Commercial robot developers to survey the state of technology at Robotics Summit & Expo 2019

There has never been a better time than now to be a developer of commercial robot hardware and software. Universities and trade schools are struggling to keep up with demand, tools and technologies are becoming cheaper and easier to use, and startups and established vendors are finding new applications across industries.

Robot sales will increase worldwide by 14% per year between 2019 and 2021, according to the International Federation of Robotics. In the U.S. alone, 2018 robot shipments increased by 15% to 28,478 units, said the Robotic Industries Association.

The teams building the next generation of commercial robots need a mix of generalists and specialists. Keeping up to date on the latest sensors, actuators, machine learning techniques, and end effectors can be a full-time job unto itself.

The Robotics Summit & Expo 2019 in Boston this June will be an opportunity for robotics developers to learn about the state of the art, hear from robotics and artificial intelligence experts, and meet with their peers. The Boston area is home to more than 150 robotics suppliers.

At last year's inaugural Robotics Summit, attendees could see innovators such as Boston Dynamics CEO Mark Raibert. Since then, his company has continued to show off its bipedal and quadruped robots online, and its SpotMini will be commercially available this year.

Highlights of the Robotics Summit & Expo 2019

There will be more in-depth sessions and panels, more exhibitors, and more educational and networking opportunities at the Robotics Summit & Expo 2019.

This year's event will include keynotes from executives and engineers from technology leaders such as NVIDIA, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Qualcomm.

The conference is organized into the following tracks:

• Technology, Tools, and Platforms -- the underlying technologies for all kinds of robots
• Design and Development -- how to build commercial robots for ease of use
• Manufacturing, production, and distribution -- how to bring robots to market
• Bonus track -- including sessions on global robotics clusters, intellectual property protection, and safety

In addition, attendees can take advantage of special events, including AWS RoboMaker Immersion Day, the Future of Mechantronics and Robotics Engineering Workshop, and the Robotics Engineering Career Fair run by MassRobotics. Academic discounts are available. The Robotics Summit & Expo is collocated with DeviceTalks Boston, which focuses on the engineering, product development and commercialization of medical devices.

The Robotics Summit & Expo will be on June 5-6, 2019, at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston.