FieldAI develops autonomy software for construction, oil and gas, mining, agriculture, and more. | Source: FieldAI
Despite decades of advancements in robotic hardware, sensors, and motion control capabilities, the ability to autonomously deploy and ultimately scale robots in real-world field environments has remained limited, noted FieldAI.
At RoboBusiness 2025, which takes place Oct. 15 and 16 in Santa Clara, Calif., Dr. Ali Agha, CEO of FieldAI, will outline how a “physics-first” foundation model built specifically for embodied intelligence is solving long-standing autonomy challenges in the field of robotics. Unlike conventional vision or language models retrofitted for robotics, the company’s Field Foundation Models (FFMs) are designed from the ground up to grapple with uncertainty, risk, and the physical constraints of the real world.
This enables robots to make decisions on the fly and navigate dynamic, unstructured environments without maps, GPS, or predefined paths. Dr. Agha will outline how this unconventional approach to foundation model development is already being successfully deployed and scaled in industrial environments around the world. The talk will take place on the second day of the event at 11:45 a.m. PT.
About the CEO of FieldAI
Dr. Ali Agha, CEO of FieldAI. Source: LinkedIn
With nearly two decades of expertise in pioneering AI and autonomy algorithms across diverse robotic platforms, Dr. Agha is leading FieldAI’s strategic vision and product development. Prior to FieldAI, he had a seven-year tenure at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
At JPL, Dr. Agha was principal investigator for some of the nation’s most high-profile and cutting-edge projects in autonomy. They included the DARPA Subterranean Challenge, DARPA RACER (Self-driving off-road cars), NASA’s Autonomous Mars Cave Exploration, and Coordinated Autonomy for Prototype Mars Helicopter-Rover.
In addition, Dr. Agha led the CoSTAR team (JPL-MIT-Caltech-KAIST-LTU), which won the Urban phase of 2020 DARPA Challenge focused on exploring unknown complex urban environments.
Prior to JPL, Dr. Agha was a researcher at MIT and Qualcomm.
Register for RoboBusiness today!
Founded in 2004, RoboBusiness is the premier event for developers and suppliers of commercial robots. The event is produced by WTWH Media, which also produces The Robot Report, Automated Warehouse, and the Robotics Summit & Expo.
RoboBusiness will include tracks on field robotics (expanded for 2025), the Physical AI Forum, enabling technologies, humanoids, design and development, and business.
This year’s conference will also feature more than 60 speakers, a startup workshop, the annual Pitchfire competition, and numerous networking opportunities. Over 100 exhibitors on the show floor will showcase their latest enabling technologies, products, and services to help solve your robotics development challenges.
Registration is now open for RoboBusiness 2025.
For information about sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, please contact Colleen Sepich at csepich[AT]wtwhmedia.com.
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