Robotics Trends’ RoboNexus Conference and Exposition is a multifaceted educational forum and exposition designed to bring together in once place, across three days, all of the key participants driving the burgeoning personal, service and mobile robotics market. RoboNexus provides four dedicated, one day conference programs spread over two days.  These conference programs are specifically tailored to serve the educational needs of multiple constituencies, with content specialized for investment and business development professionals, robot and robotic technology developers, educators and academics. In keeping with the open spirit of the event, your RoboNexus Registration allows conference delegates to attend the sessions of their choice regardless of the specific program they fall in.

The RoboNexus Conference Programs include:

• Business Development and Opportunity Program (Thursday, October 6, 2005),

• Emerging Robotics Technologies, Products and Applications Program (Thursday, October 6, 2005),

• Robotics Design, Development and Standards Program, and (Friday, October 7, 2005),

• Robotics Education and Curriculum Development Program (Friday, October 7, 2005).

Intelligent systems technology, including advanced software, sensors, microprocessors, micromechanics and microelectronics, have advanced to the point where it is now possible to develop highly functional, intelligent, mobile robotics products for use in the home, workplace, and public places to perform work formally handled by humans, or to educate and entertain. Perhaps more importantly, the enabling technology used to develop these systems has dropped dramatically in price, while increasing in functionality. When these two factors are combined with volume manufacturing practices that have evolved over the last decade, the result is the emergence of a totally new market segment that spans from high priced specialty products for the business-to-business market, to low cost consumer oriented products.

The intelligent, mobile robotics market offers ground floor opportunities, and an enormous upside potential in virtually all vertical market segments and for a variety of groups including investment and business development professionals, researchers and academics, Global 2000 organizations, robotics manufacturers, as well as OEMs, resellers and all other contributors in the intelligent, mobile robotics value chain. The Business Development and Opportunities Event is designed for management level attendees who want to learn about business development and investment opportunities in the intelligent mobile systems and emerging robotics technology markets. Representative topics covered in the RoboNexus Business Development and Opportunities Event will include:

• Opportunities in the Intelligent, Mobile Robotics Value Chain;

• Personal, Service and Mobile Robotics: Market Sizing and Opportunities Analysis;

• Business Opportunities in Educational Robotics;

• Funding Trends in the Intelligent, Mobile Robotics Market;

• Trends in Low Cost Manufacturing;

• Partnering on Robotics: Retail, OEM, and VAR Options;

• The Commercial Applications of Mobile Robotics Technology;

• Developments in Applied Research;

• PCs and Robotics: The Next Convergence Market;

• Investment Opportunities in Mobile Robotics;

• Selling the Robotics Market to Management;

• National and International Government Initiatives in Intelligent, Mobile Robotics;

• Growth and Commercialization of the Mobile Robotics Market;

• The Intelligent Robotics Market: Features, Form Factors and Functionality;

• The North American Consumer Robotics Market;

• Opportunities in Consumer and Service Robotics including:
  -  Field Robotics, Surgical and Medical Robotics,
  -  Intelligent Toys and Entertainment Robots,
  -  Military, Law Enforcement and Security,
  -  Robotic Homecare and Assistive Technology,
  -  Home Automation Market,
  -  Public Safety Robotics, and
  -  Mechatronics and Animatronics.

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Enabling robotics technologies have matured very rapidly while simultaneously dropping dramatically in cost. This has led to the emergence and dramatic growth of the personal, service and mobile robotics markets, a worldwide phenomenon that touches the consumer, education, academic, business and government markets alike. Each of these different markets, while distinct, is hardly insular. The underlying robotics technologies used in products serving one market, are the same as those serving other markets. Moreover, core robotics research and advances in robotic technology can be applied across a variety of robotic form factors and robotic functionality to serve multiple markets. These advances feed on and off of each other. With each new round of innovation, a type of technological cross pollination occurs that improves existing robotic platforms and opens up other avenues where intelligent mobile robots can be employed, creating new applications and products, effectively building new markets.

