Skolkovo is fast uniting the entire Russian robotics industry due to the synergies offered inside the ecosystem, says the foundation’s vice president and executive director of the IT Cluster, Igor Bogachev.
The Promobot contract signing at the Skolkovo Hypercube. Photo: sk.ru
Speaking at the third annual Skolkovo Robotics International Conference at the Hypercube this weekend, Bogachev noted that roughly one third of all the robotics companies in Russia are Skolkovo residents.
“Objectively speaking, we’ve managed to unite all the prominent roboticists in the country around Skolkovo,” he told sk.ru in an interview.
The Robocenter, run by one of the country’s top roboticists in Albert Efimov, falls under the auspices of the IT cluster. Its growing role within Skolkovo mirrors the rising demand for robotics across the tech industry.
“We are really pushing this area,” Bogachev said. “In the country we have found in the region of 100 professional robotics teams. From that number, 35 are already Skolkovo residents, while the others are aiming to be,” he added.
Forty firms are showcasing their innovations at the robotics exhibition. “That’s a lot,” Bogachev said. “Out of 100 existing projects in Russia, 40 are physically here – showing their actual robots rather than a simple slideshow,” he said.
Interest in the Skolkovo Robotics conference has grown exponentially since its inception in 2013, when 400 people registered to take part. In 2014 the number had doubled to 800, while this year the organizers are struggling to house more than 2,500 participants. The Skolkovo Foundation scrambled to provide extra catering and other services to cope with the deluge.
Bogachev noted this explosion of interest in the robotics scene was crucial to meeting the country’s technological needs down the line.
“Russia, from the point of view of its manufacturing robotics base, is objectively lagging behind other countries like Germany, Japan and the United States,” he said.
“But despite that fact, the human potential is huge. I never get tired of saying it: People who graduate out of college should go and work in robotics or IT, rather than Sberbank or Gazprom,” he added, referring to the country’s biggest bank and the world’s largest producer of natural gas.
“Their dream career should change. That’s exactly where events like this come in – so that people can see what potential a career in robotics has. Look how many children are here. This is really vital.”
Skolkovo VP Igor Bogachev, center right, registering with his son, Nikita. Photo: sk.ru
Bogachev’s 16-year-old son, Nikita, was among the throngs at the Hypercube.
“People of his generation are getting into robots, but not necessarily to become a roboticist. Guys of his age are changing their impressions of robotics, it’s a field that can’t fail to appeal, because it’s our future. The whole point of robotics isn’t to produce cool moving hardware. It’s creating artificial intelligence. Why do we have the Robocenter at the IT Cluster? Why did we decide to take this on? Because the future of robotics rests with artificial intelligence. This is programming, this is informational technology,” Bogachev said.
The IT industry is the third most valuable in the country, trailing only oil and gas and arms – and that’s despite the fact that the government has never needed to provide full-scale support for it.
Skolkovo helps the robotics sector grow in the same organic way, Bogachev said.
“Our task as the Robocenter, as the IT cluster, is to find strong teams, unite them, raise their flag and show people the right way to move forward,” he said.
“Ideally we should propel each startup forward right up to its first contract. The more companies that receive contracts for the commercial use of their robots, the better. For this to happen, we need some to make good robots and help others find good clients,” he said.
The three-day Skolkovo Robotics International Conference began Friday and ends Sunday.
It brings together robot developers, company CEOs and investors under one roof to discuss the latest developments in the industry, brainstorm solutions to new challenges, and help startups find the financing they need to turn take their robot from prototype to commercial product.
It has already born success: Skolkovo resident Promobot on Saturday signed a contract to supply the Moscow Technological Institute with 50 robots in deal whose value was undisclosed.
The robots, whose purpose is to provide promotional information and act as assistants at mass events such as conferences and exhibitions, will be used in a two-year series of studies looking at human-robot interactions.
Promobot will also team up with the Moscow Technological Institute to create an open programming platform that will allow any developer to modernize their business.