The Second International Skolkovo Robotics Conference was held in Skolkovo.
For two days in a row, March 1 and 2, the Skolkovo Hypercube hosted lectures and practical classes by the leading robotics experts from around the world, in addition to an exposition and pitch sessions of robotics projects.
android models, presented at Skolkovo Robotics-2014
Russian Federation Deputy Minister of Communications and Mass Media Mark Shmulevich named robotics as being on his Ministry’s list of technological areas that are to be awarded maximum attention and support on the part of the government. “Despite all fairly expected difficulties, I find that the pace at which robots are entering the global economy and industry, and will obviously soon enter the social sector, is truly staggering. I remember far too well the times when introducing robots into the industry was seen as a purely futuristic speculation. Today it is a fact of life in so many sectors. And it took some 20 years only to see these changes take place. Robots are here now. And no one can really argue that scientific and technological progress is a reality”, Mark Shmulevich said. “Government organisations and think tanks estimate a robotics market of some 150-200 billion dollars for the next 10 years. Dozens of jobs that are currently done by humans will be performed by robots in that foreseeable future,” he added.
“Our Skolkovo platform is becoming a truly “get-together” ground, in the best sense of this word, as it serves to give you an opportunity to meet, communicate and help to solve each other’s problems and achieve common objectives,” — Viktor Vekselberg told the guests gathering in the Hypercube. — “We are here to help you. Our task is to help you achieve your objectives, to translate the concepts that are taking shape in your heads into products that will improve the lives of all of us”. Viktor Vekselberg reiterated that for him artificial intellect has always been one of the pillars in robotics. “When working to create the future, to create the intellect of the future, the responsibility that falls onto your shoulders is enormous, for you are holding the future of our world in your hands. And still I encourage you to keep moving ahead and wish you the best of luck on your way,” he said.
In his comment on the Skolkovo Robotics results offered to Sk.ru, the Skolkovo Foundation’s IT cluster project director and main robotics expert (or "chief robot technician of Skolkovo", as he jokengly calls himself) Albert Yefimov said that the conference served to reaffirm the need of the robotics community representatives for support,
Albert Efimov, project director of IT cluster and "chief robot technician"
current awareness and communication. “We can already see what can be done and what can be improved on our side. But the main thing is that it is quite clear by now that the need for today’s discussion of the items, for finding answers to the most burning questions and for giving people an opportunity to present their own work is indeed current. And in our work this is the best achievement we could wish for. The first day of Skolkovo Robotics saw a great many people come, showing just how many people care for what we are doing here”.
Experts taking part in the conference are unanimous about robotics having a big and brilliant future. Major IT companies, albeit to a different extent, nevertheless all have to consider development along these lines, said Albert Yefimov. Still, he acknowledges that there is still room for improvement: “We nevertheless continue our search for interesting partners whose participation would enable us to conduct proper robotics tests. We moreover need teams that would be capable of undergoing such tests. Whether we will be able to find the former and/or the latter over the coming year is very much open to question. What I can see so far are teams that could potentially take the lead but are so far only braving their first steps on that way or else are in the middle of it. And the client, partner and co-organiser of such tests could come be either major Russian IT companies or the government itself”. Yefimov claims that the expectations of the Skolkovo Robotics 2014 organisers have been reasonably justified, with a myriad of plans for the future based on the needs and plans of Russia’s robotics community voiced in the past two days having already been outlined.