ARM Hub and the ACC

ARM Hub and the Australian Cobotics Centre shared a common goal: helping Australian industry understand, adopt and benefit from advanced technologies.

While ACC developed long-term research capability, workforce knowledge and evidence-based insights into collaborative robotics, ARM Hub focused on practical technology adoption, implementation pathways and industry engagement. Together, the two organisations created a complementary ecosystem that supported manufacturers at different stages of their innovation journey.

The partnership enabled:

• Stronger connections between research and implementation.
• Access to industry networks and adoption expertise.
• Greater understanding of workforce and organisational factors affecting adoption.
• Industry engagement through demonstrations, events and workshops.
• Contributions to policy, standards and advanced manufacturing discussions.

Over five years, ARM Hub supported a wide range of ACC activities through industry engagement, facility hosting, research collaboration and technology translation.

Key activities included:

• Supporting the establishment and growth of the Australian Cobotics Centre.
• Hosting the ACC launch event and industry engagement activities.
• Participating in workforce and technology adoption research through Project 5.2.
• Providing facilities and industry networks that supported demonstrations and project showcases.
• Supporting researchers to engage with real manufacturing environments and adoption challenges.
• Facilitating introductions between researchers, manufacturers, technology providers and industry stakeholders.
• Contributing to policy and standards discussions relating to robotics and advanced manufacturing.
• Co-hosting Cobotic Improvisations, an ANAT Residency exploring human-robot interaction through embodied and creative practice.

The partnership also created practical pathways between research and industry. Manufacturers seeking implementation support, roadmapping or technology adoption services could connect with ARM Hub, while organisations presenting deeper research questions could be connected with ACC researchers.

• Understanding Technology Adoption: A major focus of the collaboration was understanding why organisations adopt, delay or reject collaborative robotics.

Through Project 5.2: Workforce and Technology Issues in Adoption of Cobots in Manufacturing, researchers examined:

• • • Organisational readiness
    • Workforce capability
    • Worker trust and acceptance
    • Managerial uncertainty
    • Skills requirements
    • Adoption pathways
    • Industry 5.0 readiness

The research highlighted that successful technology adoption depends on organisational and workforce factors as much as technical capability.

• Supporting Industry Translation: The partnership helped translate robotics research into practical industry conversations.

ARM Hub and ACC worked together to help manufacturers better understand:

• • • Return on investment
    • Workflow impacts
    • Safety considerations
    • Workforce implications
    • Implementation requirements
    • Long-term capability development

This created a stronger evidence base for organisations considering robotics, automation and AI technologies.

Exploring Human-Robot Interaction: One of the Centre’s most distinctive projects was Cobotic Improvisations, a collaboration between ACC, ARM Hub and the Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT).

The project brought together artists, researchers and robotics practitioners to explore how people interpret, anticipate and respond to robotic movement. Through embodied and choreographic practice, the project offered new perspectives on trust, movement legibility and human-robot collaboration.

The residency culminated in a public performance at the Australian Cobotics Centre launch and demonstrated the value of creative approaches to understanding emerging technologies.

• Building Connections Across the Ecosystem

One of ARM Hub’s most important contributions was its ability to connect people.

The partnership created opportunities for:

• Researchers to engage with real industry challenges.
• Manufacturers to access both research and implementation support.
• Students and early-career researchers to better understand adoption realities.
• Industry partners to connect with broader innovation networks.
• Government and policy stakeholders to engage with evidence-based insights.

This ecosystem approach strengthened collaboration across Australia’s advanced manufacturing sector and created pathways that extended well beyond individual research projects.

The partnership reinforced several important insights:

1. Adoption is About More Than Technology

Most manufacturers are not looking to become robotics experts. They want to understand:

• Whether the technology works.
• What it costs.
• How it changes workflows.
• What risks need to be managed.
• How it affects their workforce.

Understanding these questions is often more important than understanding the technical details of the robot itself.

2. Research and Implementation Need Different Perspectives

The collaboration highlighted the value of combining long-term research with practical implementation expertise.

ACC provided research depth, workforce insights and evidence generation, while ARM Hub focused on adoption, implementation and industry engagement. Together, they created a stronger pathway from research to real-world impact.

3. Preparing for the Next Generation of Robotics

While collaborative robotics was the focus of the Centre, many of the lessons generated through the partnership remain relevant for emerging technologies such as:

• Industrial AI
• Vision systems
• Embodied AI
• Humanoid robotics
• Autonomous systems

The organisational, workforce and adoption challenges identified through the Centre will continue to influence how future technologies are implemented across Australian industry.