Events Archives - The Robot Report

Agility Robotics’ Jonathan Hurst to keynote Robotics Summit

Brianna Wessling — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 18:07:02 +0000

Agility Robotics has been working since it spun out of Oregon State University in 2015 to bring humanoid robots out of the lab and into the real world. The company has made great strides in making its robots fit for bulk material handling tasks like tote movement.

Earlier this year, the company unveiled the latest generation of its Digit robot, built specifically to carry out tasks in warehouses and distribution centers. Updates in the next generation include newly designed end effectors optimized for reaching high/low, pulling, picking up, and placing objects commonly found in e-commerce and shipping warehouses, like plastic totes. Digit also has a new head with LED animated eyes, which allow for improved human-robot interaction such as using simple expressions to convey information and intent.

In his keynote talk at the Robotics Summit & Expo titled “Developing Human-Centric Bipedal Robots,” Agility co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Jonathan W. Hurst will give an inside look at the process of developing bipedal robots that are useful in the workplace. The Robotics Summit will take place at the Boston Convention Center on May 10-11, 2023, and Hurst will give his talk at 10:45 AM on the show’s second day.

Hurst is also a Professor and co-founder of the Oregon State University Robotics Institute. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering and an M.S. and Ph.D. in robotics, all from Carnegie Mellon University. His university research focuses on understanding the fundamental science and engineering best practices for robotic-legged locomotion and physical interaction. Agility Robotics is bringing this new robotic mobility to market, solving customer problems, working towards a day when robots can go where people go, generate greater productivity across the economy, and improve the quality of life for all.

You can find the full agenda for the Robotics Summit here. The Robotics Summit & Expo is the premier event for commercial robotics developers. There will be nearly 70 industry-leading speakers sharing their development expertise on stage during the conference, with 150-plus exhibitors on the show floor showcasing their latest enabling technologies, products and services that help develop commercial robots. There also will be a career fair, networking opportunities and more.

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A roadmap to successfully commercializing robots

Steve Crowe — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 13:08:15 +0000

From left to right: Jennifer Apicella, Mike Dooley, Reese Mozer and Tom Ryden.

In the panel session “Robotics Roadmap to Commercialization Success” during the Robotics Summit & Expo on May 10 at 11:45 AM, learn from four robotics industry experts about developing strategic partnerships to expedite commercial expansion and the steps required to succeed in this process. Gain insights on navigating the non-linear road to commercialization as these executives share their experience and thoughts on the need for precision and detail-oriented partners.

The session will include Jennifer Apicella, Vice President of the Pittsburgh Robotics Network, where she oversees the growth and development of strategic partnerships and major programs, for one of the top robotics ecosystems in the world. With 15-plus years of experience working in technology, she has spent the majority of her career helping clients succeed with enterprise technology solution adoption.

It will also include Mike Dooley, a leading pioneer in consumer robotics, successfully shipping millions of products into homes for over the past 20 years. He launched the original LEGO MindStorms product line, introducing millions of kids to robotics. Dooley later co-invented and launched what is now the Braava series of smart robotic mops (acquired by iRobot) and helped develop the systematic mapping behaviors used in Roomba today. In 2017, he co-founded Labrador Systems to establish a new category of assistive robots.

Reese Mozer, CEO and Co-Founder of American Robotics and President of Ondas Holdings will also be a panelist. He is an accomplished entrepreneur, executive, and technologist, with over 12 years of experience in the drone, robotics, and private equity sectors. He also serves as a Board member of the Commercial Drone Alliance (CDA). Mozer holds a Master’s in Robotic Systems Development from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California.

Tom Ryden, Executive Director of MassRobotics, will moderate the session. Ryden is an experienced senior executive who has devoted his career to creating viable businesses based on technology, covering domains ranging from the factory to battlefield to healthcare. He has overseen the development and introduction of leading mobile robotics products.

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Robotics Summit: How to use simulation for developing robots

Brianna Wessling — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 17:34:06 +0000

Warehouse logistics and advanced manufacturing are increasingly using robotics as a critical part of their automation strategies. Robots can improve operational efficiency, improve safety, and help companies address the persistent labor shortages that are being observed across the globe. Developing these intelligent robotic systems, however, is a complex, challenging, and costly undertaking. Thankfully, advanced simulation tools are available to engineers that can speed the design, development, and testing processes.

Gerard Andrews, Senior Product Marketing Manager of Robotics at NVIDIA, will discuss how to use NVIDIA’s Isaac Sim for robotics development. His talk at the Robotics Summit & Expo called “Using Simulation to Design and Develop Autonomous Robots” will take place at the Boston Convention Center on May 11 at 11:30 AM.

This talk will describe the many ways NVIDIA Isaac Sim can be used to accelerate the development and deployment of robots, including advanced AI and computer vision. Specifically, attendees will learn how simulation can test robot applications in photo-realistic, physically accurate digital twin environments. In addition, the robots can be placed in increasingly complex simulations involving digital humans and fleets of robots to optimize operational KPIs. This session is designed as an introduction to photo-realistic 3D simulation for robots and is appropriate for all levels.

Andrews is focused on revolutionizing the way intelligent robots are developed, trained, tested and deployed by driving the adoption of the NVIDIA Isaac Robotics platform. Prior to joining NVIDIA, he was at Cadence where he was Product Marketing Director, responsible for product planning, marketing, and business development for licensable processor IP. He holds an MS in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a BS in electrical engineering from Southern Methodist University.

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Collaborative Robotics Training Days examines state of industry

The Robot Report Staff — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 14:08:33 +0000

Collaborative robots (cobots) are one of the fastest-growing types of industrial robotics. The cobot market is moving so fast it is often difficult for current and potential end-users to keep up with the latest developments.

Collaborative Robotics Training Days is here to help. The educational series will provide a snapshot of the current state of the sector, including new capabilities, powerful enabling technologies, and real-world case studies about emerging and established cobot applications. Hearing from some of the best minds in the market, attendees will learn how to select, program, deploy, and manage collaborative robots.

A detailed agenda can be found below. Again, interested attendees can register here for free.

Collaborative Robots and Intelligent Motion Control
Speaker: Prabh Gowrisankaran, VP of Engineering & Strategy, Performance Motion Devices
March 29 at 2 PM Eastern

This session will focus on servo actuators that function as end effectors. Understanding their capabilities and properties will help ensure that your next application delivers the goods without dropping the ball.

10 Point Checklist to Benchmark Your Cobot Supplier
Speaker: Joe Campbell, Head of Strategic Marketing, Universal Robots
April 5 at 2 PM Eastern

Collaborative robots make up the fastest-growing segment of the robotics industry, thanks to their affordability and fast deployment compared to traditional robots. But not all manufacturing processes have the same outlook for cobot automation, and not all cobot suppliers are created equal.

6-Axis, SCARA or Collaborative: How to Pick the Right Robot
Speaker: Patrick Varley, Product Marketing Manager (Mechatronics), Mitsubishi Electric Automation
April 12 at 2 PM Eastern

There is a great deal of “noise” in the robotics community, as well as in the business and investment press. This results in increased risk, missed opportunities, and confusion among all members of the collaborative robotics value chain. The problem is especially acute during the selection process for collaborative robotics systems.

Palletizing and Depalletizing Using Collaborative Robots
April 25 at 2 PM Eastern

Palletizing and depalletizing are two of the most common processes in material handling. Collaborative robotics systems have proven to be very adept for palletizing and depalletizing work, protecting workers from repetitive motion injuries and reducing costs in the process.

