The Mobile Immediate-Need Engineering Resource, or MINER, was featured as a TECHTALK Pop-Up during South by Southwest 2024 activities at the DoDxTech events at the 800 Congress venue in Austin, TX.
The MINER, a testament to the collaboration between the U.S. Army DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory and the Civil-Military Innovation Institute (CMI2), is a mobile makerspace unit designed to foster Soldier-driven innovation through the Catalyst-Pathfinder program.
Dr. Arwen DeCostanza, program manager for the Catalyst Pathfinder program, and CPT Chris Aliperti discussed the transformative impact of bottom-up or Soldier-driven innovation made possible by the access to innovative makerspaces, a testament to the power and potential of the MINER technology.
The MINER facilities are field-constructed makerspace labs equipped with 3-D printers, CAD stations, and workshop tools and designed to create a progression for frontline concepts to become prototyped solutions, allowing bottom-up concepts to transition from the abstract to the actual. The first MINER was deployed to Europe in FY23.
In addition to the TECHTALK Pop-up panel discussions, COL Mitch Kusmier, vice president for CMI2, participated in a collaborative panel discussion about innovation. The panel, titled “Think Big, Start Small-The Army’s Bottom-Up Innovation Revolution,” brought together partners from DEVCOM ARL, C5ISR, Army Futures Command, and the Army Applications Laboratory for its discussion. The panel explored Soldier innovations and successes focused on warfighter challenges, highlighting the Army’s Science and Technology (S&T) community’s commitment to collaborating on these solutions.
From TECHTALK Pop-Ups to panel discussions and technology demonstrations to engaging SXSW 2024 attendees, the CMI2 team led with high-impact examples of bottom-up Soldier-driven innovation.
