Pleased New 12 months! – MassRobotics

2023 Recap:

A letter from our Govt Director, Tom Ryden

As we glance again on the yr 2023, it’s clear that robots have continued to make spectacular developments throughout a variety of fields.  From healthcare to manufacturing to development, robots are being utilized in ways in which have been as soon as thought not possible.  2023 can be remembered because the yr when generative AI started to rework robotics. Massive language fashions like ChatGPT will solely pace up the event of recent robots.  Leveraging LLM’s data to manage totally different robotic kind elements for quite a lot of duties, ChatGPT can generate code for robotics situations, permitting customers with out robotic programming expertise to simply retask robots for advanced robotic deployments.  Generative AI helps in creating reasonable 3D object fashions and digital environments, which is able to pace up testing of robotic techniques and can assist energy interactions between robots and people. 

Coaching of robots requires huge quantities of information and labs around the globe at the moment are collaborating to share knowledge with profound impression.  The explosive progress of AI has led to governments getting concerned within the regulation and we’re happy to assist share how robotics startups could also be impacted.  Earlier this yr MassRobotics and 4 of our startups met with 9 members of the UK Parliament for dialogue about the way forward for synthetic intelligence and the issues that they had relating to its use.

2023 has been a busy yr for MassRobotics and our resident startups.  The yr noticed a sustained downturn, with enterprise capital corporations struggling to boost funds, founders operating out of runway, and down rounds spiking.  But we continued so as to add new residents, ending the yr with simply over 80 startups that we assist in our Robotics Innovation Middle.   Our startups had some nice successes.  Just a few examples are Maglev Aero popping out of stealth on the Paris Air Present after elevating north of $10M and saying a partnership with GE Additive,  the ARM Institute funding Attire Robotics to look at manipulating material with robots for pick-and-place operations, Samantha Johnson, CEO of Tatum Robotics, making the Forbes 30 Below 30 listing and Glidance successful Pitchfire at RoboBusiness.

We’re having extra international impression, drawing startup residents from around the globe, and in search of methods to broaden the impression of robotics purposes.  This previous yr we have been happy to host Australia’s Minister for Trade and Science  and signal an MOU with the Korean Minister of Commerce, Trade and Vitality to encourage collaboration within the growth of robotics between academia and companies.

From our Signature Collection occasions to our public-facing RoboBoston, we proceed to interact with the bigger neighborhood. This yr we held our sixth annual  RoboBoston. The 2-day occasion noticed a whole lot of scholars attend our STEM day, over 1,000 job looking for candidates work together with potential employers at our profession truthful, and 1000’s having enjoyable at our Robotic Block Celebration, which was kicked off with the first-ever robotic parade and ribbon chopping.

Our Autonomous Automobiles, Drones, Autonomous Cellular Robots and Healthcare Robotics working teams have been energetic.  Pushed by business challenges and partnership assist, they continued to dive deep into expertise verticals to assist share all kinds of stakeholders’  pursuits and issues. Our Robotics Healthcare Working Group’s steering committee kicked off its third catalyst Program, our AMR Working Group was instrumental in serving to with the transition of our Launch 1.0 AMR interoperability normal to an ISO normal and our AV Working Group is beginning work in creating requirements round socially conscious autonomous mobility.  Only recently we introduced our new newest Working Group round sustainability and clear tech.

In different thrilling information we introduced the MassRobotics Accelerator, powered by Mass Tech Collaborative. The primary of its type accelerator with a $100K equity-free grant program opened for purposes in October.  We scouted the world over for the most effective robotics startups to take part in a thirteen-week mentorship and training program to be held at MassRobotics and the purposes poured in.  We’re going by means of the tough course of of choosing our first cohort for the 13 week program that begins in February 2024.

We held our first Type and Operate Robotics Problem, the place college groups or people related to universities created a robotics or automation challenge that delivers a compelling kind issue particular to its duties whereas carrying out a helpful operate.  Groups from across the globe participated within the finals held at The Robotics Summit & Expo, showcasing all the pieces from a robotic assisted leg brace from the College of Southern Denmark to group MAXimally’s extendable robotic arm from Seoul Nationwide College South Korea.  A panel of judges chosen the Tufts College Nano Lab group to win first place with their ingestible robotic tablet.  Attendees on the convention had the chance to vote for his or her favourite challenge and the “Viewers Alternative” was awarded to Sensible Gripper Tethered Unmanned Floor Automobile System from Indiana College Bloomington.  We simply opened purposes for subsequent yr’s problem.

Our STEM program group delivered on its promise of continued progress.   We had over 1,000 college students go to us this yr.  We ran two summer season academies – our in style annual Drone Academy, sponsored by Amazon Robotics, and our newly created BlueTech Robotics Academy, in partnership with MITRE.   We introduced the enlargement of our profitable Soar Begin Fellowship Program and subsequent yr we’ll offer highschool women hands-on lessons and internships in Boston and Lowell, MA.  We have been proud to focus on our accomplishments with the publication of our inaugural  STEM Impression report. 

We celebrated the achievement of two excellent feminine roboticists at our Ladies in Robotics Gala.  The pouring rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of the over 150 attendees on the Museum of Science’s Washburn Pavilion overlooking the Charles River in Boston.  It was a celebration of not simply the accomplishments of two extraordinary girls, Dr. Nancy Amato (Head of the Laptop Science Division and Abel Bliss Professor of Engineering on the College of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Dr. Alyssa Pierson (Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Boston College), nevertheless it gave us an opportunity to focus on the strides being made by girls and others on the planet of robotics.

It’s wonderful the breadth and depth that now we have achieved in 2023.  I’m not certain how our small, however rising, devoted group does all of it. I’m trying ahead to seeing all of the issues we obtain in 2024.