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Intrinsic CEO to keynote Robotics Summit

Brianna Wessling — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 17:56:59 +0000

Wendy Tan White, the CEO of Intrinsic, a robotics software and AI company at Alphabet, will be keynoting the Robotics Summit & Expo on May 10-11, 2023, in Boston.

Intrinsic aims to unlock the creative and economic potential of industrial robotics for businesses, entrepreneurs and developers by making industrial robots easier to use and train. Intrinsic became an Alphabet “Other Bet” in July 2021.

In December 2022, Intrinsic acquired the Open Source Robotics Corporation (OSRC), the for-profit arm of the Open Source Robotics Foundation, which is the developer of the Robot Operating System (ROS). When the acquisition was announced, Intrinsic said that long-term support for developers of the global ROS community was key to its mission to democratize access to robotics.

Tan White will give her keynote talk, titled “Future of Open-Source Robotics Development” on the first day of the Summit at 9:30 AM.

Prior to becoming CEO at Intrinsic, Tan White was a Vice President at X, the moonshot factory, where she coached a variety of teams and leaders on how to chart their path to the moon, including sustainability projects Mineral and Tidal.

Before joining X, she was a partner at BGF Ventures, a £2.5bn growth capital fund, and a general partner at Entrepreneur First, a global technology talent investor in AI, robotics and biotech. Early in her career, Tan White was CEO and co-founder of Moonfruit, the world’s first Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) website builder platform. She also helped launch Zopa.com, the first European peer-to-peer lending site, and Egg.com, the UK’s first internet bank.

Tan White holds a bachelor of engineering in computer science from Imperial College, a master’s in material futures design from Central Saint Martins, and an honorary doctorate from Salford University. In 2016, Queen Elizabeth II awarded Tan White an MBE for her services to technology and business.

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ProMat 2023 robotics recap

Mike Oitzman — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 12:00:09 +0000

Editors from The Robot Report attended the 2023 ProMat event in Chicago. In episode 109 of The Robot Report Podcast, co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss the news and stories from the event. Also in this week’s episode, Mike highlights news related to the future of AI and robotics from the recent Nvidia GTC event.

ProMat 2023 Review

New robotics companies at the show included:

Mushiny
Multiway Robotics
Quiktron
SEER
Tuskrobots
Slip Robotics
Pickle Robots

The most interesting robotics solutions at the show:

Autonomous forklifts were everywhere on the show floor
Agility Robotics demoed the latest iteration of Digit robot
RightHand Robotics’ demoed a new suction cup switcher
Boston Dynamics Stretch trailer unloading demo worked well
Slip robotics had a new, novel trailer-loading/unloading AMR-based solution
Locus One Interoperability was a key new feature of LocusOne software
Verve Motion exosuit is a solution to warehouse worker fatigue

For a complete summary of our editor’s picks for robotics at ProMat 2023, check out this story.

Robotics Summit & Expo (May 10-11) returns to Boston

NVIDIA news this week:

Omniverse Cloud for enterprises is now available as a platform as a service (PaaS) for compute-intensive workloads like synthetic data generation.
Issac ROS DP3 release adds new perception capabilities and open-source modules
New LIDAR-based grid localizer package
New people detection support in the NVBLOX package
GPU-accelerated 3D reconstruction for collision avoidance
Updated VSLAM and depth perception GEM
Source release of NITROS, NVIDIAs ROS 2 hardware acceleration implementation
New Isaac ROS benchmark suite built
The Robot Report story on Nvidia GTC
NOTEWORTHY: Fireside chat between Jenson and Ilya Sutskever, Co-founder and Chief Scientist, OpenAI (Nvidia GTC site)

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Learn about developing general purpose robots

Brianna Wessling — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 18:48:57 +0000

New hardware, sensors, algorithms, and AI technologies have opened up the ability to rethink how robots are developed for use in unstructured environments. Using a first principles approach, Apptronik has used the same platform to develop a range of robots from exoskeletons to humanoids. This has resulted in reactive, compliant, lightweight, and affordable robots that can perform a variety of tasks in existing human environments.

At the Robotics Summit & Expo, which takes place in Boston from May 10-11, Jeff Cardenas, the co-founder and CEO of Apptronik, will give a talk titled “Developing General Purpose Robots That Push the Boundaries of Technology.” In this session, attendees will learn about Apptronik’s approach to developing a platform for general-purpose robots, their use cases, and the future viability of these systems. The talk will take place on May 10 at 2:00 PM.

Cardenas received his Master of Science in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas at Austin. He previously worked in the Global Commercialization Group at the IC2 Institute at UT Austin, working with innovators from around the globe to take innovations out of the research lab and into the market. Cardenas holds an undergraduate Business degree from UT and worked in the technology practice of Deloitte Consulting. He previously founded several startups and a nonprofit. Cardenas has a passion for entrepreneurship and using technology to solve social issues and improve the world.

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Robotics Summit: How Scythe Robotics uses Rust for software development

Brianna Wessling — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 17:33:08 +0000

For a long time, robotics software development has been forced to make a choice between safe software and fast software. Early on, Scythe Robotics chose a third path: Rust, the new programming language that promised a break from that dichotomy. It was a lonely and bold choice at the time but has paid huge dividends.

Zach Goins, senior autonomy software engineer at Scythe Robotics, a developer of commercial autonomous lawnmowers, will discuss Scythe’s decision to use Rust for software development during his talk at the Robotics Summit & Expo called “Oxidizing Your Software Development: Rust for Robotics.” The talk will take place at the Boston Convention Center on May 11, 2023, at 2:00 PM.

Goins will discuss how Scythe benefited from Rust’s strengths to build a robot software platform that is both reliable and performant, while still enabling high-velocity development. For example, leveraging the best parts of both ROS and Rust is possible with the mature rosrust crate, which allows engineers to make use of existing ROS tools as well as the wider crates.io package ecosystem. Further, directly integrating with other existing C/C++ software is straightforward as well, enabling the reuse of proven libraries and device-specific features like compute accelerators and other C/C++ platform SDKs.

Scythe’s rapid progress is, in no small part, due to the strengths of Rust and the confidence it has unlocked for developers to move fast and build things reliably. This talk will be a guide for others looking to oxidize and accelerate their software development process.

Zach Goins comes from a non-traditional background of the business school at the University of Florida with a side hustle as a musician and he stumbled into engineering through an unexpected encounter with model planes that sparked an insatiable interest in machines and programming.

He found his way to the Machine Intelligence Lab at the university and, rather than restarting college to get an engineering degree, learned everything he could about robotics through direct hands-on experience and experimentation. Goins then began his career as a Software Engineer at a 3D mapping + SLAM startup, where he met two of the future founders of Scythe Robotics. Itching to get back into robotics after leveling up his programming chops in that role, he joined Scythe as the first full-time, non-founder software engineer.

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Unlock new applications for mobile robots at the Robotics Summit

Brianna Wessling — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 21:24:26 +0000

From left to right: Niels Jul Jacobsen, Steve Boyle and Amir Bousani.

At the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston on May 10, in the panel “Unlocking New Applications for Mobile Robots, Niels Jul Jacobsen, CEO of Capra Robotics, Steve Boyle, CEO of Essential Aero, Amir Bousani, Founder and CEO of RGo Robotics, and Mike Oitzman, robotics editor at WTWH Media and founder of the Mobile Robot Guide, will discuss how recent technology advances are setting the stage for the next wave of innovative mobile robots and share examples of exciting new applications that will be unlocked. The panel will take place at 4:15 PM.

