Andra Keay

VP Global Robotics, AMT & Managing Director, Silicon Valley Robotics

Location
United States
Area of Expertise
Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Ethics, Governance
Type
Expert

Andra Keay is the visionary Founder and Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, leading a paramount non-profit robotics cluster driving over 600 startups, catalyzing 50% of global robotics investments. Her pioneering focus lies in bridging the gap between research and real-world commercialization, imparting insights globally. A prominent speaker, Andra delves into AI, robotics, and their ethical dimensions.Silicon Valley Robotics, a non-profit coalition, champions innovation, propelling robotics tech into reality. Anchored by 50 research labs and 600+ startups, Silicon Valley thrives as a cutting-edge robotics epicenter. Collaborating globally, it steers emerging tech, fosters connections, and welcomes visiting ventures.As the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, Andra is the force driving innovation and commercialization. A multifaceted entrepreneur, she established the global startup competition Robot Launch, Robot Garden maker space, and Women in Robotics advocacy. Her mentorship, investment, and advisory roles amplify her dedication to socially impactful robotics and AI. Spanning diverse robotics realms, Andra Keay remains a pivotal figure in propelling innovation toward a connected future.

Sessions

Ethics of Robots in Society

Big Data, Digital Inclusion, Internet of Things, Globalization, Transparency

In this session participants explore the nuances of robotics in the real world, what’s working, what’s not so good, and what can be done about it.Most issues with technology innovation only emerge once a critical mass is reached. However, by then it has become much harder to make changes. Leaders need both technology foresight and an understanding of the social and economic impacts of technologies. In this presentation and discussion, we untangle the issues of robotics technologies from the impacts of AI, computerization and online communication. While robots are embodied AI systems, they are also physically manifest in direct interaction with people and the environment.Business leaders will gain insights into areas of emerging tech policy and regulation, and gain appreciation for thoughtful human centered robot design.

How Competitions and Challenges Have Incentivized Innovation in Robotics

Science Fiction, Corporate Innovation, Design Thinking, Future Planning, Creativity

Throughout history, competitions and challenges have captured public interest, while fostering applied innovation. From Napoleon’s food supply challenges to the first commercial spaceflight, governments, companies and private individuals have all played an important role in creating challenges and accelerating change.Understanding the competition and challenge landscape in robotics provides an insight into the future of robotics, the technological roadmap and the existing bumps in the road. A well crafted challenge can accelerate global progress in robotics significantly.This session maps the robotics competition landscape and includes insights from creating robotics startup competitions, the process of judging the recent ANA Avatar XPrize, and supporting the commercialization of teams and robots from a range of DARPA and DOE challenges. Participants who will benefit from this session include professionals who need insight into the directions and readiness levels of robotics, innovation leaders looking for best practices, and all students of the history of technology in society.

Robotics 2.0 (or the State of Robotics 202x)

Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and AI, Regulation and Policy, Organizational Ethics, Social Robotics

After fifty years of factory based robots for the automotive industry, we’re now seeing an array of entirely new robotics technologies entering the world. This isn’t simply a matter of quantity, in the last decade the fundamental way that robots operate in the real world has changed. Affordable computation has enabled a revolution in machine learning and AI. When combined with affordable perception, there has been a revolution in robotics. Not only are robots far more capable, opening up many new industry applications, they are also capable of collaborative operation alongside people. This session walks through the underlying technologies and examples of new applications made possible in the last decade, finishing with a preview of the next wave of robotics innovation, soft robots, swarm robots, micro and nanorobotics.Planning for robots used to be a novelty, but now it’s a reality for everyone.

Self-Driving Cargo, Not Self-Driving Cars

Competitions And Challenges, Innovation, Corporate Innovation, Innovation, Crowdsourcing, Economics

Since the first self-driving car was licensed to drive on American roads in 2012, experts and investors have been predicting complete disruption of our transport industry. And that’s exactly what has happened, just not with consumer automobiles. Across the world, self-driving cargo is the fastest growing robotics sector, disrupting everything from logistics and manufacturing to agriculture.The underlying technologies that make self-driving cars possible can be utilized in any vehicle of any scale, indoors or outdoors, in the air, on the sea and in space. Every process in every industry needs to be reassessed to see what impact these autonomous robots will have. Self-driving cargo is the start of the real robot revolution! This session will include examples of the wide range of self-driving cargo applications, as well as incremental adoption strategies like teleoperation, which allows ‘human in the loop’ operation that is no longer bound to the same operational time or space.Professional leaders will gain insight into the new roles being created for people by this disruptive self-driving cargo technology, as well as the way that labor shortages can be addressed and other economic advantages.

Sustainable Robotics

Machine Learning, Sensors, Corporate Innovation, Medical Robotics, Social Robotics

In the 21st century society is finally counting the full costs of the industrial economy. The answer is not, however, to go backwards, but to build better technology moving forward. This presentation highlights the blueprints for the sustainable robotics industry.Robotics is often considered solely as a labor replacement. However, as a platform technology, robots can be used in many ways to improve recycling, reuse and reduce waste. But beyond that is the promise of local microfactories, regenerative mixed crop agriculture and energy efficient transportation empowering the circular economy.In this session we look at various examples of sustainable robotics that are still very unique emerging applications, we forecast industry areas that are ripe for larger deployment and map the global impact of robots in the real world.This presentation and discussion invites business leaders to identify the impact that robotics could have on their company, their competitors, their society and their environment.

Understanding Your Automation Readiness Levels

Globalization, Disruption, Autonomous Vehicles, Drones, Digital Transformation

These days many robots are being deployed in green field workplaces with no history of robotics or automation. At the same time, companies with experience in automation are now engaging with robots with completely new capabilities. Companies need a framework to assess their automation readiness level, in a similar format to the more familiar concepts of ‘capability maturity model’ and ‘technology readiness level’. The pandemic has increased the widening technology gap between Fortune 500s and the rest of the world, meaning that SMEs are in a double bind. They can not afford to remain at current technology adoption level, and they can’t afford to make a mistake in adoption strategy either.This session will include examples of successful robotics adoption case studies in a range of situations from a completely manual process through to a highly automated operation.Participants will gain understanding of the key technological differentiators of each ‘automation readiness level’, allowing them to successfully lead technology adoption strategies.

Wins from Women in Robotics (and Other Groups)

Sustainability, Renewable Energy Technology, Risk Management, Industrial Robotics, Impact

In this session participants will be challenged to develop strategies that increase diversity in real world innovation.Robotics is also a mirror to ourselves, so the robots that are built reflect a lot about our implicit biases and expectations. Human centered design involves everyone in the development and adoption of new technologies, and with a rapidly aging population in most parts of the world, we have an opportunity to dramatically change the workforce of the future.Using robotics as the playing area, participants explore some of the issues that prevent inclusion or equitable participation, and that also shape robot design. Then with examples of initiatives from groups like Women in Robotics, participants can evaluate the most impactful solutions, and create solutions relevant to their own experiences.At the end of this session, business leaders should have an appreciation for some of the ethical issues with robotics technologies, the practical challenges of improving diversity in STEM, and have expanded their own personal tool kit of productive solutions.

Andra Keay

Sessions

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Andra Keay