Pittsburgh is the Robotics Capital of the World, and as such we look to maintain and strengthen worldwide ties and to take advantage of opportunities for communication and collaboration. Among the goals of the Pittsburgh Robotics Network (PRN) is connecting our membership with global companies, organizations, and governments to enable new business relationships and industry collaborations. We’ve already conducted business trade and matching initiatives with regions such as Taiwan, Singapore, Germany, Canada and Japan.

In the fall of 2021, Pittsburgh Robotics Network Executive Director Joel Reed delivered the keynote address at the Taiwan-US Smart Manufacturing Summit, which was sponsored by Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). This event included a Signing Ceremony for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robotics Association (TAIROA) and the Pittsburgh Robotics Network which solidified links between industrial clusters in the robotics, automation, AI, and smart manufacturing sectors.

More recently the Pittsburgh Robotics Network collaborated with Enterprise Singapore and Singapore’s Robotics Automation & Implementation Committee (RAIC) to connect our region’s robotics business leaders including RE2, Thoro.ai, Voaige, Neya Systems, Carnegie Robotics, Mach9, Near Earth Autonomy, and KAARTA with a group of Singapore’s public agencies and commercial business buyers, users and investors to accelerate the adoption of autonomous solutions for their Smarter Infrastructure initiatives. Through this, we were able to introduce the Pittsburgh robotics ecosystem and some of our key players to foreign business and government leaders.

Another one of our international collaborations is underway with the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO), a Japanese government-related non-profit organization that connects businesses with the resources they need to successfully expand to Japan. Two JETRO webinars connecting the Pittsburgh robotics ecosystem with companies in Japan are happening in March. First, Pittsburgh Robotics Network member company CleanRobotics, which creates an AI and robotics-powered waste and recycling sorting device, is participating in a JETRO “CleanTech” webinar alongside Hibersense and Kloopify. This webinar will be available on-demand from March 4 - April 1, 2022.

A second webinar, this time intended to introduce Japanese companies to the Pennsylvania investment environment and the PRN’s robotics ecosystem, is scheduled to take place on March 10. These virtual engagements will be followed with an in-person visit to Pittsburgh by a delegation from Japan, which will tour the region and meet with companies and organizations in June 2022.

The PRN is currently supporting efforts to connect Pittsburgh robotics companies to companies based in Pittsburgh’s sister city of Saitama, Japan. Two Japanese companies that are interested in connecting with Pittsburgh companies are Bellnix, which focuses on wireless charging and powering solutions for robotics, and TRIONIX, a National Instruments Alliance Partner providing services in automated testing and data analysis and management. It is through business introduction and matching opportunities such as these that Pittsburgh-based Gecko Robotics, which creates robots that enable safe and efficient industrial inspections, visited Saitama City as part of BIZ SAITAMA in 2019.

As these events demonstrate, international business leaders and foreign governments are eager to meet and collaborate with members of the Pittsburgh robotics ecosystem, and the Pittsburgh Robotics Network is committed to building more bridges to the Robotics Capital of the World. If you are interested in learning more about these or other opportunities to engage with the international community, please reach out to us at info@robopgh.org.