VANCOUVER HARDWARE MEETUP
Thurs, March 21 2024
Welcoming Our Robotic Overlords Part III: The Industrial Arm
Hold onto your hard hats and grab a seat – this Vancouver Hardware Meetup is all about robots who are putting in the work.
We’re not just talking about LLMs taking over our menial office tasks; this event is about industrial robotics applications that are opening up new possibilities in agtech, manufacturing automation, supply chain logistics, and a whole lot more.
The machines may be getting smarter, but this panel discussion with leading robotics and artificial intelligence experts will focus on why this is a good thing, and how robotics can transform everything from traditional assembly lines to construction sites to warehouse operations.
Put your fears of a robotic coup to rest for the evening and embrace the technological revolution. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights, exchange ideas, and connect with the human minds shaping the future of industrial robotics.
EVENT DETAILS
Doors open at 5:30pm
Panel Discussion starts at 6:30pm
Networking from 8pm until close
TICKETS
Register on Eventbrite to attend.
General Admission is $30 and includes food and refreshments.
Only a few tickets will be available at the door, so we recommend registering in advance.
WATCH THE FULL DISCUSSION
OUR PANELISTS
Suzanne Gildert
Co-Founder & CTO of Sanctuary AI
Suzanne Gildert is co-founder and CTO of Sanctuary AI, a company on a mission to build Human-Like Intelligence in General Purpose Robots. Before Sanctuary, Suzanne founded Kindred, the world’s first robotics company to use reinforcement learning in a production environment. The acquisition of Kindred by Ocado in November 2020 was the third-largest exit for a robotics company in Canadian history. Prior to Kindred, Suzanne ran technical marketing at D-Wave, where she worked on porting AI algorithms to D-Wave’s quantum annealing hardware. During that time Suzanne invented and implemented MAXCAT, the world’s first game ever played against a quantum computer, worked on the world’s first supervised classifier run on a quantum computer and was the first person to control the motion of a robot using a quantum computer. Suzanne holds a Ph.D. in experimental physics from the University of Birmingham. Suzanne is a published digital artist and poet, has worked as a graphic designer, and pioneered a technique for creating art using a quantum computer. She loves mixed media art and painting, EDM music and dancing.
Peter Mankowski
VP of Computer Vision & AI at 4AG Robotics
An early Blackberry researcher, Peter Mankowski established his legacy by building the first artificial heart at Civic Hospital in Ottawa, ON. Venturing into Silicon Valley, he founded startups dedicated to innovative solutions, including a quest for a neurological implant to address drug addiction and depression. His expertise extends to building virtual farms across North America and Europe, employing AI for lettuce cultivation. Now, as a key member of the world-class team at 4ag.ai, Peter is at the forefront of deploying autonomous mushroom farms globally. With an impressive portfolio of about 190 worldwide patents, he continues to shape the landscape of cutting-edge technologies.
Eric Jackson, P.Eng.
President of Cellula Robotics
Eric Jackson is a control systems engineer with many years experience in developing autonomous and telerobotic machines, primarily for subsea applications, and founder of Cellula Robotics – a local developer of autonomous subsea robotic systems. His primary interests are in the intersection of autonomy and human factors, i.e. supervised autonomy – developing machines that do what you tell them to and keep you updated on their progress.
Soroush Karimzadeh
CEO of Novarc Technologies
Soroush has over 20 years of experience in the commercialization and product development of industrial automation, focusing on practical robotics and computer vision AI solutions. Soroush holds an MBA in Strategy and Finance from the University of British Columbia and is a professional engineer as well as a CFA charterholder. He holds a Master of Applied Science in electrical engineering from the University of British Columbia and a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Sharif University of Technology.
OUR PARTNERS
We extend our massive thanks to Manning Elliott for offering their space as the venue for this hardware meetup, and to Hawk Ridge Systems, Nordic Semiconductor and McAuley Private Wealth for their partnerships that enable us to offer bigger and better events for our community.
