Pittsburgh Headlines

LinkedIn has named Pittsburgh a top city for launching your career! The report was based on median monthly rent and median starter job salaries.

Zoom has selected Pittsburgh to house a new R&D center, citing the city’s strong talent pool.

“Today’s announcement underscores what we expect will be a remarkable partnership between Zoom and the Pittsburgh community,” said Mark Anthony Thomas, President of the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, the economic development affiliate of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. “Being selected by Zoom as one of two U.S. engineering hub expansion sites endorses the region as a top destination to recruit, attract and invest in specialized tech talent and expertise.”

PRN Member Headlines

The Pittsburgh International Airport teamed up with Carnegie Robotics to become the first US airport to deploy ultraviolet cleaning robots.

Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh have partnered to create low-cost Roboventilators, which will use robotic technologies and advanced sensors to function and are expected to cost between $500 and $750.

RE2 Robotics has received $2.5 million in funding to add autonomy to their dexterous maritime manipulation system for the U.S. Navy.

For the first time, the U.S. will launch an unmanned lunar rover and operate it on the moon thanks to a partnership between NASA and Astrobotic and Carnegie Mellon University. The target date is fall 2021.

Argo AI’s journey to leadership in autonomous vehicles was recently chronicled in Wired.

Robotics Industry Headlines

Tech workers are considering leaving Silicon Valley and other expensive areas hit hard by COVID-19 as remote work becomes the norm.

The International Federation of Robotics has published a study showing that companies that employ automation are effectively ten times more productive than those that do not.

72.8% of respondents to IDC’s 2020 Supply Chain Survey say that robotics will be important or very important to their organization in three years.

According to a recent survey by Pulse, 49% of businesses are using robotics or automation to help frontline workers both pivot to produce new products and cope with the production challenges associated with COVID-19 pandemic.

Pittsburgh Robotics Network Updates

At the end of April we held a member-exclusive webinar on Future-Proofing Your Supply Chain sponsored by Fictiv. Thank you again to our sponsor, Fictiv, and also to our panel members: Andy Sherman (Fictiv), Ilana Diamond (AlphaLab Gear & Riverfront Ventures), Mike Formica (Neya Systems), and Akash Sah (Bossa Nova) for a lively and insightful discussion!

On June 9, we will host our next member webinar “Tele-Operating a Robotics Company: Remote Hiring and Work in Pandemic Times and Beyond” sponsored by IQ Inc and Aerotek. In this webinar, you will hear from still-hiring robotics companies about their plans for recruiting, vetting, and onboarding potential new employees, as well as their plans for telework and office safety in the period ahead. In addition to the webinar recording, registrants will receive a robust package of hiring and telework resources representing the collective wisdom of the panel and participants. Email info@robopgh.org to register and for more information.