The University of New Orleans received a $3.6 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects agency last week to develop automated tools for programming robots to weld ship components. The grant is funded by the Office of Naval Research.
“The shipbuilding industry can never find enough welders, and welding is a core competence of shipbuilding,” said Frank Bordelon, executive director of the UNO Gulf Coast Region Maritime Technology Center and the principal investigator for the grant. Much of the work will take place at the UNO Maritime Technology Center of Excellence at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Avondale Operation.