Shipping Off To The Robotics Summit & Expo
Each year, numerous roboticists travel to Boston for the Robotics Summit & Expo. Let's talk about that.
Aaron’s Thoughts On The Week
“…boundaries of awesomeness…” - Tye Brady, Amazon Robotics
Since 2018, the team at The Robot Report and their parent company, WTWH Media, have been putting on the Robotics Summit & Expo. As those in the robotics industry have called it, the Summit has become a happy middle ground between speaking conferences and full trade shows. It is always praised for a balance of keynotes, breakout sessions, demonstrations, and tradeshow. It is open to all types of robotics, from industrial to service to medical and everything in between. This year it set a record of over 4,500 attendees, which is a world of difference from 2018 when all of us fit in a large hotel conference room.
Here is a quick recap of what I saw and heard. It is in no way comprehensive; it is simply too large for one person to cover. However, I expect many others to do their own recap in the coming days. The biggest takeaway, though, is that if the Summit is not on your annual “conference/tradeshow” list, it needs to be because it is becoming a solid jewel for the industry as a whole.
The Talks
The Summit does a great job of mixing the right number of keynotes and breakout sessions; this year, it did not disappoint.
Right out of the gate, Jonathan Hurst, Co-Founder and chief Robot Officer at Agility Robotics, kicked off with a humanoid keynote that talked about how Agility and their humanoid, Digit, got to commercialization and what the next steps forward are quite literally. The advances in humanoids are happening because the technology is improving, both on the hardware and software size. AI is helping to get humanoids and other nature-based robots to that human/animal level of performance on specific tasks.
Jonathan, in my opinion, did an excellent job of both showing how amazing this technology is and what is still holding it back. It was a great balance of bright times are ahead, but we have a lot of work to do. It was refreshing, because some humanoid companies and their leadership appear to have drunk the Kool-Aid and are saying things that make everything else they say sound like they are living in an alternative universe where these real world challenges don’t exist, when they do.
Following Jonathan was Tye Brady, Chief Technologist at Amazon Robotics. This was a great transition from robot startup to the largest manufacturer of robotics in the US. Tye talked about all of the robots Amazon using now, which is now over 750,000 in total. However, the real takeaway from Tye’s talk was about the new jobs they have created in the Boston area and across their network through robotics. Over 700 new job types have been made within Amazon around their robots. That was probably the most significant thing I heard from the stage - Robots are truly creating jobs, and they are jobs at all levels of skill sets.
Amongst the breakout sessions there were some great ones. I really enjoyed the following:
“Building a Scalable Testing Program to Drive Robot Reliability” by Nathaniel Czarnecki, Lead Test Engineer at Scythe Robotics. Great discussion on how to build effective robotics testing programs that can grow without burdening the business. He shared best practices for prioritizing testing facets, identifying meaningful metrics, and rapidly iterating to improve the product. The talk included stories from Scythe's test fields and best practices for testing hardware and software in tandem. Also why Florida is a best test site for autonomous lawnmowers versus Colorado.
“ASTM Standards for Robotics and Autonomous Systems” by Adam Norton Associate Director, NERVE Center at UMass Lowell. Of course, I would highlight this one! The robotics and automated systems used in various industries lack standard specifications, which can hinder innovation and adoption. To address this gap, the ASTM F45 Committee is developing standard terminology, practices, classifications, guides, test methods, and specifications. Adam presented an overview of their recent and upcoming activities and gathered industry feedback on future standards development alignment with the needs of the community.
“The Robots Are Here. What's Next?” by Ryan Gariepy Co-Founder & CTO at Clearpath Robotics by Rockwell Automation. Robots have become highly capable and autonomous, thanks to developments in AI. As a result, new horizons are opening up in the field of robotics and automation. Ryan showed how companies can take advantage of these trends to shape their future.
Again, I hope others highlight their favorite sessions. There were so many that it was hard to go to all of them. This is just another reason to come to the Summit and bring a friend so you can both cover more.
The Expo
The Expo hall is a great mix of firms that provide components to robot manufacturers to fully produced robots. It is also home to startups and those participating in challenges like the MassRobotics Form & Function challenge.
The video above shows one of the teams that competed in the Form & Function challenge,, and they did very well. More on that to come.
Overall, the Expo was not overbearing and gave plenty of options depending on your interest. It wasn’t a monster hall where you can walk for hours and still not get to everything. So just another great part of the Summit.
The Awards
Finally, the Summit presents the RBR50 awards, which are given to the best robot applications and companies of the previous year. Instead of going through them all, here is a great recap of some of the big winners.
See You Next Year
To wrap this up, if you were at The Summit, share your stories. If you were not there, I hope to see you there next year. It is one of the most balanced robotics conferences, and even though I ask for more to attend, it will only improve. It may need more space, but as the robotics industry grows, great conferences are only set to grow. So I really hope to see you next May in Boston for the next Summit.
