Will ‘Rubi the Robot’ Be the Ultimate Teacher’s Aide?

Date: 
Wed, 09/02/2009

What will be the role of robotics in the workplace? How can startups in robotics become mass-market success stories? And what will the robotics industry look like in five, or even 50 years? Those are some of the topics up for discussion June 23 when academic, government and industry participants from the UK and California explore “The Future of Robotics and Autonomous Systems” on the University of California, San Diego campus.

Hosted by the Qualcomm Institute, the panel is part of a week-long visit to California by the United Kingdom’s Minister of State for Universities and Science, the Rt. Hon. David Willetts, MP. Willetts is leading a “digital trade mission” to California with a group of seven high-flying British robotics companies, most of them relatively recent startups or small-to medium-sized enterprises. All are eager to explore the status of the robotics industry in the United States, and areas of potential collaboration between the industry and university researchers…

The UK delegates will tour the Qualcomm Institute’s Machine Perception Lab – best known for its educational and humanoid robots…