Capra Robotics build mobile robots for both indoor and outdoor usage. Jacobsen has worked in industrial robotics and automation for more than 30 years. He is the founding father of Mobile Industrial Robots (MIR) and was on the board of Universal Robots from 2008-2015. He holds an MSc in Computer Science Technology and a Graduate Diploma in Finance from the University of Southern Denmark.

Essential Aero automates airfield operations using robots, both in the air and on the ground. Boyle is a series entrepreneur who has started successful tech companies in telecom, mobile applications, aviation, security, and now robotics, which requires all these domains and more. Essential Aero is located in the greater Sacramento area of CA.

RGo Robotics is pioneering an artificial perception technology that enables mobile robots to understand complex surroundings and operate autonomously just like humans. Before founding RGo Robotics, Bousani lead the Advanced Technologies and System Innovation Groups at Intel RealSense.

You can find the full agenda for the Robotics Summit here. The Robotics Summit & Expo is the premier event for commercial robotics developers. There will be nearly 70 industry-leading speakers sharing their development expertise on stage during the conference, with 150-plus exhibitors on the showfloor showcasing their latest enabling technologies, products and services that help develop commercial robots. There also will be a career fair, networking opportunities and more. Expo-only passes are just $75. Academic discounts are available and academic full conference rates are just $295.

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Robotics Summit names MassRobotics strategic partner

The Robot Report Staff — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 18:28:25 +0000

Business-to-business publisher WTWH Media, the parent company of The Robot Report, announced MassRobotics will serve as the exclusive Strategic Partner for the Robotics Summit & Expo to be held on May 10-11 in Boston. In that role, MassRobotics will provide strategic guidance and act as a liaison to MassRobotics’ global community, including partners, sponsors, startup residents, and the robotics community at large.

As a resource to the event and its participants, MassRobotics will deliver insights into emerging areas of robotics, the needs of robotics startups – especially around components and technical requirements, topical subject matter for Robotics Summit presenters to address, industry connections, and more.

MassRobotics Activities

At the Robotics Summit & Expo, MassRobotics will once again showcase dozens of startups in its Resident Startup Alley, which gives attendees an opportunity to explore innovative, emerging ideas and technology in the robotics industry.

Reinforcing its commitment to robotics for healthcare, MassRobotics will feature startups participating in its most recent Healthcare Robotics Catalyst Program and will host a session highlighting MassRobotics Healthcare Robotics Catalyst program participants with enabling technology pitches.

The expo floor will include an area for the MassRobotics Form & Function Robotics Challenge where university teams will showcase their projects, highlighting technologies from many MassRobotics partner companies. A first prize of $25K for the challenge will be announced on day two of the conference, along with $5K for second- and third-place challenge finishers. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate by voting for an “Audience Choice Award” that will provide $5K to the selected team.

At the conclusion of the Summit, MassRobotics will host a Technical Career Fair with more than 20 hiring companies. Job seekers who register to attend the career fair are offered complimentary expo passes for the second day of the conference.

“MassRobotics represents robotics startups from around the globe and we’re excited to once again support the Robotics Summit & Expo as the exclusive Strategic Partner,” said Tom Ryden, Executive Director, MassRobotics. “Boston is a leading international robotics innovation cluster, and as such the Robotics Summit presents the perfect opportunity for technical and business professionals from around the world to share knowledge, experience and insights with the goal of driving robotics technology development and innovation forward.”

MassRobotics is helping to create and scale the next generation of successful robotics and connected devices companies by providing entrepreneurs and innovative robotics startups with the workspace and resources they need to develop, prototype, test, and commercialize their products and solutions. MassRobotics is currently leading a cluster of the highest concentration of robotics companies in the world with approximately 400 companies, 70+ resident startups, and 40 strategic partners. The organization’s unique model allows startups to get established, grow, scale, and provide meaningful employment for the future workforce and to provide ongoing value for MassRobotics’s partner organizations.

The Robotics Summit & Expo is focused on the technical issues involved with the design, development and scalability of commercial robots. The Summit brings together the brightest minds in robotics throughout the world to share their expertise on a variety of topics, including enabling technologies, design and development tools and techniques, manufacturability and more.

“The success of the Robotics Summit & Expo clearly demonstrates the need for a world-class, technical conference specifically designed for those developing commercial-class robotics systems,” said Steve Crowe, Executive Editor, Robotics, WTWH Media and Chair of the Robotics Summit & Expo. “Working in partnership with MassRobotics, we are bringing together in one place and at one time the leading companies and brightest minds developing the next generation of robotics systems and services.”

The Robotics Summit & Expo is a brand extension of The Robot Report, an online resource focused on gathering industry news and exploring the business and applications of robotics. The expo portion of the Robotics Summit will offer attendees hands-on access to the latest design and development solutions from 100+ companies, while the Robotics Summit conference program will provide technical professionals with the information they need to successfully develop and deploy the next generation of commercial class robotics systems and services.

Co-Located Events

The Robotics Summit & Expo will be co-located with the Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum, a conference focused on easing and speeding the development of commercial healthcare robots. Also co-located with the Robotics Summit is DeviceTalks Boston, the premier industry event for medical technology professionals, currently in its ninth year. Both events attract engineering and business professionals from a broad range of healthcare and medical technology backgrounds.

For information about Robotics Summit & Expo 2023 sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, download the prospectus and/or contact Colleen Sepich at csepich@wtwhmedia.com

About MassRobotics

MassRobotics is a nonprofit robotics innovation hub, accelerator and incubator. The result of collaborative work among engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs with a shared vision to create a strong, vibrant robotics ecosystem, MassRobotics is headquartered in Boston and reaching and supporting robotics innovation globally. MassRobotics’ mission is to help create and scale the next generation of successful robotics technology and connected devices companies by providing innovative entrepreneurs and startups with the workspace and resources they need to develop, prototype, test and commercialize their products and solutions. See massrobotics.org for details.

About WTWH Media

WTWH Media is an integrated media company serving engineering, business and investment professionals through 50+ websites, 5 print publications, along with many other technical and business events. WTWH’s Robotics Group produces The Robot Report, Robotics Business Review, Collaborative Robotics Trends and Mobile Robot Guide, online technical, business and investment news and information portals focused on robotics and intelligent systems. WTWH Media also produces leading in-person robotics conferences including the Robotics Summit & Expo, RoboBusiness and the Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum. See www.wtwhmedia.com for more information.

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Robotics Summit early bird registration ends March 9

Steve Crowe — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 11:00:12 +0000

Early bird registration for the Robotics Summit & Expo ends March 9. Buy your full conference pass before then to save 50% ($300) and gain full access to the world’s leading event dedicated to commercial robotics development.

Discounts are also available for academia, associations, and corporate groups. Please e-mail events@wtwhmedia.com for more details about our discount programs. Expo only tickets are just $75.

Taking place May 10-11 at the Boston Convention Center, the Robotics Summit & Expo brings together the brightest minds in robotics to share their commercial robotics development experiences. Our conference programming will provide professionals the information they need to successfully develop the next generation of commercial robots.

World-class keynotes speakers

The Robotics Summit keynote speakers include the following:

Howie Choset, Professor of Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University
Idea to Reality: Commercializing Robotics Technologies
Laura Major, CTO, Motional
Scalable AI Solutions for Driverless Vehicles
Marc Raibert, Executive Director, AI Institute
The Next Decade in Robotics
Martin Buehler, Global Head of Robotics R&D, Johnson & Johnson MedTech
The Future of Surgical Robotics
Nicolaus Radford, CEO, Nauticus Robotics
Developing Robots for Final Frontiers

The expo hall at the Robotics Summit will have more than 150 exhibitors showcasing their latest enabling technologies, products and services that can help robotics engineers throughout their development journey. The Robotics Summit also offers networking opportunities, a Career Fair, a robotics development challenge and much more.

