MassRobotics, an innovation hub and startup cluster focused on the needs of the robotics community, hosted U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and an expert panel to discuss the impact of automation on labor and the robotics industry’s contribution to productivity, competitiveness and job creation. In celebration of MassRobotics’ fifth anniversary, the event took place in person at MassRobotics on Friday, March 18th and was live-streamed for virtual attendees.
Panelists included Tom Ryden, executive director at MassRobotics; Julie Shah, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); and Ira Moskowitz, CEO of the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute. The panel was moderated by Scott Kirsner, contributing editor at The Boston Globe.
More robots joined the U.S. workforce last year than ever before. The panel talked through what this means for workers, the economic benefit resulting from improved productivity through robotics, and how we can build better jobs alongside these intelligent machines.
“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate MassRobotics’ fifth anniversary than a discussion with a group of extremely bright minds in our industry,” shared Tom Ryden, executive director at MassRobotics. “We are honored to host Secretary Marty Walsh and look forward to hearing the panel’s take on the role of automation and robotics to today’s booming job market.”
About MassRobotics
MassRobotics is the result of the collective work of a global group of engineers, rocket scientists and entrepreneurs with a shared vision to create a strong, vibrant robotics and IoT ecosystem. MassRobotics’ mission is to help create and scale the next generation of successful robotics and connected devices companies by providing entrepreneurs and innovative robotics/automation startups with the workspace and resources they need to develop, prototype, test and commercialize their products and solutions. See massrobotics.org for details.