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? Today, the Robotics Mission group joins academic, government and industry experts from California to explore “The Future of Robotics and Autonomous Systems” at a roundtable discussion.

Hosted by the Qualcomm Institute at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), the panel brings together the eight companies on the mission, with a keynote from Minister of State for Universities and Science, the Rt. Hon. David Willetts, MP.

The Future of Robotics Roundtable at UCSD

The one-hour panel discussion and Q&A will begin at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time (9:30 pm BST) on Monday, June 23 in UCSD’s Calit2 Auditorium, Atkinson Hall. The event is open to the public and free of charge,and the session will be streamed live.

British and American researchers and executives who are not in San Diego this week. The webcast will subsequently be archived for on-demand viewing.

“The Qualcomm Institute is delighted to welcome the UK delegation to California, and we’re honored that our institute and UC San Diego are the first stop on a very ambitious and hectic five-day agenda,” said institute director Ramesh Rao, one of the leading faculty members involved in a robotics initiative at UC San Diego.

“California companies and investors also have a lot to learn from the early successes in Britain’s robotics industry, and it’s worth remembering that the industry in the UK and California owes much of its strength to the ideas and personnel coming out of the world-class universities in both places.”

During the panel discussion, UCSD Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Miroslav Krstic will welcome the UK delegation to the campus.

Willetts will deliver the keynote talk on UK science policy and the Conservative government’s efforts to nurture the startup environment for companies and investors in British robotics ventures – and his vision for cooperation between UK and California companies. Also on the panel:

• Ramesh Rao, Director, Qualcomm Institute and holder of the Qualcomm Endowed Chair in Information Technologies and Telecommunications in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department (moderator);

• Todd Hylton, Senior Vice President, Brain Corporation;

• Andra Keay, Managing Director, Silicon Valley Robotics, the leading networking association for robotics in Silicon Valley; and

• Rich Walker, Managing Director, Shadow Robot Company. Founded in 1987, Shadow Robot’s leading product is the Dexterous Hand, which gives robots the same capability and flexibility as the human hand with 20 degrees of freedom and over 100 sensors in a package the same size as a human hand.