Robohub.org
 

Turning robots into products, with Erin Rapacki

by
17 January 2012



share this:

adeptFor up to date information about the business of robotics you can’t go past the Robots Podcast from EPFL Switzerland. Every 2 weeks, Robots will take you for a ride through the world’s research labs, robotics companies and their latest innovations.

In Robots Podcast episode #93, Sabine interviews Erin Rapacki, who previously worked at DEKAiRobot, and Anybots, and is currently Product Marketing Manager for Mobile Robots at Adept Technology. In the interview, she argues that robotics research should be more driven by real-world problems in need of marketable solutions, and that they should take advantage of available platforms, such as those available from Adept, rather than continually reinventing the mobility aspect of their projects. She also discusses the prospects for cloud robotics and states that many of the missing pieces roboticists have been waiting on have arrived, mentioning faster processors, tablet computers, and the Kinect. Ms. Rapacki recently authored a guest post on the IEEE Spectrum Automaton blog, titled “Dear Reader, I Have News for You: Robots Are Boring” in which she states:

What we need from robotics companies and roboticists everywhere are more boring robots: Robots that would be most appreciated when they complete a task in a manner that is smooth and economical; robots that investors and companies can trust building business models around.

As you might surmise from this snippet, “boring”, as she uses it in that post, means approximately the same thing as the FDA’s “safe and effective”. And while it might sound like doublespeak, in most circumstances boring is good.
Read On or Tune In



tags: , , ,


Andra Keay is the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, founder of Women in Robotics and is a mentor, investor and advisor to startups, accelerators and think tanks, with a strong interest in commercializing socially positive robotics and AI.
Andra Keay is the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, founder of Women in Robotics and is a mentor, investor and advisor to startups, accelerators and think tanks, with a strong interest in commercializing socially positive robotics and AI.





Related posts :



Ranking the best humanoid robots of 2023

Is Rosie the Robot Maid from the Jetsons here yet? As more and more companies announce their work towards the affordable humanoid robot, I wanted to create a reference chart.
03 June 2023, by

Robot Talk Episode 51 – James Kell

In this week's episode of the Robot Talk podcast, host Claire Asher chatted to James Kell from Jacobs Engineering UK all about civil infrastructure, nuclear robotics and jet engine inspection.
02 June 2023, by

Automate 2023 recap and the receding horizon problem

“Thirty million developers” are the answer to driving billion-dollar robot startups, exclaimed Eliot Horowitz of Viam last week at Automate.
01 June 2023, by

We are pleased to announce our 3rd Reddit Robotics Showcase!

The 2021 and 2022 events showcased a multitude of fantastic projects from the r/Robotics Reddit community, as well as academia and industry. This year’s event features many wonderful robots including...
30 May 2023, by

European Robotics Forum 2023 was a success!

One of the highlights of the conference for us was our workshop "Supporting SMEs in Bringing Robotics Solutions to Market", where experts gave insights on how DIHs can create a greater impact for SMEs and facilitate a broad uptake and integration of robotics technologies in the industry.
28 May 2023, by

Helping robots handle fluids

Researchers create a new simulation tool for robots to manipulate complex fluids in a step toward helping them more effortlessly assist with daily tasks.
27 May 2023, by





©2021 - ROBOTS Association


 












©2021 - ROBOTS Association