On October 14th, MassRobotics brought together the Massachusetts robotics community for a HUBweek grand finale. The Robot Block Party attracted thousands of attendees to celebrate all things robotic. The Hall of the Future tent on City Plaza was filled with more than two dozen companies and universities showcasing their research and the latest in robotics with demos and interactive exhibits. Here’s a terrific recap video from Ed McDonough.

At the entrance to area was the Army National Guard’s Urban Search & Rescue Robotics Challenge trailer. Attendees could navigate a unique obstacle course, driving a robot with a mission of finding and removing an object. Aptiv showcased their nuTonomy self-driving vehicle. This gave the public a chance to see one of these vehicles close up and speak with engineers and roboticists about their latest technology. Inside the Hall of the Future, attendees could register for a raffle for a ride in the Optimus Ride autonomous vehicle. Both Aptiv and Optimus Ride vehicles can be spotted on the streets of Boston in the Seaport area where they have been testing for almost two years.

In the Hall of the Future, examples of demonstrations included logistics and warehousing robots, personal home and consumer robots, drones, robotic arms and research projects.

Several FIRST competition robot teams brought former competition robots that were designed and built for past competitions. Their demonstrations were definitely a crowd-pleaser!

A group of  Northeastern students, as well as representatives from GreenSightAg and UAS Development took time to fly their drones in a designated area for attendees to see.

A big thank you to all the companies and universities who participated:
• Aptiv
• Ava Robotics
• ChartaCloud
• Cleo Robotics
• FIRST Robotics teams
o Nutrons
o Hi-Tech Hornets
o Tidal Force FRC Team 1721
• Franklin Robotics
• Google
• GreenSightAG
• Harmonic Drive
• iRobot
• Locus Robotics
• National Guard
• NextShift Robotics
• Northeastern University
• nuTonomy
• Optimus Ride
• ORI
• Pong Robotics
• Root
• Sense
• Soft Robotics
• Symbotic
• Tufts University
• UAS Development
• Waypoint Robotics