Co-located events

The Robotics Summit & Expo will be co-located with the Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum, which offers two tracks dedicated to the development of healthcare robotics solutions. Also co-located with the Robotics Summit event is DeviceTalks Boston, the premier industry event for medical technology professionals, currently in its ninth year. Both events attract engineering and business professionals from a broad range of healthcare and medical technology backgrounds.

Sponsorships

For information about sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, download the prospectus. Questions regarding sponsorship opportunities should be directed to Colleen Sepich at csepich[AT]wtwhmedia.com.

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Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum full conference agenda

Brianna Wessling — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 20:02:13 +0000

The Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum (HREF), produced by The Robot Report’s parent company WTWH Media, provides engineers, engineering management and business professionals with informed guidance, peer networking opportunities and hands-on access to the latest robotics-enabling technologies. The Forum recently announced its full conference agenda for the May 10-11, 2023 event at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

These conference sessions are designed to provide technical professionals the information they need to successfully develop and manufacture healthcare robotics systems. The expo floor will provide attendees with direct access to the latest design and development solutions for producing healthcare robotics technologies and products, with over 150 exhibits and demonstrations on the expo floor.

Register for full conference passes by March 9 to save $300. Expo-only passes are just $75. Academic discounts are available and academic full conference rates are just $295.

HREF will be co-located with the Robotics Summit & Expo, the world’s premier commercial robotics development event. This multifaceted educational forum is dedicated to addressing the issues involved with the design, development, manufacture and delivery of commercial robots. Also co-located with these events is DeviceTalks Boston, the premier industry event for medical technology professionals.

The complete agenda for HREF is below. You can also register here.

We gathered in Boston this past May for two full days of expos, keynote sessions, summits & much more! Here's a short recap of some of the demos that attendees got to see.

Join us at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center May 10th-11th, 2023: https://t.co/5TVCT7VTgm pic.twitter.com/OHqYoY3wd3

— Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum (@HCRoboticsForum) February 1, 2023

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Opening Keynote: Idea to Reality: Commercializing Robotics Technologies
Howie Choset, Professor of Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University
8:45 AM -9:30 AM

Turning a technology developed inside a lab into a successful robotics company is no easy task. Howie Choset has done this several times with companies such as Medrobotics (surgical robots), Hebi Robotics (modular robots) and Bito Robotics (robot software). Choset will share insights about the robotics startups he founded and best practices for taking technological innovation from an idea to reality.

Breakout Session: How customizable cobot design enables the success of your surgical robotics company
Speakers: Gene Matthews, Senior Product Manager, Kollmorgen; Dr. Jindong Tan, President and Founder, Azure Medical Innovation
11:45 AM – 12:30 PM

Collaborative robots and AI are becoming increasingly important for surgeons to perform repetitive and precise control tasks. But surgical applications have unique performance and certification requirements that are not available in the current cobot market. This presentation aims to help eliminate barriers to choosing customized surgical robots, as well as help surgical robotics companies build out their specifications so that they can focus on clinical applications. This talk will also address critical engineering considerations when specifying surgical application needs on collaborative features, AI integration in the surgical flow, and certification requirements:

What are the unique requirements for cobots in surgical applications?
How do key components such as frameless motors determine performance?
How do cobots and AI-enabled vision impact surgical flow?
How customized design can impact performance, development cycle, and certification

Breakout Session: Designing Surgeon-Level Haptic Sensing for Surgical Robotics
Speakers: Robert Brooks, CEO, ForceN
11:45 AM – 12:30 PM

Force and torque sensing play key roles in enabling surgical robotics, including at the tip of the instrument, trocar location/tissue contact, surgeon collaboration and the surgeon interface. During this session, attendees will learn about 13 core specifications for haptic sensors and the current state-of-the-art of what’s possible. This talk will detail best practices for implementing haptic sensors into surgical robots, including:

Thermal compensation and considerations under surgical drapes
Grounding & shielding inside ultra-compact robotic joints
Engineered cable assemblies for high-flex, multidimensional, tight-bend application

Breakout Session: Developing a New Generation of Robots to Transform Care in the Home
Speakers: Mike Dooley, CEO, Labrador Systems
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

Across the globe, we are living older for longer than ever before. This is creating huge demands on caregivers, healthcare systems and societies overall, where many regions are already experiencing a labor shortage crisis. Robotics can play a significant role in helping people live more independently for longer.

To achieve this, robotics has to transform in at least two major ways. First, we need to develop robots that can scale to be affordable for personal, 1-to-1 use, which is a dramatic change from most commercial robots today. Second, making functional robots operate autonomously in homes requires solving for much greater complexity, with far more diverse and challenging settings and use case scenarios.

In this presentation, Labrador Systems will walk through the design and development of Retriever, a personal robot built from the ground up to operate in the home, lighten the load of daily activities, extend the impact of caregivers, and ultimately help us live more independently as we age.

Breakout Session: Keys to Using ROS 2 and Other Frameworks for Medical Robots
Speakers: Tom Amlicke, Software Systems Engineer, MedAcuity
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

What is the best architectural approach to use when building medical robots? Is it ROS, ROS 2 or other open-source or commercial frameworks? The answer is, “it depends.” In this presentation, we will explore engineering questions concerning the level of concern, risk, design controls, and evidence on a couple of different applications of these frameworks. Looking at three hypothetical robotic systems, we will explore these approaches:

An application based on the da Vinci Research Kit through regulatory clearance
ROS as test tools to verify the software requirements for a visual guidance system
Commercial off-the-shelve robot arm used for a medical application

Attending this session to learn how to create trade-offs with these different architectural approaches and how to validate the intended uses of these architectural approaches to ensure a successful submission package for your FDA, EMA, or other regulatory approval.

Breakout Session: Human Factor Design Considerations for Healthcare Robots
Speakers: Laura Birmingham, Associate Research Director, Emergo by UL; Alix Dorfman, Managing Human Factors Specialist, Emergo by UL
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM

Although human factors engineering touches many facets of overall system design, at its core, the practice facilitates the interaction between humans and technology; it aligns a system’s design with individuals’ cognitive and physical capabilities and limitations to produce a safe and satisfying user experience. Despite the level of autonomy healthcare robotics technologies might offer, there is always a human element that requires consideration.

During this talk, the presenters will discuss human factors implications and considerations related to the design of robotic healthcare technology used in clinical and non-clinical environments. The talk will describe how robotics disrupts the four key aspects of design analyzed when supporting product development: the system’s touchpoints, intended users, intended use environment(s), and its intended users’ tasks with the system. We will illuminate how such aspects can and should influence design decisions, as well as best practices when conducting research within the regulated medical device industry.

Breakout Session: Position feedback for healthcare robotics
Speakers: Astrid Stock, Product Manager, SIKO
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM

Healthcare robots are quite different from their industrial counterparts. They do not work in fenced-off areas, but rather side by side with their operators. With this in mind, safety, accuracy, and size requirements have become more critical in today’s applications. Reliable control of the robot’s position, alignment and movement is essential. Rotary and linear encoders enable the position feedback of the motor and send vital information to the control.

This talk will illustrate different measurement principles (magnetic, glass, inductive) and explain the advantages of magnetic measurement. It will differentiate between absolute and incremental systems and will discuss the different interfaces from basic incremental TTL to absolute interfaces like CANopen or BiSS-C. Attendees will also learn about trends and requirements for compact designs and highly integrated solutions.

