Agile Wire Harness Manipulation and Installation for Unmanned Aerial Systems

During pre-release, until the topic opens on Oct 28, 2026, you may contact the topic author directly with technical questions. After that, questions go through the Topic Q&A on DSIP.

Develop and demonstrate a modular, agile robotic manufacturing workcell capable of autonomously routing, aligning, inserting, and verifying flexible, non-rigid wire harnesses and electrical connectors within the highly constrained physical geometries of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and advanced munitions. As a Direct-to-Phase-II (D2P2) topic, the immediate goal is to transition a validated proof-of-concept software and mechanical baseline (Technology Readiness Level 4) into fully integrated, operationally viable production workcells evaluated at defense prime contractor manufacturing sites. The system must eliminate the need for hard-tooled, single-product automation by delivering an agile platform that integrates deterministic planning models with real-time, adaptive online sensory feedback. This enables the robot to navigate the unpredictable, non-rigid deformation behaviors of flexible cabling, achieve sub-millimeter positioning tolerances, and safely execute intricate "blind-mate" connection sequences within tight bulkhead quarters without manual intervention. To support a dynamic, high-mix/low-volume defense production environment, the workcell must be designed for rapid retaskability. Offerors must demonstrate a system architecture that allows shop-floor operators to completely retask the workcell to handle an entirely different munitions or UAS harness family within a single eight-hour shift. Furthermore, the platform must establish the first end-to-end digital thread for harness operations, generating machine-readable traceability records for every routing, tensioning, and insertion step to prevent latent defects and ensure 100% military standard compliance. The ultimate phase outcome must demonstrate a two-to-four-times cycle time improvement over legacy manual wiring techniques and a reduction in skilled labor hours per unit by at least 50%. This will directly remove the primary assembly bottleneck constraining the scale-up, surge capacity, and high-rate production of critical defense systems.

The full objective, description, Phase I, II and III requirements and evaluation criteria are in the official topic on DSIP.