More than 500 robotics companies and over 100 R&D labs: that is how Massachusetts describes its robotics sector, and the state used a gathering at Boston Dynamics to say so out loud.
The Innovation Institute convened the “Celebrating Robotics in MA” event, pulling together industry, academia, startups, government and ecosystem partners. Institute Director Patrick Larkin opened the program. The trend underneath is commercialization, and the state is putting money behind it.
Digital twin awards
Eric Paley, Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development, announced the first cohort of awards under the state’s Robotic Digital Twin Initiative. The program is funded through Gov. Maura Healey’s MassLeads Act and aims to speed robotics commercialization by widening access to digital twin technology across the Commonwealth. MassRobotics Executive Director Tom Ryden also spoke.
The panel
Harvard’s Conor Walsh moderated a discussion with four people: Colin Angle, CEO of Familiar Machines & Magic; Bob Boyd, COO of Luminous; Sabrina Mansur, director of the MA AI Hub; and Greg Lynn, CEO of Piaggio Fast Forward.
The event also marked the launch of the State of Robotics campaign, a new effort focused on the people, companies and institutions shaping robotics in Massachusetts. Mansur, who posted about the day, called it a “growing Physical AI and robotics ecosystem”.
