Declares Hiring of Business Government Peter Haas to Lead Initiative. Effort will give attention to Assist for Robotics R&D, Testing, Commercialization, and Workforce Growth Packages throughout Mass.
WESTBOROUGH – The Massachusetts Know-how Collaborative (MassTech) has launched a brand new initiative to spice up the robotics sector throughout the state, an effort funded by means of $5 million in funding. The brand new division, established inside the Innovation Institute at MassTech, will assist catalyze a complete statewide cluster growth effort for robotics that can give attention to growth of analysis and growth (R&D), testing, commercialization, and workforce growth all through the state.
The division might be led by the brand new director of the Division of Robotics, Peter Haas, who involves MassTech from the non-public sector, the place he was the CEO of Avendly, the restaurant robotics firm. Previous to his startup work, Haas served because the analysis director for laptop imaginative and prescient AI software program at IDC and the Affiliate Director of Brown College’s Humanity Centered Robotics Initiative. As a chief within the robotics house, he has spoken at The Economist’s World Forward Gala and DHL Robotics Days, plus was on the qualifying groups for each the AI and robotic Avatar X-PRIZE competitions.
“This new robotics division will assist Massachusetts craft an modern wave of robotics applied sciences that can solidify our world management on this discipline,” stated Financial Growth Secretary Yvonne Hao. “We’re dedicated to equipping our college students and workforce with the correct instruments to check future developments as they create autonomous merchandise that can play a pivotal position in shaping the trade’s future. Peter Haas has the data and experience wanted to make sure that we keep forward of the competitors.”
“Robotics extends past Boston and Cambridge; it’s a statewide trade in Massachusetts, with cohorts of robotics corporations clustered in Central Massachusetts and North of Boston, in addition to the marine-focused autonomy startups clustered throughout Cape Cod and the South Coast,” stated Carolyn Kirk, Government Director of the MassTech Collaborative. “Peter’s multifaceted experience in robotics, each as a technologist, college chief, and startup government, make this a significant addition to our MassTech crew. His profession expertise will make him a pure companion for our current stakeholders throughout the Massachusetts robotics ecosystem. He’s the proper individual to assist us design and launch game-changing packages that help analysis, workforce, and ecosystem growth and can assist us keep our world management in robotics and autonomy.”
The brand new Robotics Division will design packages to handle three key focus areas: • Ecosystem Growth: Packages to strengthen connections between robotics ecosystem stakeholders, in an effort to develop and additional form the state’s profile as a worldwide chief in robotics; • Know-how Commercialization: Purpose to offer startup help companies, entry to assets, and knowledgeable mentorship to early-stage robotics corporations; and • Workforce Growth: Efforts to handle trade’s want for middle-skill employees educated to work with robotic methods and broaden entry to careers in robotics, significantly for populations which have confronted underrepresentation within the tech and innovation economic system.
“The Robotics cluster in Massachusetts is main the best way amongst robotics clusters throughout the nation. It’s a powerhouse in warehouse and logistics robotics, and has a density of distinctive tutorial packages that’s unparalleled, main the US in per capita robotics patents,” stated Peter Haas, the brand new Director of the Robotics Division at MassTech. “It additionally has a variety of sectors represented that’s distinctive among the many robotics clusters, from undersea to humanoid and client to protection. If you wish to design or construct robots, few locations can match the expertise pool the exists within the Bay State. This funding offers MassTech the chance to construct on an incredible basis to make Massachusetts a famend world vacation spot for robotics innovation.”
The primary program funded underneath the brand new initiative is the brand new accelerator program launched in early November 2023 by Boston-based MassRobotics, the “world’s main world impartial robotics innovation hub.” The inaugural MassRobotics Accelerator powered by MassTech will help 10 robotics corporations by offering “programming, particular person mentorship, and immersion within the world-class robotics community” that exists throughout Massachusetts, together with the robotics and autonomy startups housed at MassRobotics’ headquarters in Boston’s Seaport. The primary accelerator cohort, which might be introduced in early 2024, will take part in a 13-week program that can present direct mentorship, entry to know-how and enterprise assets within the area, and an funding of $100,000 in non-dilutive funding to spice up their improvements. ”The funding for a robotics division inside Mass Tech Collaborative might be impactful to the rising robotics trade right here inside the Commonwealth,” stated Thomas Ryden, Government Director MassRobotics. “The division might be in a singular place to focus on the big selection of efforts and assets Massachusetts has to make it the premier place to start out and develop robotics and automation corporations.”
