Industrial robotics has been trending for some time, but the pandemic has dramatically increased investor interest in the field. With labor shortages still ongoing, investors see enormous growth potential for a new wave of industrial robots in untapped sectors like agtech, construction, and healthcare. At the upcoming Hardware Stage panel at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco, industry experts Claire Delaunay, Tessa Lau, and Andrea Thomaz will discuss the latest advancements in robotics systems, as well as the challenges involved in scaling and rolling out these products.
Claire Delaunay, an experienced robotics and engineering professional, is an advisory board member at Farm-ng and formerly served as vice president of engineering at Nvidia, co-founder of Otto (a self-driving tech company acquired by Uber), and led advanced robotics projects at Google Robotics. Tessa Lau, CEO and roboticist at Dusty Robotics, is revolutionizing the construction industry with the company’s robotic FieldPrinter, which automates the BIM-to-field layout process, helping eliminate errors and speed up construction schedules. Prior to Dusty Robotics, Lau was co-founder, CTO, and chief robot whisperer at Savioke (Relay) Robotics, where she automated hotel delivery and orchestrated the global distribution and management of consumer-facing robots. Lau was also an early member of Willow Garage, a research lab and technology incubator known as one of the most influential forces in modern robotics.
Andrea Thomaz, CEO and co-founder of Diligent Robotics, is a renowned social robotics expert, recognized by the National Academy of Science as a Kavli Fellow, the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Tech, on MIT Technology Review’s Next Generation of 35 Innovators Under 35 list, and by Popular Science’s Brilliant 10 list. Thomaz is also a featured keynote speaker on social robotics at TEDx and was named one of the Most Powerful Texans of 2018 by Texas Monthly.
These leading roboticists will share their expertise during the panel discussion, addressing the challenges and advancements in agtech, construction, and healthcare. Building robust robotics systems can be notoriously difficult, especially at scale, and they will discuss how the pandemic, supply chain issues, and ongoing labor shortages have impacted their strategies for growing their companies and securing funding.
As industrial robotics continues to grow, these experts are at the forefront of shaping the future of automation. The Hardware Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 provides a platform for them to share their insights with a broader audience and explore new ways to overcome the challenges in their respective industries.