Breakout Session: Motion Control Trends for Healthcare Robots
Speakers: Prabhakar Gowrisankaran, VP of Engineering and Strategy, Performance Motion Devices
4:15 PM – 5:00 PM

In this presentation, we will provide an update on recent developments in motion control technologies, applications, and products that are especially important for designers of medical analytical instruments and operating room equipment.

The emphasis will be on mobile & surgical robotics, patient therapy equipment, and advances in actuators and position sensors that are driving the next generation of motion control applications that deliver more accuracy, lower treatment costs, and improved medical outcomes.

Prabh Gowrisankaran, VP of Engineering and Strategy at Performance Motion Devices, Inc. (PMD), will share his extensive experience in electronic motion control and will lead this discussion designed to be interesting for both engineers and medical practitioners alike.

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Keynote: The Future of Surgical Robotics
Martin Buehler, Global Head of Robotics R&D, Johnson & Johnson MedTech
10:00 AM – 10:45 AM

Johnson & Johnson, one of the world’s leading healthcare companies, gives an inside look at the end-to-end development of its Monarch and Ottava robotics platforms, as well as strategy and innovation cadence across surgical robotics for MedTech.

Breakout Session: Launching Mobile Manipulation Robots in Hospitals
Speakers: Siddhartha Banerjee, Lead Robotics Engineer, Diligent Robotics
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM

Over the years, robots have made huge strides in the mobile transport space as well as warehouse automation. However, mobile manipulation robots operating around people in semi-structured environments are still few and far between. Diligent Robotics is pushing the boundaries of socially-aware mobile manipulation by deploying robots into hospitals. This talk will cover the challenges of a startup putting Moxi, a socially-aware mobile manipulation platform, into a semi-structured environment with people (i.e. hospitals). It will include lessons learned and key takeaways as well as insights into healthcare automation given the rise of COVID-19 and the impact of labor shortages.

Breakout Session: The Rise of Cobots in Healthcare

Speakers: Brad Porter, Founder and CEO, Collaborative Robotics

11:30 AM – 12:15 PM

Robotics is all about leading change. To realize the true potential of robotics requires a bold vision driven top-down that aligns R&D teams, operations, finance, and global IT, while also requiring a deep focus on the details of successful individual deployments. In this talk, Brad Porter will share his perspective on how soon collaborative robots, with more human-like capability and a greater ability to collaborate with humans, are coming and the new challenges and opportunities they will present in healthcare.

Breakout Session: From Product Idea to Robotic Healthcare Solution – An Overview

Speakers: Tobias Luksch, Manager of R&D and Robotics, ITK Engineering

2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

It is a long road with numerous hurdles to take a medical robot from an initial idea to a certified product. To achieve this, some important questions must be answered, such as:

What is the intended use?
What is the legal framework?
What are the main risks?
Which methods can be used to evaluate concepts, develop prototypes and to verify the final product?

This session will give an overview of the essential steps required to turn a product idea into a market-ready healthcare robot. Attendees will be provided with practical advice on how to implement these steps, as well as a European perspective on the regulatory aspects of the product life cycle.

Session: Magnetic Robots for Diagnosis and Surgery
Speakers: Giovanni Pittiglio, Research Fellow, Boston Children’s Hospital – Harvard Medical School
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

Robotics has the potential to democratize healthcare by complementing a surgeon’s skills and guaranteeing consistent quality of care. With the aim of reducing pain, discomfort and limiting disruptive interaction with the anatomy, soft magnetic robots are a novel, emerging solution. This technology can guarantee remote actuation, which equates to smaller size and softer devices. This talk will introduce the potential for magnetic soft robots in overcoming the main limitations of alternative approaches, such as minimally-invasive surgery which is difficult to scale due to the need for highly skilled personnel. The session will discuss a range of applications magnetic robots can cover in healthcare, with a focus on diagnosis and surgery. The main challenges and future research goals are introduced and reviewed.

Breakout Session: Using Emulation to Accelerate the Development of Wearable Machines
Speakers: Josh Caputo, Founder, President & CEO, Humotech
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM

Emulation is a concept that will be familiar to anyone engaged in the development of computing systems (or fans of retro gaming), but did you know research & development groups around the world are leveraging the approach to develop more personalized and advanced prosthetics, orthotics, exoskeletons, wearable robotics, and more?

Wearable systems are costly to prototype and difficult to perfect, so it is crucial for this burgeoning industry to reimagine R&D processes to unlock greater efficiency, throughput, and more wildly successful products. Learn more about the opportunities, challenges, and innovative approaches being explored toward developing technology that augments human biomechanics and could one day be accessible to anyone looking to boost their physical performance.

The post Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum full conference agenda appeared first on The Robot Report.

How Boston Dynamics is developing Spot for real-world applications

Brianna Wessling — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 18:27:54 +0000

Spot, Boston Dynamics’ quadruped robot, can reliably walk nearly anywhere a human can, but what does it do? While legged mobility is necessary for many use cases, it’s not the only requirement for value-producing applications.

At the Robotics Summit & Expo (May 10-11 in Boston), Marco Da Silva, senior director of R&D at Boston Dynamics, will discuss how the company is “Developing Spot for Real-World Applications.” The session, which takes place on May 11 from 2-2:45 PM, will specifically focus on the work done to develop Spot for remote and autonomous sensing applications. These developments include:

Encapsulating Spot’s mobility in an extensible API
Building an autonomous capability
Making it easy to add sensing to build value-producing solutions

Spot’s recent updates have included built-in data processing and review, an improved data collection pipeline and a better operator experience, all aimed to make Spot better at the various jobs it’s deployed to do. These updates are particularly aimed at improving Spot’s data collection capabilities, which it uses in many of its inspection jobs.

Spot has use cases across many industries, including construction, oil and gas, energy and more. Since its release, Boston Dynamics continues to enhance the capabilities of Spot. Feedback from customers, and the experience gained from operating in difficult, industrial situations, are enabling the Spot development team to improve Spot’s capabilities.

da Silva is currently focused on making Spot useful as a tool for autonomous inspection of industrial facilities, remote inspection in dangerous settings, and other applications. Prior to Spot, he was platform director for Atlas, a program to develop the world’s most advanced biped robot. da Silva joined Boston Dynamics in 2010 after graduating with a PhD from MIT. Prior to that, he worked at Pixar Animation Studios from 2001 to 2005.

You can find the full agenda for the Robotics Summit here. The event will also feature a conversation with Marc Raibert, executive director of the AI Institute and founder and chairman of the board at Boston Dynamics. Raibert will discuss opportunities for the robotics industry and the most important and difficult challenges facing the creation of advanced robots. It will also describe how the new AI Institute is pushing the limits of technological innovation to solve these challenges.

The Robotics Summit & Expo is the premier event for commercial robotics developers. There will be nearly 70 industry-leading speakers sharing their development expertise on stage during the conference, with 150-plus exhibitors on the showfloor showcasing their latest enabling technologies, products and services that help develop commercial robots. There also will be a career fair, networking opportunities and more. Register for full conference passes by March 9 to save $300. Expo-only passes are just $75. Academic discounts are available and academic full conference rates are just $295.

The post How Boston Dynamics is developing Spot for real-world applications appeared first on The Robot Report.

Form & Function Robotics Challenge teams announced

Steve Crowe — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 20:23:31 +0000

MassRobotics announced the teams participating in its inaugural Form & Function Robotics Challenge. The finalists will be showcasing their robots on May 10-11 at the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston. The winners will be announced on May 11 at 12:30 PM at the event.

