Early Bird Registration for the Robotics Summit and Showcase ends today. Register by 11:59 PM to receive a 20% discount to attend the event. There are discounts available for corporate groups and associations. Please email me for details.

The Robotics Summit and Showcase differs dramatically from academic, association and industrial and robotics events. It is the first technical event for the robotics industry that is focused on the design, development, manufacture and delivery of commercial class robotics and intelligent systems products and services.

The Robotics Summit and Showcase focuses on the design, development, manufacture and delivery of commercial class robotics and intelligent systems products and services. The Robotics Summit features two full days of enlightening keynotes and general sessions in four tracks delivered by the world’s leading robotics and business professionals. The event also  includes networking receptions, luncheons and an exposition floor packed with the latest robotic technology.

Robotics Summit Keynotes

Here’s a look at the keynotes:

Bipedal Locomotion and Autonomous Mobility
Speaker: Damion Shelton, CEO, Agility Robotics

Developers of mobile robotics systems have a choice of technological approaches to support ground-based locomotion – wheels, tracks, and legged systems, among them. But only one class of locomotion – bipedalism – movement using two feet, is optimized for existing environments designed for human occupation and movement.

Damion Shelton, CEO of Agility Robotics, the developer of the Cassie bipedal robot, will describe the advantages of bipedal locomotion for autonomous mobility in unstructured, human populated environments. Possible use cases for bipedal robotics, as well as specific design, development and testing requirements for bipedal systems, will also be discussed.

Designing Mobile Picking Robots for E-Commerce Fulfillment
Adrian Kumar, VP Solutions Design North America, DHL Supply Chain

All e-commerce retailers, as well as third party logistics providers, understand that picking operations are a major contributor to the burgeoning cost of e-fulfillment. Increasing the level of automation in warehouses and distribution centers has proven to both decrease the costs of e-commerce fulfillment operations and improve efficiency.

DHL’s Adrian Kumar will describe how mobile service robots are supporting picking operations at fulfillment centers and warehouses, along with the processes to design, develop and install such systems. Real-world case studies will be used to highlight salient points.

Producing Commercial Class Robotics Systems: Challenges and Advanced Manufacturing Solutions
John Dulchinos, VP Global Automation and 3D Printing, Jabil

The development of commercial class robotics systems requires the mastery of multiple disciplines, and the resultant systems must be innovative, robust, and work as advertised. Yet even if these issues are addressed, many other significant, often unrecognized challenges related to product introduction and production must also be addressed.

John Dulchinos, VP, Digital Manufacturing for Jabil, the world’s 3rd largest contract manufacturer, will describe these go-to-market challenges, along with advanced manufacturing solutions that can be employed to best them. Topics include rapid prototyping, ensuring quality, designing for manufacturability, volume production, mass customization, supply chain management, fulfillment and more.

Robotics, Intelligent Systems and Transformational Innovation
John Lizzi, Executive Leader, Robotics, GE Global Research

Advancements in automation, robotics and intelligent systems, coupled with pervasive communication and deep analytics, make it possible for businesses to drive down costs, optimize performance and generate revenue.  However, as with any class of nascent technology, both the end-user and supplier communities are faced with rapid business change, continuous technological churn, and much uncertainty.

GE’s John Lizzi will describe the current state-of-the-art in robotics and supporting technologies, revealing the larger, repeating patterns of technological and business significance, while emphasizing the opportunities enabled by transformational innovation along the way.

Soft Robotics: Ongoing Research, Commercial Systems and Future Directions
George Whitesides, Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University
Principal Investigator, Whitesides Research Group, Harvard University

The unassuming term “soft robotics,” robotic systems that exist at the intersection of robotics technology and materials chemistry, has recently made its way from the rarefied environs of academic journals and scholarly symposia and into the mainstream. George Whitesides will describe ongoing soft robotics research at Harvard’s Whitesides Research Group, as well as commercial class soft robotics systems currently on the market or nearly so. Topics related to materials, sensing, control and actuation will be discussed, along with how inherently flexible soft robotics systems can be engineered to provide for novel capabilities and support task versatility.

Building Dynamic Robots
Marc Raibert, founder and CEO, Boston Dynamics

Raibert will give you an update on the company that makes those viral YouTube videos and go under the hood of its biped and quadruped robots that jump, run, balance and even do backflips. Raibert will give a status report on the robots and conduct a live demo of SpotMini, the company’s latest four-legged robot that handles objects, climbs stairs, and opens doors.

