Developing a Research Agenda for Artificial Intelligence in Aerospace Manufacturing

The promise of significant advancement in manufacturing science obtained from the application of artificial intelligence (Al) technology has provided the impetus for an Air Force program for AI development in manufacturing. This program seeks to pursue long-range goals in a realistic and pragmatic manner, cultivate a steady progression of incremental gains, and focus AI science on the special problems in the aerospace batch manufacturing environment. The recent efforts to formulate a Research and Development (R&D) Program for applications of AI to manufacturing are reported. In attempting to achieve a realistic, comprehensive, and integrated R&D program, information/knowledge was sought from various researchers and practitioners involved in disciplines related to both Al and manufacturing. These "information/knowledge" sources included specialists from industry, academia, and government. This R&D planning effort is discussed in terms of identifying the program goals and objectives; presenting an overview of the methodology used to generate and assess potential research projects; and, providing examples of the results obtained from the implementation of this methodology.