The challenge calls for teams to create a robotics or automation project that delivers a compelling form factor specific to its tasks while accomplishing a useful function. The following universities will be participating:

Brown University
Indiana University Bloomington
Kwame Nkrumah Science and Technology
MIT
Northeastern University
Seoul National University
Stevens Institute of Technology
Tufts University
University of Bath
University of Calgary
University of Southern Denmark
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

“We received entries for the Form and Function Challenge from around the world,” said MassRobotics executive director Tom Ryden. “We are excited about the selected teams, their robot concepts and the ways they are planning to incorporate many of our partners’ offerings, from development kits to sensors to software. We look forward to the teams showcasing their robotic solutions at the Robotics Summit & Expo in May.”

The challenge encourages cross-collaboration between state-of-the-art software and hardware providers, including MassRobotics strategic partners Onshape, Lattice Semiconductor, Nano Dimension, Danfoss, FESTO, Novanta, and Analog Devices. The challenge requires teams to use the offerings from a minimum of two of the seven partners. Examples of the offerings available to participants include:

Lattice Semiconductor: FPGA technology with their solution stack for a machine vision camera
Onshape: cloud-native CAD platform
Nano Dimension: 3D printed circuit boards and design review
FESTO: vacuum gripper kit and Electrical Actuators
Novanta: drives, inductive position encoders, RFID
Danfoss: remote control and PLUS+1 controllers

Participating teams will be provided technical support in the form of software, hardware, expertise and regular check-ins with the challenge’s sponsoring partners. Teams have until May 5, 2023 to develop and complete their projects and will have the opportunity to present their work at the Robotics Summit & Expo.

The challenge offers a grand prize of $25,000, along with $5,000 prizes for second and third place and a $5,000 Audience Choice award.

The post Form & Function Robotics Challenge teams announced appeared first on The Robot Report.

Robotics Summit & Expo full conference agenda

Steve Crowe — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 19:42:46 +0000

The Robotics Summit & Expo, produced by The Robot Report and parent company WTWH Media, recently announced the full conference agenda for the May 10-11 event at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Since its founding in 2018, the Robotics Summit & Expo has become the world’s premier commercial robotics development event.

The conference sessions at the event are designed to impart engineers with the information they need to develop and deploy the next generation of commercial robots. Beyond the keynotes and conference sessions, there will be 150-plus exhibits and demonstrations on the expo show floor, a career fair, a robotics development challenge, networking opportunities and more.

Register for full conference passes by March 9 to save $300. Expo-only passes are just $75. Academic discounts are available and academic full conference rates are just $295.

The Robotics Summit & Expo will be co-located with the Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum (HREF), an event designed to provide engineers, engineering management, business professionals and others with information about how to successfully develop and deploy the next generation of healthcare robot. Also co-located with these events is DeviceTalks Boston, the premier industry event for medical technology professionals. HREF and DeviceTalks Boston attract engineering and business professionals from a range of medical technology backgrounds.

The complete agenda for the Robotics Summit & Expo is below. You can also view the entire agenda here and register here.

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Opening Keynote: Idea to Reality: Commercializing Robotics Technologies
Howie Choset, Professor of Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University
8:45 AM -9:30 AM

Keynote: Future of Open-Source Robotics Development
Wendy Tan White, CEO, Intrinsic
9:30 AM – 10:15 AM

In this fireside chat, Intrinsic CEO Wendy Tan White will discuss the company’s ongoing efforts to make industrial robotics more accessible and usable for millions more businesses, entrepreneurs and developers. Tan White will also discuss the recent acquisition of the Open Source Robotics Corporation and what it means going forward.

Keynote: Scalable AI Solutions for Driverless Vehicles
Laura Major Chief Technology Officer, Motional
10:45 AM – 11:30 AM

Major will discuss Motional’s approach to developing SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicles (AVs) that can safely navigate complex road scenarios. As part of the discussion, Laura will cover the core challenges of AVs, deep learning advancements, and Motional’s innovative Machine Learning-first solutions.

Breakout Session: Robotics Roadmap to Commercialization Success
Speakers: Jennifer Apicella, Vice President, Pittsburgh Robotics Network; Reese Mozer, CEO and Co-Founder, American Robotics; Andy McMillan, Advisory Board Chairman, Cirtronics
11:45 AM – 12:30 PM

Commercialization is the impact point where all expectations for your product are tested – right when it hits the market. Successful commercialization is good for the individual company and the robotics industry as a whole. Success leads to more products, whether they are next-gen, derivative, or brand-new new ideas. Join us in learning from three experts in the robotics industry about how developing strategic partnerships can expedite commercial expansion and the steps required to succeed in this process. While the road to commercialization may not be linear, executives share their firsthand experiences and requirements for precision and detail-oriented partners.

Breakout Session: Situational Awareness Using 3D LiDAR
Cedric Hutchings, Co-Founder & CEO, Outsight
11:45 AM – 12:30 PM

Many types of robots can leverage 3D LiDAR data to gain situational awareness in real time. This awareness is essential to perform required tasks but also to enable market adoption. However, effectively using LiDAR data in real time is complex and expensive. In this presentation, attendees will learn about a new category of LiDAR software – a real-time pre-processing engine – that allows application developers and integrators to use LiDAR data from any hardware supplier and for any application. Real-world use cases and LiDAR recordings will be used to illustrate the practical applications.

Hanging out with Boston Dynamics’ SPOT here on the @Robotics_Summit show floor. Good boy. + @BostonDynamics @FluidPowerWorld @DesignWorld @DW_LisaEitel @DW_Motion @FPW_MaryGannon @wtwh_heathhall @EEWorld_Aimee @DW_MikeSantora @DW_LeeTeschler @SMMcCafferty @wtwh_memich #robot pic.twitter.com/OMW5efHYb5

— Paul J. Heney (@wtwh_paulheney) May 11, 2022

Breakout Session: Achieving Scalable Interoperability with Automated Negotiation
Michael Grey, Software Engineering Manager, Intrinsic
11:45 AM – 12:30 PM

With the rapid acceleration of robot deployments, the need for heterogeneous fleet management will become standard. In this session, Intrinsic will share recent developments in the Open-RMF platform and present use cases where it has been deployed. Intrinsic will also present a roadmap about the future of Open-RMF and interoperability and some of its latest tools and capabilities, including:

Multi-agent planning framework – Mapf is a library for cooperative path finding
Task Management – the latest improvements including a flexible task framework to allow custom task definitions, multi-phase tasks, prioritization and more
Site Editor – a desktop or web utility to visualize and edit large deployment sites
Crowd Simulation – a plugin to simulate human actors with multiple behaviors
Obstacle Detectors – packages that infer the presence of obstacles from sensor inputs including LIDAR or 2D/3D cameras

Breakout Session: Designing Surgeon-Level Haptic Sensing for Surgical Robotics
Robert Brooks, CEO, Forcen
11:45 AM – 12:30 PM

Thermal compensation and considerations under surgical drapes
Grounding & shielding inside ultra-compact robotic joints
Engineered cable assemblies for high-flex, multidimensional, tight-bend application

How customizable cobot design enables success of your surgical robotics company
Speakers: Gene Matthews, Senior Product Manager, Kollmorgen; Dr. Jindong Tan, President and Founder, Azure Medical Innovation
1:45 AM – 12:30 PM

What are the unique requirements for cobots in surgical applications?
How do key components such as frameless motors determine performance?
How do cobots and AI-enabled vision impact surgical flow?
How customized design can impact performance, development cycle, and certification

Breakout Session: Sensor Calibration and SLAM to increase ODD & reduce BOM cost
William Sitch, Chief Business Officer, Main Street Autonomy
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

Autonomy and perception systems are built on the core components of sensor calibration, localization, and mapping. Calibration requires targets and trained personnel and maintenance. Localization and mapping only works in certain areas with expensive sensor systems. These issues drive higher robot cost, restrict robot deployments and constrain business growth. This talk will detail three innovations that solve these problems.

