We had a blast at our fourth annual Robo Madness conference in the Boston area, and we hope you did, too. The theme this year was homecoming—the idea that robotics and artificial intelligence have started to seep into our lives and homes, and are poised to have big, transformative effects on business and society wherever you look.
The theme had a double meaning: this year’s event took place at the headquarters of iRobot, the venerable company that has pioneered robotic systems for the home and military, and whose alumni have gone on to start many other companies in the Boston area and beyond. Many of those alumni were on hand for the conference last week; I enjoyed hearing their stories of their time at the company and what they learned there. (We’re planning a separate post on takeaways from the day’s discussions.)
Huge thanks to our co-host iRobot for the spectacular venue and support. And, of course, special thanks to our speakers, attendees, and demo organizers—you all make this amazing event what it is.
Lastly, a big thank-you to Jeanne Paradiso for the pictures above. Enjoy, and see you all again next time.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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