Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Inaugural humanoid robot industry event reflects ‘tremendous amount of interest’

The Humanoid Robot Forum, the first event focused exclusively on this growing robotics category, has released its agenda with experts poised to outline the latest advancements, strategies and applications in manufacturing, logistics and daily life.

The forum is being organised by the Association for Advancing Automation, or A3, one of the world’s leading robotics and automation industries associations.

Speakers at this inaugural event, held October 7 in Memphis, Tennessee, will include Melonee Wise of Agility, Jeff Cardenas of Apptronik, Adrian Stoch of GXO, Huan Tan of UBTECH, Brendan Schulman of Boston Dynamics and Aaron Prather of ASTM International along with other visionaries from Collaborative Robotics, HaptX, NEURA Robotics, Persona AI, Reflex Robotics, Stokes Educational Services, Synapticon and WiBotics.

Assembled by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), this full spectrum of speakers demonstrates a strong commitment to supporting the development of humanoid robots and helping to educate manufacturers about current and future applications that could help them compete in a rapidly evolving industry.

Jeff Burnstein, president of A3, says: “There is a tremendous amount of interest in humanoid robots right now, but how ready is this technology for real-world applications?”

“We’ve brought these industry-leading suppliers and users together to get a realistic view of where we are right now and how fast we can expect humanoid robots to proliferate in companies and in our daily lives.”

Held immediately before the Autonomous Mobile Robots & Logistics Conference (October 8-10), the Humanoid Robot Forum will feature strategies and safety considerations in humanoid robotics assistance as well as enabling technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine vision, grasping, and motion control.

Sessions include:

  • Humanoids at Work,” Melonee Wise, chief product officer, Agility Robotics
  • From Gross to Fine: How AI is Accelerating Dexterous Skills and Versatility in Humanoid Robots,” Jeff Cardenas, co-founder and CEO, Apptronik
  • Why GXO’s Operational Incubator for Humanoids is So Beneficial – for Everyone,” Adrian Stoch, chief automation officer, GXO
  • Cognitive Robots – The Trump Card of Humanity: So That Humans Are No Longer Needed as Machines,” David Reger, CEO and founder, NEURA Robotics
  • Functional Safety in the Age of AI and Humanoid Robots,” Nikolai Ensslen, CEO, Synapticon GmbH
  • When Humanoids Need Dexterity and Touch Control,” Joe Michaels, chief revenue officer, HaptX
  • Humanoid Robotics: Revolutionizing Fulfillment & Manufacturing for the Future,” Ritesh Ragavender, founder & CEO, Reflex Robotics
  • Humanoid Robotics in Manufacturing & Industrial Maintenance,” Robert Stokes, CEO, Stokes Educational Services, LLC
  • Embodied Intelligence for Humanoid Service Robots in Industrial Domains,” Huan Tan, co-chief technology officer; honorary president, UBTECH Research Center, UBTECH
  • Red Bull for Robots: Energizing Humanoids for Continuous Runtime,” Ben Waters, CEO & founder, WiBotic Inc.
  • Hype vs. Reality: What Does the Future Hold for Humanoid Robots,” a closing panel by Aaron Prather, director, Robotics & Autonomous Systems Program, ASTM International; Brendan Schulman, VP of policy and government relations, Boston Dynamics, Inc.; Jerry Pratt, CTO, Persona AI Inc., and Jon Battles, VP technology strategy, Collaborative Robotics