George A. Bekey's research interests include autonomous robotic systems, multi-robot cooperation and human-robot interaction. He has published over 200 papers and several books in robotics, biomedical engineering, computer simulation, control systems, and human-machine systems. Following employment at Beckman Instruments and TRW Systems he joined the faculty at USC, serving as Chairman of the Electrical Engineering-Systems Department, Chairman of the Computer Science Department and Associate Dean for Research of the USC School of Engineering. Dr. Bekey is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). He is Editor in Chief of the journal Autonomous Robots, and Founding Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation. During 1996 and 1997 he served as President of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. His new book entitled "Autonomous Robots: From Biological Inspiration to Implementation and Control" was published by MIT Press in early 2005.
 

Neena Buck is Vice President of the Emerging Frontiers practice at Strategy Analytics, an industry analysis and market research firm. Emerging Frontiers examines the confluence of future-generation intelligent computing and communications systems with the needs of leading-edge businesses and consumers. Through scenario-building, continuous contact with academic and research labs and periodic focus groups with early adopter consumers, Ms. Buck assists strategic thinkers in visualizing technologies that could help transform future products, services and business models.
 

Joe Engleberger is not only viewed as the founder of the first robotics company, Unimation (and later HelpMate Robotics), but the driving force in the creation of the industrial robot industry. The Robotics Industries Association presents an award in the name of the ‘Father of Robotics’, the Joseph F. Engleberger Award, to "persons who have contributed outstandingly to the furtherance of the science and practice of robotics." Over the years Joe Engleberger has had numerous honors bestowed upon him for his work in robotics including the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ Progress Award, the Leonardo da Vinci Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Machinist Award, the McKechnie Award from the University of Liverpool, the Egleston Medal from Columbia University, and the Beckman Award, as well as the Japan Prize, Japan’s highest technology honor. Engleberger has now been awarded the 2004 IEEE Robotics and Automation Award. The award has been conferred by the IEEE, the world's largest technical professional society, “for a lifetime of achievement in establishing and advancing the field of robotics and automation worldwide.”
 

Under Ms. Greiner's leadership, iRobot Corporation is delivering robots into the industrial, consumer, academic, and military markets. Recently, she was named the Ernst and Young New England Entrepreneurs of the Year for 2003 (with iRobot co-founder Colin Angle). She has also been honored as a Technology Review Magazine "Innovator for the Next Century," invited to the World Economic Forums as a Global Leader of Tomorrow, and has been awarded the prestigious DEMO God Award at the DEMO Conference. Her 15 years of experience in robotic technology includes work at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
 

Ken Goldberg is an artist and professor of engineering at UC Berkeley. His work has been exhibited at the Walker Art Center, Ars Electronica (Linz Austria), ZKM (Karlsruhe), Venice Biennale, Pompidou Center (Paris), ICC Biennale (Tokyo), Kwangju Biennale (Seoul), Artists Space, The Kitchen, and the Whitney Biennial. He has also held visiting positions at MIT Media Lab, Art Center College of Design, and the San Francisco Art Institute. Goldberg is Founding Director of UC Berkeley's popular Art, Technology, and Culture Colloquium, now in its eighth year. Goldberg was awarded the National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award in 1994, the National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellowship in 1995, the Joseph Engelberger Robotics Award in 2000, and the IEEE Major Educational Innovation Award in 2001. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University.

Dr. Paolo Pirjanian is Chief Scientist and General Manager of the Robotics and Vision Group. Paolo was a lead engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, working on robotics technologies for space exploration. Results of his work have been featured on CNN and other media. Paolo was also a faculty member in the Computer Science department of the University of Southern California, where he teaches graduate level artificial intelligence. He holds a Ph.D. from Aalborg University in Denmark. He recently won the IEEE and Automation "Early Career Award" for the best, upcoming roboticist of 2004.
 

As Chairman and CEO, Dr. Richard Soley is responsible for the vision and direction of the Object Management Group, not-for-profit consortium that includes virtually every large company in the computer industry, and hundreds of smaller, that produces and maintains computer industry specifications for interoperable applications. . Soley joined the nascent OMG as Technical Director in 1989, leading the development of OMG's world-leading standardization process and the original CORBA® specification. In 1996, he led the effort to move into vertical market standards (starting with healthcare, finance, telecommunications and manufacturing) and modeling, leading first to the Unified Modeling Language (UML®) and later the Model Driven Architecture (MDA®).

 

Walter Weisel, Chairman & CEO of Robotic Workspace Technologies, has had a multifaceted career that spans over 29 years of direct robotic and automation industry experience. From Cincinnati Milacron, working hands-on with machine controls and computers, to working with the initial developers of the industrial robot, at Unimation, Inc., Walter Weisel's strong leadership and vision found him at the helm of Prab Robots, Inc. as COO, President and CEO; while also serving as a three term President of the Robotic Industries Association (RIA). During his tenure at Prab Robots, Inc. he took the company public with a successful public offering, and grew revenues over 700%. Mr. Weisel is a recipient of the Joseph Engelberger Award, and has also served as President of Robotics International, which represents over 12,000 members

The Robotics Program and Computer Vision Program at the National Science Foundation sponsors over 180 U.S. top researchers for their projects in robotics and computer vision. Before joining NSF, Dr. Yuh worked as Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Graduate Faculty of the Department of Information & Computer Science at the University of Hawaii (UH) in Honolulu, Hawaii for 18 years. He is also Director of the Autonomous Systems Laboratory at UH, supervising about 30 people work for his research projects in robotics, especially autonomous underwater robots. He received several prestigious awards including a Presidential Young Investigator Award from U.S. President George Bush (senior) through the National Science Foundation in 1991 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from World Automation Congress in 2004. He is listed in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in the West, and Men of Achievement.