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On November 5, MassRobotics and the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) will bring together a world-class team of robotics researchers and industry veterans from Massachusetts to discuss these ongoing initiatives and their impact on the commercial robotics sector.

The $100+ billion-dollar global robotics sector is growing by leaps and bounds. Industrial robots are no longer the exclusive domain of large factories. A new generation of robotics systems are bringing value to industries such as agriculture, healthcare and warehousing, and becoming more prevalent in the home.

Done in partnership with RoboBusiness Direct, this session – “The Future of Robotics: Research to Commercialization” – will include a series of rapid-fire presentations and demonstrations designed to give attendees insight into a variety of areas of robotics research ranging across the robotics landscape from autonomous vehicles to autonomous surgery and everything in between.

“The overall adoption of robotics has not only accelerated in the last several years but has become a major focus of innovation in many commercial sectors,” said Tom Ryden, executive director, MassRobotics. “We are seeing research and development increase throughout Massachusetts institutions and companies. These forward-thinking leaders are showing what’s possible within robotics.”

The event is targeted at engineers, entrepreneurs, university students and industry professionals who are interested in technologies that could be commercialized in five to 10 years. Two prominent local roboticists will provide keynotes: Daniela Rus, director of the MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab, and Carl Vause, former CEO Soft Robotics, Shaping the Future of Work Through Industry 4.0, Robotics and Software.

Between keynotes there will be 10 rapid-fire technology pitches from professors and researchers at leading Massachusetts universities. The previously developed video by MassRobotics and the MassTech, showing the powerful ecosystem that exists for robotics companies in Massachusetts, will also be featured.

“Massachusetts is the place for robotics, as shown by the world-class thought leaders, experts and innovators in this session,” said Pat Larkin, director of the Innovation Institute at MassTech, a state economic development agency. “The research being driven by these leading organizations will power the future of global robotics over the coming decades.”

Rapid-fire technology pitches include:

• Holly Yanco, Distinguished University Professor, Director of the NERVE Center, University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Greg Fischer, Professor of Robotics Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Taskin Padir, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University
• David Barrett, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Olin College
• Richard Nuckols, Research Associate in Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering, Wyss Institute, Harvard John A. Paulsen School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
• Matthias Scheutz, Professor of Computer Science, Director of the Human-Robot Interaction Lab, Tufts University
• Alireza Ramezani, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University
• Sheila Russo, Assistant Professor-College of Engineering – Mechanical Engineering, Boston University
• Frank Sup, Professor, Mechatronics and Robotics Research Laboratory, UMass Amherst
• Alberto Rodriguez, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, MIT

Registration for this event is free and open to the public.

About MassRobotics

MassRobotics is the result of the collective work of a group of engineers, rocket scientists and entrepreneurs with a shared vision to create a strong, vibrant robotics and IoT ecosystem in Massachusetts. MassRobotics’ mission is to help create and scale the next generation of successful robotics and connected devices companies by providing entrepreneurs and innovative robotics/automation startups with the workspace and resources they need to develop, prototype, test and commercialize their products and solutions. See www.massrobotics.org for details.

About the Innovation Institute at the MassTech Collaborative

The MassTech Collaborative is a quasi-public economic development agency that strengthens the competitiveness of the tech and innovation economy by driving strategic investments, partnerships and insights that harness the talent of Massachusetts. The Innovation Institute is the division of MassTech that advances its core mission of innovation and cluster growth across the Commonwealth. Created in 2003, the Innovation Institute intervenes in the economy in the following four ways:

• Conducts research and analysis that improves the state’s understandings of unmet needs and opportunities in the innovation economy
• Serves as convener and key strategic broker on the landscape
• Manages high-value projects on behalf of the Commonwealth
• Makes strategic investments in support of innovation-based economic development