTConnect Institute
The MTConnect Institute is a forum of companies and organizations working together on a collaborative effort to develop open technical standards and specifications intended to foster greater interoperability between equipment, accessories, applications, and devices in the manufacturing industry, as well as schema, prototype software examples, and related documentation in order to facilitate the implementation of an interoperable plug-and-play capability of these efforts on the shop floor.