Breakout Session: Simplification of Advanced Motion Control Using Integrated Servo Drives
Andrew Zucker, Mechatronics Engineer, Harmonic Drive
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

In modern robotic applications, space comes at a premium. Power density continues to be a leading factor in robotic applications, although it is often compromised by the cabling and hardware needed to implement the power and control systems. In this session, we will explore how to simplify the design of a robotic joint without compromising performance, reliability, or advanced motion control features that normally come at the cost of bulky cabling and electronics.

Breakout Session: Developing General Purpose Robots That Push the Boundaries of Technology
Jeff Cardenas, CEO, Apptronik
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

Breakout Session: Developing a New Generation of Robots to Transform Care in the Home
Mike Dooley, CEO, Labrador Systems
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

Breakout Session: Keys to Using ROS 2 and Other Frameworks for Medical Robots
Tom Amlicke, Software Systems Engineer, MedAcuity
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

1. An application based on the da Vinci Research Kit through regulatory clearance
2. ROS as test tools to verify the software requirements for a visual guidance system
3. Commercial off-the-shelve robot arm used for a medical application

Breakout Session: How to Cut Build Cycles in Half and Supercharge Robotics Development
Dave Evans, Co-Founder & CEO, Fictiv
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM

When it comes to new product development in robotics, there is no silver bullet. But there are common and predictable bottlenecks and inefficiencies that prevent engineering teams from operating at maximum productivity that can be eliminated.

Attendees will learn strategies to overcome these barriers and accelerate development. Through inspiring success stories from industry-leading companies, including Honeywell and Gecko Robotics, this talk will detail how robotics teams shaved weeks and months off development cycles to drive improved quality, speed and time-to-market outcomes. Ultimately, attendees will leave with a clear plan of action on how they can transform new product development.

Breakout Session: Coordinated Motion of a Manipulator and Mobile Base
Tiffany Cappellari, Engineer, Southwest Research Institute
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM

Robotics for large-scale fabrication or processing has relied on the ability to realize what is referred to as “coordinated motion.” This enables a robotic arm to work beyond its reach envelope by precise coordination with external axes. These external axes may be linear rails, or rotational axes to extend the working envelop of the combined robotic solution. Mobile robots have also gained in adoption and use, but, even in fairly complex mobile manipulator solutions, coordinated motion is only realized through the connection of the manipulator and the base via an external monitoring device. These solutions also normally make use of a “stop and go” approach in which the mobile base positions itself in a static pose first before the industrial manipulator begins its operation, thus not demonstrating true coordinated motion.

Southwest Research Institute seeks to pursue a coordinated motion solution that will enable richer continuous processing beyond the standard reach of the manipulator without the need to tie together the base and manipulator with an external tracking device, therefore opening a new frontier of industrial mobile robots that currently are not available in industry.

Breakout Session: Innovation in Robotic Grasping
Speakers: Roy Belak, CEO, Nexera Robotics; Nathan Brooks, CTO, PickNik Robotics, Jeff Mahler, Co-founder and CTO , Ambi Robotics; Boston Dynamics
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM

Grasping and manipulation, the ability to directly and physically interact with and modify objects in the environment, is perhaps the greatest differentiator between robotic systems and all other classes of automated systems. Many types of robots require the ability to coordinate tactile, vision, and proprioceptive sensing to pick-up and operate on all manner of objects, with goals ranging from providing human-like dexterity and autonomous manipulation, to high precision repeatability, and on to superhuman strength and endurance. During this panel session, attendees will learn of the latest grasping and manipulation technologies and techniques commercially available, as well as solutions emerging from the lab that will allow for whole new classes of robotics applications.

Breakout Session: Human Factor Design Considerations for Healthcare Robots
Speakers: Laura Birmingham, Associate Research Director, Emergo by UL; Alix Dorfman, Managing Human Factors Specialist, Emergo by UL
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM

Breakout Session: Position feedback for healthcare robotics
Astrid Stock, Product Manager, SIKO
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM

Breakout Session: Unlocking New Applications for Mobile Robots
Speakers: Niels Jul Jacobsen, CEO, Capra Robotics; Steve Boyle CEO, Essential Aero; Amir Bousani, Founder and CEO, RGo Robotics; Mike Oitzman, Editor of Robotics, WTWH Media
4:15 PM – 5:00 PM

Traditional sensors and navigation stacks have enabled AGVs and AMRs to bring tremendous value to a finite set of indoor material handling applications. But a much broader set of additional applications remains unsolved due to limitations in more challenging environments, including outdoor, indoor/outdoor, spaces with dynamic or repetitive features and where mobile robots must interact seamlessly together with humans. The panelists will discuss how recent technology advances are setting the stage for the next wave of innovation mobile robots and share examples of exciting new applications that will be unlocked.

Breakout Session: ASTM Standards for Robotics, Automation, and Autonomous Systems
Adam Norton, Associate Director, NERVE Center, UMass Lowell
4:15 PM – 5:00 PM

Robotics and automated systems used in many industries still lack sufficient standard specifications for interfaces, test methods for performance comparison, and practices for implementation. These gaps can stifle industry adoption and innovation.

The ASTM F45 Committee on Robotics, Automation, and Autonomous Systems is working to fill these gaps through the development of standard terminology, practices, classifications, guides, test methods, and specifications applicable to these systems.

This talk will include an overview presentation on the committee’s recent and upcoming activities, as well as an interactive discussion session to gather industry feedback on recommendations for future standards developments to ensure alignment with the needs of the community, both from a developer and user perspective.

The Era of Robotic Unicorns
Eliot Horowitz, CEO & Founder, Viam Robotics
4:15 PM – 5:00 PM

The robotics industry is at an inflection point because software advancements can offer a full paradigm shift in how to scale a successful robotics business. At MongoDB, Horowitz’s data platform was the foundation for dozens of $1B+ high-growth software companies. That same style of software infrastructure advancement is now coming to robotics to support a wave of high-growth robotics companies.

In this session, Viam and MongoDB co-founder Eliot Horowitz will detail why this is the best time to launch a robotics business and how a modern approach to software can get you from paper to prototype to production to successful, scaled business faster than ever.

Breakout Session: Motion Control Trends for Healthcare Robots
Prabhakar Gowrisankaran, VP of Engineering and Strategy, Performance Motion Devices
4:15 PM – 5:00 PM

In this presentation we will provide an update on recent developments in motion control technologies, applications, and products that are especially important for designers of medical analytical instruments and operating room equipment.

Healthcare Robotics Startup Showcase
4:15 PM – 5:00 PM

MassRobotics, FESTO, Mitsubishi Electric Automation, MITRE, Novanta and other key players in the healthcare and robotics space recently initiated the Healthcare Robotics Startup Catalyst Program. The goal is to advance healthcare robotics companies by providing the connections, guidance and resources they need to grow and succeed.

During this session, attendees will hear pitches from the following seven healthcare robotics startups currently in the catalyst program: Able Human Motion, Acumino, Andromeda, Maestro Surgical, Robot on Rails, Unlimited Robotics and Zeta Surgical

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Opening Keynote: The Next Decade in Robotics
Marc Raibert, Executive Director, AI Institute
9:00 AM – 9:45 AM

This fireside chat with Marc Raibert will discuss opportunities for the robotics industry and the most important and difficult challenges facing the creation of advanced robots. It will also describe how the new Boston Dynamics AI Institute is pushing the limits of technological innovation to solve these challenges.

