Coalition for Human-Scale Fluid Power Calls on Experts

The National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) and Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP) are leading the charge to kick-start an industry coalition focused on advancing fluid power in human-scale applications. These include systems that operate at power levels of about 10 kW, with applications ranging from industrial automation, human-assist and therapeutic devices to medical devices and robots, exoskeletons, and military robots.

The two organizations will host a planning meeting at Vanderbilt University on December 9 for NFPA members and companies interested in the future of small-scale fluid systems. The meeting objectives set by the NFPA are to “form focused teams of industry and academics within discrete human-scale research areas that can credibly pursue federal funding,” and to “prioritize the government agencies where funding can best be sought.”

The meeting will be preceded by a dinner on December 8, and will be held on December 9 from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Vanderbilt’s Laboratory for Systems Integrity and Reliability (LASIR). Additional details on the meeting may be provided upon RSVP to Eric Lanke at [email protected].