SoCal Innovation

Robots have integrated themselves into a variety of niches in modern life, from labor replacement in factories to quietly vacuuming houses. Robots have also found important roles in space exploration and the military. Southern California, a region strong in engineering with a long relationship with aerospace and defense, will produce many of the innovations that further integrate robotics with daily life. The Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum held an event on Saturday, February 9th entitled "The Entrepreneurial Landscape for Developers of Robotics" as part of their monthly series. The event took a look at the growing number of fields in which robotics is taking a larger role and opportunities for entrepreneurs, drawing an audience of around 80 people. The keynote was given by Thomas Paige from the Aerospace Corporation on how robotics will shape transportation. He was followed by panelists Sven Strohbend, who has a background at Volkswagen and is currently at Mohr-Davidow Ventures, Wei-Min Shen, who has been developing self-configuring robots at USC on a NASA grant, and Moji Ghodoussi, whose company Interface Surgical Technologies built a robot used in laparoscopic surgery.