Robotics and AI have entered a new golden age of capability and possibility. We have perception systems that were only dreamed of a decade ago, while the cost of building useful machines continues to fall. At the same time, the world’s machines are increasingly connected and able to work in concert. These changes and others form the bedrock for an evolution in robotics, where individual systems give way to fleets of machines that are incredibly capable, especially when it comes to working with people.
Today, many machines operate in locations completely devoid of people. Going forward, however, most work will be undertaken by individuals supported by automation or accomplished by increasingly intelligent systems working in true collaboration with people. These machines will operate next to us and share space with us, and by necessity they will affect our work experiences and wellbeing. Therefore, our intention must be to make that collaborative work experience a positive one. If we take a purely functional approach to solving tasks using robotics and automation, the work experience will be negative rather than positive.
In this farsighted keynote presentation, Anthony Jules, Co-founder & CEO of Robust.AI will elucidate the significant business opportunities available for those willing to take the hard road of intentionally designing and developing systems for the positive future we all want to live in – one that enables people to work in true collaboration with machines.
Businesses and their supply chain managers are chartered with increasing the efficiency of their operations while simultaneously reducing costs. To address these conflicting mandates, companies continue to increase that level of automation in warehouse environments for the movement of materials and goods. But how effective are these measures and what come next? In this informative keynote session, Sally Miller, Chief Information Officer for DHL Supply Chain in North America, will discuss the state supply chain automation and innovation, including:
– Why robots and robotics technologies are required for supply chain operations
– What automation products and technologies are working
– What automation solutions require optimization and further development
– What is the future of logistics automation and how will success be measured
Waymo is the world’s leading developer of autonomous driving technology, with public robotaxi services up and running in Phoenix and San Francisco. In this engaging keynote, Thackston will give attendees an inside look at the major technical challenges involved with developing autonomous vehicles. She will also provide updates on recent deployments and what the future holds for autonomous vehicles.
Robotics and automation are being embraced across industries to improve day-to-day operations and solve new challenges brought on by labor shortages. As robotics solutions saturate the market to solve a variety of problems, they generate a vast amount of data. This data, both actionable and insightful, can be used to transform businesses, but it often underutilized.
In this session, SoftBank Robotics America’s president Brady Watkins will describe how the data generated by robotics solutions can best be utilized to improve businesses performance through enterprise-level change management, and ultimately digital transformation. He will show how data can be leveraged to build truer and deeper AI and facilitate digital transformation. Topics include:
– Understanding the business/marketplace needs
– Providing insightful data
– Working with businesses to build meaningful and impactful actions from the data
– Executing these actions through the solution to optimize effectiveness and efficiency
– Continuing to manage the data input, and evolve the solution to the business needs
Commercial robotic systems typically require multiple types of sensors to capture information about the physical world, which following fusion and further processing allows them to orient themselves, avoid obstacles, navigate, and provide additional information. The number, type, and quality of the onboard sensors vary depending on the price and target application for the platform. Common sensor types include 2D / 3D imaging sensors (cameras), 1D and 2D laser rangefinders, 2D and 3D sonar sensors, 3D High-Definition LiDAR, accelerometers, GPS and more. Thankfully, solution providers continue to release low-cost, increasingly powerful products, and new sensing technologies are always emerging. In this panel session, attendees will learn of the latest advances in sensing products and technologies, including use cases highlighting important trends and examples of the latest sensing trends and techniques.
While not commonplace, Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) are increasingly being utilized outside of industrial facilities. For years these robots have been behind the scenes in factories and warehouses, but increasingly, we are witnessing AMRs in airports, hotels, and even delivering our food. As these robots become more common, it is critical that their architecture be simplified, enabling lower cost platforms to perform in ever increasing dynamic environments. In this discussion, Parker Conroy, Head of Product at Verizon Robotics, will review the evolution of AMRs from standalone systems to devices that can operate on distributed computation platforms enabled by communications technologies. He will also highlight how seamless human / robot communication will result in greater levels of collaboration, increasing efficiency, productivity, and safety in the process.