From "Robotics Row" to "Advanced Mobility Alley"

How mobility technologies are driving growth in the Smart Belt

by Rich Granger, DriveOhio | December 2023

Ohio is wrapping up another year full of economic development headlines, including the historic announcement from Joby Aviation in Dayton.?

When combined with the new Honda electric vehicle battery plant in Fayette County and the massive Intel investment in Central Ohio – just to name a few – there are a lot of new technology and advanced mobility jobs on the way in Ohio.

If you’re wondering why Ohio keeps winning these new jobs – and what the future might look like – buckle up and let’s take a quick visit to Pittsburgh for an example of the multi-decade journey we’ve embarked on.

A Brief History of "Robotics Row"

In 2023, Pittsburgh is an international leader and a hub of economic activity related to automated vehicles and robotics. But how did this happen?

In 1979, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) launched the Robotics Institute with a $5M investment, putting Pittsburgh on the map as an emerging center for innovation in the field of automation. Fast forward to 1996, and the National Engineering Robotics Center (NREC) opened with a $5M seed grant from NASA.

Now things really start to get interesting. Between 2004 and 2007, the DARPA Grand Challenge – nicknamed the "Great Robot Race" – featured competitions between teams to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles. CMU and NREC researchers and alumni dominated the competition, and many of the team leaders went on to become CEOs and founders in the AV industry that rapidly developed in the following years.

Although many of the AV startups that followed began in Silicon Valley, a large number of founders made their way back to Pittsburgh to scale their businesses in a redeveloped area of the city now referred to as "Robotics Row". Companies like Argo AI, Aurora, Locomation, and now Stack AV (among others) all trace their roots back to CMU, NREC, and the DARPA challenge teams.

This "boomerang" effect is a big part of the success story in what they now call "Robo-burgh". Starting with a few relatively modest $5M investments, paired with government-sponsored innovation challenges, these ingredients were combined with many other regional collaborators to produce an economic engine that continues to drive the Pittsburgh economy forward into the mid-21st century. This is all neatly described in an outstanding report entitled "FOREFRONT", prepared by TEConomy Partners.

A Glimpse into "Advanced Mobility Alley"

So what does all of this have to do with job growth in Ohio? Well, there are a few similar stories underway in the Buckeye state – on the ground and in the air. Let's take a closer look.

On The Ground...

The first part of our story begins in 1972, when the Transportation Research Center (TRC) was established in East Liberty with support from the State of Ohio, in collaboration with the Ohio State University. TRC has since grown to become North America’s most advanced independent mobility testing service provider.

A few years later, in 1977 Honda announced its first manufacturing plant in Ohio, located adjacent to the TRC site. This kicked off several decades of collaboration between OSU, Honda, TRC, and other regional stakeholders – formalized through the Honda-Ohio State Partnership established in 2000.

Fast forward to 2019, when TRC opened its new SMARTCenter, the largest, most comprehensive contained testing site in North America for advanced vehicle technologies, with funding support from the State of Ohio, JobsOhio, and OSU. In 2021, Ohio cut the ribbon on the 33 Smart Mobility Corridor, a real-world proving ground for automated and connected vehicle technology, located in the BETA District, adjacent to the TRC campus.

"Gradually, then suddenly."

In 2022, on the 45th anniversary of their first announcement, Honda shared their plans to build a new EV battery plant in Fayette County, with an investment of $3.5B creating 2,200 new jobs. What started with an investment from the State of Ohio in 1972 has grown through a half-century of public-private collaboration into an economic engine for Central Ohio, now expanding into Southwest Ohio.

In The Air...

Meanwhile, a lot has been happening at the birthplace of aviation in the Dayton region. The second part of our story begins all the way back in 1904, when the Wright Brothers were building their business and flying their aircraft at Huffman Prairie Flying Field in Dayton, one of the world's first airfields.

This legacy of innovation in the Dayton region continued over the next century. Wright-Patterson Airforce Base began as early as 1917, expanding in 1948, and continuing its mission today with innovative programs including AFWERX. Today it's the largest single site employer in the state of Ohio, with an economic impact of $4.2 billion per year.

In 2005, nearby Springfield-Beckley Airport transitioned its focus from supporting the F-16 program towards the emerging technology of uncrewed aircraft. In 2019, after a $5M investment, the State of Ohio and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) launched SkyVision, an air traffic control system which safely allows drones to detect and avoid other aircraft while in flight.

In 2020, AFWERX launched Agility Prime, the Air Force’s transformative vertical lift program. With similarities to the DARPA challenges on the ground, this program partners with the electric vertical takeoff and land (eVTOL) commercial industry to field a new class of air mobility systems, to be manufactured in the US. A significant amount of Agility Prime testing and deployments soon began at Springfield Airport, directly supported by the SkyVision system operated by the Ohio Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) Center, along with Ohio's first vertiport and electric aircraft charging station from BETA Technologies.

In 2021, Ohio welcomed a new era of aviation as the advanced air mobility (AAM) industry gathered at Springfield Airport for the Ohio Advanced Air Mobility Showcase, a first of its kind event that brought together leaders from across the globe and featured?the first public flights of eVTOL aircraft in Ohio.

"Gradually, then suddenly."

In 2023, Joby Aviation announced an electric air taxi manufacturing facility that will be built at the Dayton International Airport, creating 2,000 new jobs in the Miami Valley. Later that same day, the ribbon was cut on the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence (NAAMCE) at Springfield Airport, an eVTOL research and innovation hub supported with $6M from the Department of Defense and $3M from JobsOhio.

Government investments, university talent, innovation challenges with industry, regional collaboration – sound familiar? Much like the NREC ecosystem in Pittsburgh, NAAMCE will generate significant economic impact across Ohio, as described in an AAM economic impact report funded by DriveOhio in 2021.

If your New Year's resolution is to get involved with Ohio's AAM ecosystem, be sure to attend the Ohio Air Mobility Symposium in Columbus on March 4-5, 2024 and the National AAM Industry Forum in Springfield during Fall 2024.

The Path Ahead

From "Robotics Row" in Pittsburgh to "Advanced Mobility Alley" across Ohio, the trajectory throughout our region is accelerating in the right direction – on the ground and in the air.

Major announcements like Joby, Honda and Intel might seem to appear out of nowhere, but there's always a story behind the scenes, involving many years of thoughtful planning and teamwork. By leveraging early investments in emerging technologies, paired with robust collaboration across the public and private sector, with support from JobsOhio and many others, Ohio is well positioned for significant growth in the advanced mobility industry over the next few decades.

Who needs a "Rust Belt" when you can have a "Smart Belt"?

Design. Test. Deploy. Let's go!

Rich Granger is Managing Director of Workforce and Economic Development at DriveOhio, an initiative of the Ohio Department of Transportation.