“I am actually excited to listen to about MassRobotics’ new non-dilutive accelerator program funded by the Massachusetts Know-how Collaborative,” stated Peter Howard, CEO of RealTime Robotics, headquartered in Boston. “Each MassRobotics and the Collaborative have extremely skilled and insightful robotics entrepreneurs, able to each selecting nice applied sciences, and nurturing nice groups. Realtime Robotics had the great fortune to land at MassRobotics shortly after each they and we fashioned. They had been incredible companions in serving to us construct our enterprise and make the proper connections. They’ve grown right into a regional, nationwide, and now internationally famend robotics incubator. The Collaborative’s funding is being put in nice palms that can guarantee nice issues come to life with it.”
The newly launched robotics initiative builds upon MassTech’s help and funding within the state’s robotics sector during the last decade-plus, together with over $28 million in awards advance the robotics sector in Massachusetts. Earlier investments embrace a multi-year dedication to MassRobotics’ Jumpstart Fellowship program, which supplies coaching alternatives for numerous highschool women to achieve a foothold within the robotics trade, in addition to bigger investments in robotics testbeds statewide.
The Innovation Institute at MassTech has made a number of main investments in robotics infrastructure and expertise growth by means of its Collaborative Analysis & Growth Matching Grant Program and Know-how and Innovation Ecosystem grant packages, together with: • A $2 million grant to Worcester Polytechnic Institute for New Autonomous Programs Lab, a testing floor for modern autonomous applied sciences which are advancing future capabilities within the automotive, transportation, healthcare, robotics, and automation and manufacturing sectors; • A $4.4 million funding in Boston College’s Robotics and Autonomous Programs Educating and Innovation Heart (RASTIC), a three-year, $8.78 million venture managed by BU in collaboration with MassRobotics and 6 trade companions; • A grant of $2 million to help the creation of BlueTech OCEAN (Open Collaborative Experimentation and Acceleration Community) at MITRE in Bedford, a two-year venture that supported the current launch of a world-class check tank for marine robotics and an information sharing collaboration; and • Over $3 million in help for a analysis middle led by Harvard and BU targeted on assistive robotics and wearable applied sciences, to spur the event of rehabilitation, diagnostic, and assistive gadgets which are extra light-weight, inexpensive, and related, instruments designed to assist folks with neuro-motor impairments.
MassTech’s new robotics division will strategically deploy funding with the intention of boosting the robotics ecosystem’s influence on the state’s tech and innovation economic system, as nicely with industries with robust regional significance, together with superior manufacturing, healthcare, local weather tech, and protection. The capacities developed by means of this initiative are supposed to spice up the state’s aggressive benefit and spur job development, to assist tackle growing competitors from areas globally.
In regards to the Innovation Institute on the Massachusetts Know-how Collaborative
The MassTech Collaborative is a quasi-public financial growth company that strengthens the competitiveness of the tech and innovation economic system by driving strategic investments, partnerships, and insights that harness the expertise of Massachusetts. The Innovation Institute is the division of MassTech that advances its core mission of innovation and cluster development throughout the Commonwealth. Created in 2003, the Innovation Institute intervenes within the economic system within the following 4 methods:
• Conducts analysis and evaluation that improves the state’s understandings of unmet wants and alternatives within the innovation economic system; • Serves as convener and key strategic dealer on the panorama; • Manages high-value tasks on behalf of the Commonwealth; and • Makes strategic investments in help of innovation-based financial growth.
For extra info, go to https://innovation.masstech.org/.