Outline Purpose Through consideration of manufacturing technology as both a systematic series of technologies, and the individual technological elements required to produce a variety of parts, machines and systems, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute (AMRI) will develop environmentally conscious innovative manufacturing technologies to meet the critical needs of industry. Crucial for strengthening international competitiveness and establishing safety infrastructure, these needs include high-efficiency, functional creativity, flexibility, safety and reliability. AMRI, which comprises some 120 researchers in 19 research groups at the Chubu and Tsukuba Centers, will develop application prototypes for commercialization as AIST Products based on strong industrial relationships, and will demonstrate both the usefulness of these innovative technologies, and provide guidance for the manufacturing industry. Manufacturing technology is regarded as a series of processes to provide shape and function to materials and to convert them into commercial products. Although to date these shaping and functioning aspects have been treated separately, in order to establish an environmentally conscious advanced manufacturing technology, it is necessary to achieve their total integration. To this end, the following inter-related key points are critical: high-efficiency, functional creativity, flexibility, and safety and reliability. The Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute promotes research based on these key points in order to realize the five outputs shown in the following figure.