By The Robot Report Staff | February 19, 2024

BOSTON — WTWH Media, which produces The Robot Report, has announced that MassRobotics is the exclusive strategic partner of the 2024 Robotics Summit & Expo, which will be on May 1 and 2 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. In that role, MassRobotics is providing guidance and is acting as a liaison to its network of partners, sponsors, and resident startups, as well as to the global robotics community.

“MassRobotics, being the largest robotics hub, sees great value in continuing our partnership with The Robot Report,” said Tom Ryden, executive director of MassRobotics. “We look forward to bringing a unique perspective to the summit. As a significant event in the robotics field, we’re proud to participate and excited to showcase our innovations through multiple booths.”

Boston-based MassRobotics is a nonprofit robotics hub dedicated to accelerating innovation and adoption in the field of robotics. The organization provides entrepreneurs and startups with the workspace and networking they need to successfully develop, prototype, test, and commercialize the next generation of robotics and connected devices.

MassRobotics Accelerator startups to debut at the show

For the first time, the Robotics Summit & Expo will host a pavilion with the 10 participants in MassRobotics’ Accelerator Program. The 10 startups will exhibit on the show floor and will discus their journeys in a session on May 1 at 4:15 p.m. ET.

  • Apparel Robotics
  • brd BOT
  • Gopher Motion
  • Hominid X
  • Mapless AI
  • Oligo
  • Robotics 88
  • rStream
  • SIMPL Automation
  • Yard Robotics

“We’re excited to debut our first accelerator cohort at the Robotics Summit,” said Marita McGinn, director of the MassRobotics Accelerator. “This showcase is especially meaningful for us, as it represents a significant milestone in our mission of helping scale the next great robotics companies. Being able to present our cohort at an event attended by industry leaders and roboticists underscores the value and impact of our program in fostering innovation and driving advancements in the field of robotics.”

“Technical founders can often jump to product-building mode before intimately understanding their end user and customer,” she added. “During this program, our startups will each complete at least 25 customer discovery interviews, in an effort to hone in on their customer pain and needs. Our goal is to help these brilliant technical founders to bolster their business acumen through this curriculum.”

Several of MassRobotics’ resident startups will showcase their technologies in Startup Alley on the show floor. MassRobotics will also host a session and booth promoting healthcare robotics startups from its Catalyst program.

Form & Function Robotics Challenge to name winners at expo

For the second year in a row, participants in the MassRobotics Form & Function Robotics Challenge will show their prototypes on the Robotics Summit & Expo show floor. The challenge called for university teams to create a robotics project that delivers a compelling design specific to its tasks while performing a useful function.

The teams have come from around the world:

  • Cornell University
  • Harvard University
  • Kennesaw State University
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Northeastern University
  • Seoul National University/Mechanical Engineering/Biorobotics Lab
  • Stanford, University of Michigan, RPI
  • RPI
  • The Technical University of Kenya
  • Tufts University
  • University of British Columbia (Okanagan Campus)
  • University of Florida
  • University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • University of Massachusetts, Amherst
  • University of Michigan
  • University of Notre Dame
  • Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute
  • Wentworth Institute of Technology
  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute

The Form & Function Robotics Challenge also encouraged collaboration between the university teams and MassRobotics partners providing state-of-the-art hardware and software, including AMD, Analog Devices, Danfoss, Festo, Lattice, Mitsubishi Electric, Novanta, SolidWorks, and igus.

MassRobotics will announce the winners of the $10,000 grand prize and $1,000 second and third prizes at noon on Thursday, May 2, in the Engineering Theater on the Robotics Summit & Expo show floor. In addition, attendees will be able to vote for their favorite teams, and the winner will receive a $1,000 Audience Choice Award.

Click here to enlarge image. Source: MassRobotics

MassRobotics career fair to connect candidates and employers

At the 2024 Robotics Summit & Expo, MassRobotics will conduct a Robotics Engineering Career Fair on May 2 from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. ET. It is intended to provide opportunities for job seekers to connect with producers of robots, artificial intelligence, and machine learning technologies.

Past career fairs at the summit have drawn more than 600 candidates, from recent graduates to experienced engineers, computer scientists, vision specialists, mechatronics experts, AI professionals, and more. Hiring companies can enter to participate.

MassRobotics will hold a career fair at the 2024 Robotics Summit & Expo.

The Robotics Engineering Career Fair will return to the 2024 Robotics Summit & Expo. Source: MassRobotics

More about the 2024 Robotics Summit & Expo

The Robotics Summit & Expo focuses on the design, development, and scaling of commercial robots. The annual event brings together the brightest minds in robotics from around the world to share their expertise on topics ranging from enabling technologies to development tools and techniques and more.

“The Robotics Summit & Expo demonstrates the value of a world-class technical conference for those developing commercial robotics,” said Steve Crowe, executive editor for robotics at WTWH Media and chair of the Robotics Summit & Expo. “We’re thrilled to work with MassRobotics to gather technology and industry leaders building the next generation of robotics systems and services.”

Keynotes will feature the following luminaries:

  • Jonathan Hurst, co-founder and chief robot officer at Agility Robotics
  • Tye Brady, chief technologist at Amazon Robotics
  • Ujjwal Kumar, group president at Teradyne Robotics
  • Morgan Pope, research scientist, and Moritz Baecher, associate lab director for robotics, at Disney Research
  • Medtronic will demonstrate its remote robotic-assisted surgical system.

The Robotics Summit will also include conference tracks on the automated warehouse and AI in addition to development, enabling technologies, and healthcare. An Engineering Theater on the show floor will feature additional presentations on innovative systems and use cases.

More than 130 exhibitors will show their technologies on the expo show floor. The event is co-located with DeviceTalks Boston, which focuses on the development of medical devices and technologies.

On Wednesday, May 1, the Robotics Summit & Expo will host the inaugural RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards Gala to celebrate this year’s winners of the prestigious recognition. Tickets will be available for this gala.

This year’s summit will also present networking opportunities in the form of VIP and welcome receptions, an Expo Floor Tailgate, and a Mix and Mingle event, as well as a new Women in Robotics Breakfast on May 2.

Registration is now open for the 2024 Robotics Summit & Expo. An Academic Outreach Program offers discounts for attendees coming from colleges, universities, and research institutions.

For sponsorship opportunities, visit the event site or contact Colleen Sepich at csepich[at]wtwhmedia.com.

About WTWH Media

WTWH Media LLC is an award-winning media and marketing company serving engineering, executive, and investment professionals through more than 50 websites and five print publications, along with many other technical and business events. It serves industry verticals including design engineering, life sciences, renewable energy, food service, convenience retail, and clubs and resorts.

WTWH’s Robotics Group produces The Robot Report, Mobile Robot Guide, and Collaborative Robotics Trends. These online technical, business and investment news and information portals focus on robotics and intelligent systems. WTWH Media also produces leading in-person conferences including the Robotics Summit & Expo and RoboBusiness.