Position your manufacturing firm at the forefront of the nation’s autonomous systems transition

Autonomous Heartland: How the Midwest is Uniquely Positioned to Play an Outsized Role in the Nation’s Autonomous Future. This event brings together Elkhart County manufacturers, regional workforce developers, and leading autonomy ecosystem partners to explore how Midwest manufacturers — with their deep precision manufacturing heritage, dense supply chain networks, and technical workforce — position themselves at the forefront of the nation’s autonomous systems transition.

Panel 1: Pivoting into Autonomous Production.

Panelists from Centrepolis Defense Hardtech Accelerator and Purdue Polytechnic IN-MaC explore the practical pathways for traditional manufacturers to enter autonomous systems production. Key themes include:

• Assessing which existing capabilities — precision machining, composites, electronics assembly — map directly to autonomous platform supply chains
• Understanding the certification and compliance landscape for defense and commercial autonomous systems customers

Identifying near-term entry points: components, subsystems, and contract manufacturing opportunities that don’t require a full pivot

Panel 2: Upskilling the Workforce to Support Domestic Autonomous Production

Workforce dimension of the autonomy transition — arguably the most critical constraint on the Midwest’s ability to capture this opportunity. Key themes include:

• Building hands-on drone and robotics literacy at the secondary and post-secondary level
• Upskilling incumbent workers in manufacturing environments unfamiliar with autonomous systems integration
• The role of immersive and digital tools (3D design, simulation) in accelerating workforce readines
• Connecting classroom innovation to shop floor demand in real time