Robot News Of The Week
DARPA’s massive Manta Ray robotic sub hits the sea
DARPA has unveiled new images of its prototype Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (UUV) undergoing its first sea trials. The Manta Ray is a new class of UUVs that are long-range, long-duration, and capable of handling a wide variety of payloads. It can be shipped in sections in standard containers and assembled where needed without taking up space at piers or naval facilities.
The Manta Ray has a modular construction and energy-saving system that can anchor itself on the sea floor and go into hibernation mode. The tests also included the sub’s portability as Manta Ray was disassembled and packed in five standard shipping containers before being sent from Northrop Grumman's Maryland facility to California.
Resounding Support for a ‘Killer Robots’ Treaty
Human Rights Watch urges urgent international action to negotiate a treaty banning and regulating autonomous weapons systems, known as "killer robots." These systems would autonomously select and engage targets without human input, raising serious ethical, legal, and security concerns.
A recent high-level conference in Vienna highlighted widespread support for such negotiations, with representatives from 144 countries emphasizing the need for urgent action. Regional meetings and a UN General Assembly resolution further underscore the global concern. However, progress has been hindered by the consensus-based decision-making process of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), allowing a few powerful nations to block substantive outcomes. Human Rights Watch stresses the necessity of strong, global regulations to prevent the development and use of autonomous weapons systems without meaningful human control.
Moët backs robots to manage vineyards in Champagne
Japan's Yanmar Vineyard Solutions collaborated with Moët & Chandon to develop the YV01 autonomous robot - a self-driving vineyard sprayer that can operate on slopes up to 45 degrees. The robotic tractor was first tested on a Comité Champagne plot to ensure it met specifications before being released to Moët & Chandon. The YV01 performed well in trials, and Moët & Chandon confirmed their intention to operate it in "challenging" vineyard plots in Aÿ and Cramant. Yanmar and Moët & Chandon also developed a new weeder tool in 2023, which has been available for sale since January this year.
Moonwalkers robotic shoes speed walk to market at $1,400
Shift Robotics, a Carnegie Mellon spin-off, created Moonwalkers, which made it to Time magazine's Top Inventions of 2023. Moonwalkers enable you to walk at running speed with no extra exertion, allowing you to reach your destination quickly without breaking a sweat.
Robot Research In The News
Natural language boosts LLM performance in coding, planning, and robotics
MIT researchers have discovered that natural language is a great source of abstractions for language models. With this discovery, they have developed three separate frameworks that build libraries of abstractions for programming and robotics tasks. These frameworks are known as LILO, Ada, and LGA. Each system is a neurosymbolic method that blends human-like neural networks and program-like logical components to develop more feasible plans.
Northwestern University engineers have developed an AI algorithm for smart robotics that helps robots learn complex skills rapidly and reliably. The algorithm, MaxDiff RL, encourages robots to explore their surroundings randomly, which improves the quality of collected data. Simulated robots using this new algorithm outperformed other AI platforms, and they learned new tasks successfully within one attempt. The research is published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence.
Robot Workforce Story Of The Week
Elkhart’s Automation Expo highlights potential for robotics in the workplace
There's an ongoing labor shortage, and robots or cobots can help fill positions that are deemed dangerous or difficult. The Industrial Automation Expo in Elkhart brings manufacturers and vendors together to explore possibilities. The robots work faster, are safer, and can work 24/7, making them an efficient alternative to humans. Driverless forklifts are also available to move items more efficiently on the factory floor.
Robot Video Of The Week
Boston Dynamics' Spot robots continue to impress with their incredible maneuverability and precision. In a recent video, the company showcased a custom costume designed for Spot in honor of International Dance Day. The robots were trained using Choreographer, a dance-dedicated system that allows Spot owners to select from "high-level instruction" options to get their machines to move in rhythm. Choreographer is behind some of Boston Dynamics' most popular demo showcases, including those BTS dance-off and the "Uptown Funk" videos.
Upcoming Robot Events
May 6-9 Automate (Chicago, IL)
May 6-10 The Plastic Show (Orlando, FL)
May 13-17 IEEE-ICRA (Yokohama, Japan)
June 4-5 Smart Manufacturing Experience (Pittsburgh, PA)
June 24-27 International Conference on Space Robotics (Luxemborg)
July 2-4 International Workshop on Robot Motion and Control (Poznan, Poland)
July 8-12 American Control Conference (Toronto, Canada)
Aug. 6-9 International Woodworking Fair (Chicago, IL)
Sept. 9-14 IMTS (Chicago, IL)
Oct. 1-3 International Robot Safety Conference (Cincinnati, OH)
Oct. 8-10 Autonomous Mobile Robots & Logistics Conference (Memphis, TN)
Oct. 15-17 Fabtech (Orlando, FL)
Oct. 16-17 RoboBusiness (Santa Clara, CA)
Oct. 28-Nov. 1 ASTM Intl. Conference on Advanced Manufacturing (Atlanta, GA)
Nov. 22-24 Humanoids 2024 (Nancy, France)