On June 5, 2025, MassRobotics was excited to co-host Robotics and AI in Development Environments, a half-day occasion in partnership with Northeastern College and sponsored by Skanska. The occasion introduced collectively a mixture of builders, robotics startups, traders, and educational leaders to debate the quickly evolving position of robotics and AI in one of many world’s largest and most advanced industries: development.
Attendees packed the auditorium for a collection of panels and displays. The occasion featured two expertise and networking breaks the place individuals might work together with the expertise first-hand. The occasion kicked off with welcome remarks by Fernando F. Suarez and Srinivas Tadigadapa from Northeastern College in addition to Tom Ryden from MassRobotics, who emphasised the pressing want for automation in development. With international development productiveness lagging and over 88% of U.S. corporations struggling to seek out expert labor, the chance for robotics innovation is not only thrilling, it’s important.
The afternoon was officiated by Professor Fernando Suarez, who performed a key position in organizing and shaping the occasion. His opening presentation provided insights and statistics that helped body the dimensions of the challenges and alternatives forward and offered important context that knowledgeable discussions all through the day.
Panel discussions all through the day tackled the essential hole between funding and adoption in development robotics. The primary panel, moderated by Danielle O’Connell of Skanska, featured Jim Barrett from Turner Development, Jonson Berman from Suffolk Applied sciences, and Jacob Ryals from Nextera Robotics. They explored the realities of deploying robotics on job websites, highlighting that collaboration, not simply innovation, is vital. “Having nice tech isn’t sufficient,” stated O’Connell. “Adoption depends upon deep collaboration between startups and development groups.”
The second panel, moderated by Marita McGinn of MassRobotics, featured Barrett Ames from BotBuilt, Felipe Polido from Reframe Programs, and Lindsey Elliott from Nexterity. These early-stage innovators shared reflections on navigating buyer discovery, incomes discipline belief, and transferring past “pilot purgatory.” Their applied sciences, spanning robotic framing, modular programs, and clever automation, all purpose to resolve real-world issues whereas integrating seamlessly with current workflows. A typical thread throughout the panel was the significance of training and communication when introducing robotics to a historically risk-averse business.
A spotlight of the occasion was the hearth chat: Securing Funding and Managing the Startup-Investor Relationship. Thanks to Mark Martin from Cybernetix Ventures and Derrick Morse from Rugged Robotics for his or her candid and beneficial dialog. As an investor in Rugged, Mark provided perception into what makes a robust founder-investor dynamic. Each emphasised the significance of getting a collaborative and open relationship, whereas additionally recognizing that even the friendliest relationships stay skilled enterprise partnerships at their core. This steadiness, they famous, is important to long-term success and alignment between innovation and market alternative.
The ultimate panel on educational analysis, Moderated by Stine Grodal from Northeastern, featured Taskin Padir from Northeastern, Daniela Mitterberger from Princeton, and Cagdas Onal from WPI. This session explored how utilized analysis in AI, autonomy, and robotics can assist bridge the hole between lab environments and reside development websites. As Taskin Padir famous, “Robotics adoption gained’t scale with out a clear analysis agenda that addresses web site variability and human-robot collaboration.”
In between panels, attendees have been in a position to see cutting-edge expertise in motion. Adam Khaw, head of autonomy at Danfoss Autonomy kicked off the demo session. Demoing Startups included: Cleo Robotics, Dusty Robotics, Nextera Robotics, Nexterity, Reframe Programs, Revolute Robotics, Teleworker AI, Tubender, and REEKON Instruments.
MassRobotics wish to thank all the panelists, startups, and attendees who made the day a hit. Particular appreciation goes to our sponsor, Skanska, whose management and assist proceed to drive significant change within the development business.
The Robotics and AI in Development occasion served not solely as a showcase of the innovation taking place right now, but additionally as a name to motion to attach technologists with builders, align startup velocity with jobsite realities, and foster deeper collaboration throughout the ecosystem.
As robotics and AI proceed to unlock new potentialities, MassRobotics stays dedicated to supporting startups and advancing the dialog — from lab to jobsite.Study extra about MassRobotics signature collection occasions right here.
