The Skolkovo International Robotics Conference promises to be bigger, longer and more compelling than ever before this year, with around 1,200 participants expected at the Hypercube for Russia’s top robotics event in March.
Registration for the three-day conference, which has already begun, is free and open to the public, while participation in the program is available to anyone who brings a robot.
The March 20-22 conference, which is the third time the event is being held, brings robot developers, company CEOs and investors together 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.
A photograph from last year's Skolkovo Robotics conference at the Hypercube. Photo: sk.ru
“We’re very excited about the prospects for this edition of the conference,” Albert Efimov, one of Russia’s leading roboticists and the chief of Skolkovo Robotics.
“Our major goal is to facilitate a meeting of talented individuals, ideas and capital in the growing and exciting field of robotics. We are going to break down walls between disciplines, mixing together industrialists, venturists, engineers, psychologists and designers. Skolkovo Robotics is not about robots. It is about how virtual world can finally enter the physical realm for the benefit of society," Efimov added.
The event differs from another big robotics event on the calendar, Robonight, insofar as the International Skolkovo Robotics Conference is a serious industry knowledge-exchange forum, while Robonight is a cultural gathering of robotics fans for an evening of film, debate and games to promote the subject among young people.
The previous two conferences attracted 700 then 800 people, respectively, and lasted one to two days. The increasing popularity of robotics in Russia resulted in organizers devoting the full three days to the conference this time around.
At least 50 projects will be on display, with lectures and roundtable themes ranging from neurotechnologies in modern robotics to roboethics and autonomous navigation systems.
The conference will feature a “Hyde Park Corner” microphone that allows any fledgling startup to pitch their products to investors, as well as a robotics exhibition, an investment section for robotics projects, and two so-called hackathons on social robotics design and human augmentation systems.
Twelve Russian speakers and four foreigners will address the conference, which also includes four plenary sessions on themes ranging from intelligent robotics to human-machine relationships.