Robotics Summit Exhibit Hall

The exhibition floor is sold out with 22 booths. There are dedicated exhibit hours on both days of the show, featuring live demos of the latest enabling technologies and robots on the market. Exhibitors include:

• Acumentrics – Booth #315
• Bodine Electric Company – Booth #102
• Boston Engineering – Booth #202
• BSC Industries – Booth #200
• Cirtronics – Booth #212
• Critical Link – Booth #309
• Electrocraft – Booth #406
• Elmo Motion Control – Booth #400
• Energid – Booth #104
• Front End Analytics – Booth #307
• Harmonic Drive – Booth #214
• IDS Imaging Development Systems – Booth #313
• Kollmorgen – Booth #210
• Lin Engineering – Booth #206
• PropelPLM – Booth #204
• Realtime Robotics – Booth #106
• Renishaw – Booth #208
• Seegrid – Booth #404
• SMC – Booth #311
• Sunstone Circuits – Booth #402
• Universal Robots – Booth #100
• Waypoint Robotics – Booth #305

Click here to learn more about Robotics Summit exhibitors.

Robotics Summit Agenda

Here’s a look at the complete agenda:

Track 1: Technologies, Tools and Platforms
Designing Robots from the Inside Out
Speaker: Doug Olson, President and CEO, Harmonic Drive

Realtime Motion Planning
Speaker: Peter Howard, CEO, Realtime Robotics

Advanced Grasping and Manipulation
Moderator: Tom Ryden, Executive Director, MassRobotics; Co-Founder and Former COO, VGo Communications
Speakers: Leif Jentoft, Co-Founder, RightHand Robotics
Zachary Tomkinson, Sales Development Manager, East, Universal Robots
Carl Vause, Chief Executive Officer, Soft Robotics

Innovations in Sensing and Robot Vision
Speaker: Brad Powers, Principal Roboticist, Locus Robotics

Developing Autonomous Mobile Robots for Human Populated Environments
Speaker: Phil Duffy, Vice President, Innovation, Brain Corporation

The International Technical Design and Development Conference for Robotics and Intelligent Systems
May 23-24, 2018 – Boston MA
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Track 2: Design and Development
Increasing Intelligence and Effectiveness Using On-Device Deep Learning
Speaker: Heather Ames Versace, Co-founder and COO, Neurala

Autonomy & Opportunity
Moderator: Steve Crowe, Editor, The Robot Report
Speakers: Jason Derenick, Vice President of Technology, Exyn Technologies
Tim Rowland, CEO, Badger Technologies
Jason Walker, Co-founder, CEO, Waypoint Robotics

Enhance Your Robot Development Using Interactive Simulation
Speaker: James English, President and Chief Technical Officer, Energid Technologies

How Supply Chain Support Boosts Robotics Innovation and Competitiveness
Speaker: Søren Aarhus, Business Development, Odense Robotics

Track 3: Manufacturability, Production, and Distribution
Using AR Technologies to Overcome Robotics Development Uncertainty
Speaker: Mark Smithers, Co-Founder and CEO, Boston Engineering

Wheels, Treads or Fins? DFx Optimizes Robot Manufacturing Panel
Moderator: Andy McMillan, Chair of the Cirtronics Advisory Board, Cirtronics
Speakers: Derek Daly, Chief Operating Officer, Aquabotix Technology Corporation
Tom Frost, President, Endeavor Robotics
Youssef Saleh, Founder and CEO, Ava Robotics

Making Smart Robotics Smarter
Speaker: Brian Mason, West Coast Business Development Manager, Elmo Motion Control

Robotics as a Service: Lowering Barriers and Expanding Use-Cases
Speaker: Rian Whitton, Research Analyst, ABI Research

Track 4: Investment
Evolution of Investing in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (RAAI)
Speakers: Travis Briggs, CEO, ROBO Global
Jeremie Capron, Director of Research, ROBO Global

Investing In the Autonomy Economy: Opportunities for Innovators & Investors
Moderator: Fady Saad, Co-Founder and Partnerships Director, MassRobotics
Speakers: Oliver Mitchell, Founding Partner, Autonomy Ventures
Steven Taub, Managing Director, GE Ventures

Creating a National Manufacturing Ecosystem through Robotics Innovation
Speaker: Jay Douglass, COO, ARM Institute

Again, Early Bird Registration for the Robotics Summit and Showcase ends today! Register by 11:59 PM to receive a 20% discount to attend the event. We hope to see you there!