Workshops/RSS2014

Time and Venue

 * Date: TBD
 * Venue: RSS 2014, Berkeley, California

Organizers

 * Sachin Chitta, SRI International
 * Ioan Sucan, Google
 * Torsten Kroeger, Stanford University

Abstract
This full-day workshop is intended to bring before the RSS audience speakers from industry and start-ups. In the morning session, industry experts from different domains including automation, manufacturing, automobile, aerospace, healthcare will talk about the next-generation of problems for robotics to address. They will talk about the need for new types of robots and capabilities, the research directions that academia could take and the potential for greater industry-academic collaboration. In the afternoon session, founders and other members from start-ups in Robotics will talk about their experience in creating start-ups and bringing new technology to the market, the opportunities for new companies to emerge in the field and the lessons learned. Audience participation will be encouraged through panel discussions in each of the sessions with the opportunity for the audience to interact with the panelists.

Invited Speakers (All Confirmed)

 * Boris Sofman (Anki Robotics)
 * Jim Ostrowski (Blue River Technology)
 * Erik Nieves (Yaskawa)
 * Vijay Kumar (Penn)
 * Rainer Bischoff (KUKA GmBH)
 * Phil Freeman (Boeing)
 * Matt Williamson (Rethink Robotics)
 * Murad Kurwa (Flextronics)

Program (Tentative)
The workshop will consist of a combination of invited talks and panel discussions. Panel discussions will be moderated by the organizers but will include significant audience participation through questions from the audience.

Morning Session

 * Plenary Introduction Talk by Vijay Kumar
 * Session (Talks): Robotics in Industry – New Directions
 * Erik Nieves, Yaskawa
 * Rainer Bischoff, KUKA GmBH
 * Phil Freeman, Boeing
 * Murad Kurwa, Flextronics
 * Two more speakers (TBD)
 * Panel Discussion: Robotics in Industry and Academia – New Directions, New Opportunities

Afternoon Session

 * Plenary Talk (TBD)
 * Session (Talks): Robotics Startups
 * Boris Sofman, Anki Robotics
 * Jim Ostrowski, Blue River Technology
 * Matt Williamson, Rethink Robotics
 * Three more speakers (TBD)
 * Panel Discussion: The Startup Experience – Guts to Glory