The I-MECH strategic research agenda is focused on the lower layers of the motion control system – we refer to these as layer 1, the instrumentation layer, and layer 2, the control layer. Enhancements to these layers will deliver significant performance improvements to layer 3 (System behavior and the management systems) which, together, enable cyber-physical systems way beyond the current state of the art. Although I-MECH will not focus on research in layer 3, its innovations will be fully aligned with the architectural standards of industry to ensure that its innovations can be easily exploited.