![]() Lopota suggested that the need for standardization is especially acute in extreme environments like space, for example, where robotic systems must be able to interface with a variety of equipment built by different organizations without failure. Lopota speculated that a real breakthrough to mass markets will indeed occur, but only when we see robotic products that are simultaneously inexpensive and reliable – something that will happen as component parts become less expensive and more standardized. Noting that “advanced robotics is clearly everywhere”, Manyika said that what is particularly striking about the development of robotics these days is the fact that we are starting to innovate on how these systems learn and work, and how humans will interface with these.Ĭiting the latest IFR statistics, Alexander Lopota (Director and Chief Designer at the Russian State Scientific Center for Robotics and Technical Cybernetics) offered a sobering reminder, however, that robotics still remains largely the domain of industry: consumer markets may be getting lots of interest in terms of investment opportunity, but industrial and defense applications are still the driving force in terms of expenditures. In this session, Manyika identified five robotics-related areas of innovation (the Internet of Things, automation of knowledge work, advanced robotics, autonomous and near-autonomous vehicles and 3D printing) as part of McKinsey’s disruptive dozen technologies that are showing critical cost/performance breakthroughs that will enable them to touch major sectors of the global economy. Take, for example, the Day One plenary session Proven State Leadership Strategies in a Hyper-Connected World with Prime Ministers Dmitry Medvedev (Russia), Jean-Marc Ayrault (France) and Jyrki Katainen (Finland), Director of McKinsey Global Institute James Manyika and moderated by MIT Technology Review Editor-in-Chief Jason Pontin. ![]() Robotics played no small part in the Forum’s technical program, which was designed in partnership with MIT Technology Review. This was a major strategic event that had Russia looking both inward and outward, and seemed to be as much about placing Russia on the global innovation map in the eyes of potential investors and partners as it was about bringing recognized innovation experts into Russia so that policy-makers could learn from their experience. The event, which was co-organized by leading Russian government development agencies, was centered around the theme of “Disruption and Innovation: Game Changers Powering the Global Market” and brought together global players in government, industry and research to exchange ideas on innovation leadership and education, and to discuss global innovation trends in key areas such as biomedicine and medical technologies, nanotech, smart tech, advanced manufacturing and – not surprisingly – robotics. The brainchild of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the Forum – now in its second year – was conceived as a launch point for stimulating Russia’s innovation prospects and furthering international investment in a country that has often been the home of scientific breakthrough and discovery, but which has regularly struggled to benefit from these economically. I was invited last month to moderate a panel discussion on the “Robotics Renaissance” at the 2013 Open Innovations Forum in Moscow. ![]()
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