Designed for those businesses, technical and academic professionals chartered with developing, manufacturing, selling and buying intelligent, mobile robots and robotic technology, sessions in the Technology, Products and Applications Event will cover the mobile robotics and intelligent systems latest technologies and techniques that can be employed in the design and development of multiple classes of intelligent, mobile robotics products. Topics include:

• Computer Vision for Intelligent Mobile Systems;

• Developments in Applied Research;

• Advances in Autonomous Systems;

• State-Of-The-Art in Enabling Robotic Technology;

• PC Bots: Building Robots Using Common-Off-The-Shelf-Technology;

• Sensors and Sensor-Based Systems;

• Mobile Robot Architectures;

• Power Systems;

• Adding Robotics Functionality to Existing Product Lines;

• Telepresence and Teleoperation;

• Emerging Markets for Industrial Robots;

• PCs and Robotics: The Next Convergence Market;

• Robotics Suppliers and Manufacturers; and

• Understanding and Exploiting Robots and Mobile Sensor Networks.

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The design and development of robots and robotic technology requires the mastery of multiple disciplines – primarily software development, mechanical and electrical engineering. Robotics development is made even more difficult as it is limited by embedded and real-time constraints. But real-time concerns are only the beginning, especially as robots and robotic technology become more prevalent in the home, the workplace and in public places. For both the business-to-business and consumer markets, products must be usable and robust. They must be able to operate in unstructured environments, often with little outside control to guide them. The next generation of robots and robotic devices must also be integrated with other systems in their environment, and be able to communicate with other devices, as well as directly with humans. For this to occur, both de jure and de facto standards must be developed and adhered to.

Although robotics technology in the various types of commercial, consumer and military robotics systems can differ radically from each other, the areas of commonality greatly outnumber their differences. That is, enabling technologies and development techniques suitable for one particular class of products are appropriate and applicable for other types of intelligent, mobile robotics products as well. Standards, too, can be applied across a wide variety of mobile robotic and intelligent systems products. The Design, Development and Standards Event covers issues such as:

• Integration of Multiple Sensors for Intelligent Systems;

• Standards for Robotic Development and Control;

• Open Source Software and Robotics;

• Selecting Robot Kits and Development Platforms;

• Form Factors and Body Types;

• Mobile Robot Design and Applications with Embedded Systems;

• Map-Building and Exploration Strategies;

• Embedded Java/Windows CE;

• Robot Navigation and Control;

• Motion Planning and Scheduling;

• Operating Systems: Linux, Aperios, Windows;

• Real-Time Operating Systems: MTOS, VxWorks, QNX;

• BEAM Robotics;  and

• Human-Machine Interfaces, Haptics.

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Robots and robotic technologies have an intellectual and emotional appeal that transcends any other type of engineered product, and this appeal is felt no more so than with children and young adults.  Robots and robotic technologies represent a practical application of physics, computer science, engineering, and mathematics, and provide a very powerful and flexible approach to demonstrate a variety of engineering concepts.  In addition, robotics appeals to a broad range of interests and allows multiple points of access to science, mathematics, and engineering for many types of learners.  As a result, robotic technology and robots are being used by an increasing number of educators at the college level to reinforce computer science and engineering theory, and to teach basic software and mechanical engineering at the grammar school, middle school and high school levels.  But perhaps most importantly for younger students, robots and robotic technology inculcate an interest in science and increase self-esteem, as well as teach basic life skills such as problem solving, decision making, goal setting and logical thinking.

Many education professionals are predicting that robotics will soon be taught in every elementary, middle and high school, along with most colleges, as a subject unto itself or as an educational enabler for other subjects.  This presents many opportunities for those solution providers who have products and services that target the educational robotics market.

The RoboNexus Education and Instruction Event will address the outstanding issues related to the use of robotics as educational instruments and provide an overview of the full range of educationally focused robotics applications, as well as robotic platforms, projects and competitions designed specifically as educational tools:  Topics include:

• Competitions and Projects:  BotBall, FIRST, RoboCup, NASA Robotics Education Project (REP), Robotics Academy, Robocon;

• Educational Camps and Robotic Labs,

• Sony Aibo and Lego Mindstorms as Educational Tools;

• Kit and Contests;

• Teacher Training;

• Trends in Educational Robotics;

• Team Development and Project Management;

• Selecting A Research Robot;

• Adding Robotics to a School Curriculum;

• Educational Robotics Platforms;

• Open Source Software, and

• Robotics in the Classroom.