Keynote: The Future of Surgical Robotics
Martin Buehler, Global Head of Robotics R&D, Johnson & Johnson MedTech
10:00 AM – 10:45 AM

Breakout Session: Guerilla Product Development for Robotics
Ted Larson, CEO, OLogic
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM

Based on years developing numerous robots for companies across the world, Ted Larson, CEO of OLogic, a Silicon Valley-based robotics design and development services firm, will outline the steps in his guerilla product development program, a novel engineering approach for developing robots. The talk will discuss the concepts underlying the product development technique and provide specific examples of how the process has been used for the development of various robotic and consumer electronics products. He will use specific case studies to detail how various commercial robotics companies.

Breakout Session: Battery Power for Mobile Robotics – Guidelines & Solutions
Dan Friel, Battery Systems Specialist, VARTA
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM

Battery decisions for mobile robots are critical for achieving power autonomy, but they can be complex:

How much capacity is needed?
Where can I put the battery?
What is the best charge method?

In this session, attendees will learn the answers to these questions and more. Detailed information for designers who need reliable portable power for mobile robots will be provided. Additional topics covered include system considerations such as non-motive loads, battery placement issues, and how to design for re-generative braking charging. Also discussed will be wired and wireless charging pros and cons, plus the trade-offs between short, quick charging and once-per-shift charging methodologies.

Breakout Session: The Rise of Cobots in Healthcare
Brad Porter, Founder & CEO, Collaborative Robotics
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM

Breakout Session: Using Simulation to Design and Develop Autonomous Robots
Gerard Andrews, Product Marketing, Robotics, NVIDIA
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM

Warehouse logistics and advanced manufacturing are increasingly using robotics as a critical part of their automation strategies. They can improve operational efficiency, improve safety, and help companies address the persistent labor shortages that are being observed across the globe. Developing these intelligent robotic systems, however, is a complex, challenging, and costly undertaking. Thankfully, advanced simulation tools are available to engineers that can speed the design, development, and testing processes.

Breakout Session: Launching Mobile Manipulation Robots in Hospitals
Siddhartha Banerjee, Lead Robotics Engineer, Diligent Robotics
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM

Form and Function Challenge Winners Announced
12:30 PM

Breakout Session: Oxidizing Your Software Development: Rust for Robots
Zach Goins, Senior Autonomy Software Engineer, Scythe Robotics
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

For a long time, robotics software development has been forced to make the choice between safe software and fast software. Early on, Scythe Robotics chose a third path: Rust, the new programming language that promised a break from that dichotomy. It was a lonely and bold choice at the time, but it has paid huge dividends.

Scythe Robotics, a developer of commercial autonomous lawnmowers, will discuss its decision to use Rust and some learnings along the way. It will discuss how it benefited from Rust’s strengths to build a robot software platform that is both reliable and performant, while still enabling high-velocity development. For example, leveraging the best parts of both ROS and Rust is possible with the mature rosrust crate, which allows engineers to make use of existing ROS tools as well as the wider crates.io package ecosystem. Further, directly integrating with other existing C/C++ software is straightforward as well, enabling reuse of proven libraries and device-specific features like compute accelerators and other C/C++ platform SDKs.

Breakout Session: Building Production-level Robots for Farming
Thomas Palomares, CTO & Co-Founder, FarmWise
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

Vegetable farming still relies on labor-intensive processes. Weed control in particular, which is critical to ensure good yields, is mostly taken care of by hand crews who walk the field with hoes. After prototyping for 5 years in the epicenter of lettuce production in North America, FarmWise is about to release its first commercial robotic weeder. This machine can detect crops from weeds and mechanically uproot the undesired plants with extreme precision using deep learning and actuation control. This talk will walk you through the team’s journey and learnings from the first demo to the architectural decisions behind their new product.

Breakout Session on Legged Locomotion
Boston Dynamics
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

Breakout Session: From Product Idea to Robotic Healthcare Solution – An Overview
Tobias Luksch, Manager, R&D, Robotics, ITK Engineering
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

It is a long road with numerous hurdles to take a medical robot from an initial idea to a certified product. To achieve this, some important questions must be answered, such as:

What is the intended use?
What is the legal framework?
What are the main risks?
Which methods can be used to evaluate concepts, to develop prototypes and to verify the final product?

Breakout Session: Magnetic Robots for Diagnosis and Surgery
Giovanni Pittiglio, Research Fellow, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

Breakout Session: Motion Control and Robotics Opportunities
Speakers: Dave Rollinson, Co-Founder, HEBI Robotics
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM

Breakout Session: Using Emulation to Accelerate the Development of Wearable Machines
Josh Caputo, Founder, President & CEO, Humotech
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM

Wearable systems are costly to prototype and difficult to perfect, so it is crucial for this burgeoning industry to reimagine R&D processes to unlock greater efficiency, throughput, and more wildly successful products. Learn more about the opportunities, challenges, and innovative approaches being explored towards developing technology that augments human biomechanics and could one day be accessible to anyone looking for a boost to their physical performance.

Future of Autonomy in Robotics
Ryan Gariepy, Co-Founder & CTO, Clearpath Robotics & OTTO Motors
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM

From vacuums to quadrupeds to self-driving cars, robots are becoming increasingly physically capable, intelligent and cost-effective. As with any emerging industry, the earliest innovators didn’t have the luxury of decades of fundamental knowledge and best practices available to them. They built from the ground up and learned the hard way what not to do.

Today, we’re entering a new era of robotics. The most successful robotics companies of the next decade won’t be the ones building from scratch. They’ll build on existing platforms that have been hardened to solve very specific problems, including problems in autonomy, fleet management, simulation, and more throughout the robotics stack.

In this presentation, the audience will learn how robotics development has been done recently, what is changing, and what is coming in the next decade from an expert with fifteen years of experience in robot development and deployment across a variety of industries. Market expectations surrounding robotic capabilities, security and privacy, and robustness and safety are becoming increasingly difficult for new entrants to match. Nevertheless, a variety of market forces are making building robots cheaper and easier than ever before, and demand for robotics has never been higher!

Just as a new software company today wouldn’t build its own cloud computing platform, and instead would use AWS, the next generation of robotics companies are not going to start with a hodgepodge of ROS nodes and custom circuit boards. It is highly likely that some of the world’s largest robotics companies haven’t even been founded yet!

Closing Keynote: Developing Robots for Final Frontiers
Nicolaus Radford, CEO, Nauticus Robotics
4:00 PM – 4:45 PM

Space is commonly referred to as the “final frontier.” But Nicolaus Radford and the team at Nauticus Robotics believe the world’s oceans are of the utmost near-term priority (and largely unexplored) final frontier. Founded by former NASA engineers, Nauticus is leading the way by developing novel ocean robotic platforms for unprecedented ways of working in and exploring the aquatic domain, while challenging the less-than-desirable and archaic paradigm of the legacy industry. The company’s vision is to become the most impactful ocean robotics company and to disrupt the current ocean services paradigm through the integration of autonomous robotic technologies. The deep sea is vast, full of potential, and yet remains largely as uncharted as space itself – and Nauticus is at the forefront of unlocking its possibilities.

This keynote will chart Radford’s journey from developing humanoid robotics for space and leveraging that experience to form Nauticus and its revolutionary ocean robotics portfolio. His work at NASA heavily influenced the advancements at Nauticus as the company develops robots capable of aiding in national security, repairing oil pipelines, and inspecting windfarms — all while significantly reducing emissions and hazards to human counterparts. During his keynote, Radford will provide insights about both environments, discuss the business and technology of Nauticus’ current work and explain his vision for the future of ocean technology and robotics.

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