Panels and Breakout Sessions

Main Stage Programming

9:15 AM - 9:30 AM

Welcome Remarks

Pittsburgh Robotics Network welcomes thousands of attendees to the 4th annual Robotics & AI Discovery Day event.

9:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Humans & Robots: Colleagues of the Future

The nature of work is changing. AI and robotics are helping humans complete tasks faster. Meet the companies behind the innovative technologies shaping the future of work.

• Featuring:
• Brady Sheehan, Senior Robotics Engineer at Neya
• Bernardine Dias, Product Team at Stack AV
• Chris Dunkers, Head of Software at Thoro.ai
• Moderated by Barry Rabkin, Director of Marketing at Moderator: Near Earth Autonomy

10:05 AM - 10:35 AM

What’s Next in Tech Jobs: AI, Robotics, and the Talent to Power Innovation

Today's job market can be challenging to navigate. Hear from top recruiters on what their companies are looking for in a future employee.

• Featuring:
• Kelsey Schultz, Senior Technical Recruiter at Agility
• Nick Kirsch, Director, Software Engineering at Omnicell
• Josh Kistler, Hardware Recruiting Lead at Aurora
• Moderated by Jenny Sharpe, Director of Workforce Development at Pittsburgh Robotics Network

10:40 AM - 11:10 AM

Powering Progress: The Business of Supporting Robotics and AI

Behind every successful robotics and AI company is a network of suppliers, consultants, and service providers that bring the innovative technology to life. Meet the companies bringing your favorite robots to life.

• Featuring:
• Matt Beale, President at Deadalus
• Brian Beyer, President and CEO at Hellbender
• Chris Matthieu, VP, Developer Ecosystem at Realsense
• Moderated by Sahil Potnis, VP, Product & Partnerships at Digital Divide Data

11:15 AM - 11:45 AM

Introducing the Deep Tech Institute: Leadership Training in the Robotics Capital of the World

As the robotics sector progresses beyond commercialization and headcounts continue to grow, how do the roles and responsibilities of our technical talent change and grow with our companies?

• Featuring:
• Dr. David Galati, Chief Technology Officer at Titan Robotics
• Ben Schmidt, Founder & CEO at Loopbot AI
• Deepak Jayaraj, VP of Hardware Engineering and Manufacturing at Four Growers‍
• Moderated by Ryan Haggerty, Director of Instruction at Pittsburgh Robotics Network and Deep Tech Institute

11:45 AM - 12:00 PM

SKA Robotics Drone Demo: Real-time Infrastructure Rust Detection

Livestream video of a live drone scanning local bridges and infrastructure near the river.

• Spencer Krauss,  Founder, President, and CEO of SKA Robotics

12:00 PM - 12:50 PM

This Is What a Robotics Ecosystem Looks Like - New Economy Collaborative Annual Review

Pittsburgh’s robotics cluster didn’t happen by accident — it’s the result of decades of collaboration between researchers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, and educators. The New Economy Collaborative is building on that foundation, connecting workforce programs, startup accelerators, and established companies to drive what might be the country’s most complete robotics ecosystem. This conversation brings together voices from every part of that system — from hardware innovators and automation adopters to a student building her own path into the field — to show how coordinated investment can turn research into regional advantage.

Featuring:

• Kirby Witte, Vice President of Engineering at Estat Actuation
  
  • Kirby Witte is the Vice President of Engineering at Estat Actuation. The company began their journey at a CMU lab building robots to assist humans who have trouble with movement. Their business model scaled after entering the Robotics Factory’s inaugural Scale program in 2024 where they now create hardware products, such as electroadhesive clutches and brakes, that assist customers producing robots to make them 10 times lighter, 10 times more compact, and 1,000 times more efficient than conventional hardware.‍
• ‍Reeg Allen, Founder & CEO of Journey Robotics
  
  • Reeg Allen is the founder and CEO of Journey Robotics, which develops innovative baggage handling solutions to help airports improve worker safety, address labor shortages, and improve the overall passenger experience. Allen’s expertise and knowledge of the aviation industry is solving complex aviation challenges using robotics, and Journey Robotics is at the forefront of developing innovative solutions for airports across the globe.
• Nick Mancini Hartner, Owner of Mancini’s Bread Co.
  
  • Nick Mancini Hartner is one of the owners of Mancini’s Bread Co., located in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. Mancini’s is known for its best-selling pepperoni rolls, hoagie sticks, and other familiar products, cranking out some 10,000 loaves a day. The bread company received technical assistance through the Digital Bridge program at Catalyst Connection, which is funded by the U.S Department of Commerce.
• Katie Lynn, Student at Westmoreland County Community College
  
  • Katie Lynn is a full-time student at Westmoreland County Community College studying in the Robotics AAS program. When she was 18 years old, Lynn was the first female machinist hired at Composidie, Inc. and has worked there for the last seven years. In her free time, Lynn is also a volunteer firefighter and a horse trainer.

• Paul Grech, CEO and Founder of OctaPulse
  
  • Paul Grech is the Co-founder and CEO of OctaPulse, a robotics startup advancing sustainable aquaculture. OctaPulse is raising a pre-seed round in the next 6 months and will pitch as one of ten collegiate finalists at the 2025 Ocean Exchange Event in Fort Lauderdale, spotlighting SWPA innovation on a global stage for emerging Blue Economy technologies.
• Moderated by Chris Wink, Cofounder and CEO at Technical.ly

12:55 PM - 1:25 PM

Innovation Works 2025 Cohort Pitches

1:30 PM - 1:55 PM

Alumni in Motion: Founder Updates from the Robotics Factory

Hear updates and success stories from founders in Innovation Works’ Robotics Factory startup accelerator program.

• Kevin Dowling, Managing Director of the Robotics Factory at Innovation Works

2:00 PM - 2:45 PM

The Future of Robotics & AI Investment – Where Capital Meets Innovation

Investors and innovators discuss where capital is flowing and how to position robotics and AI companies for growth

• Featuring:
• Mark Martin, GP at Cybernetix Ventures
• Lisa Chai, GP at Interwoven Ventures
• Sohail Khalid, Cofounder & MP at Lightscape Partners
• Moderated by Jenn Apicella, Executive Director at Pittsburgh Robotics Network

3:00 PM - 3:45 PM

How AI is Advancing Business in Downtown Pittsburgh

A conversation with executive leaders on how AI-driven technologies are transforming downtown businesses and attracting new opportunities.

• Featuring:
• Brad Budde, Chief Digital Officer at PPG
• Richard Clarke, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Highmark Health
• Christopher Martin, Senior Director, Responsible AI at BNY
• Moderated by Shannon Baker-Meyer, President at Gatesman

3:45 PM- 4:00 PM

FIRST Robotics Awards

Celebrate the accomplishments of the region’s brightest young roboticists. 

• Featuring:
• Jeff Beckstead, President / Mentor at Mars Robotics Association
• Peter Seiff, CEO at Aethon

Invite Only Breakout Sessions

8:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Collaborative Robotics Leadership Roundtable

A peer-driven discussion bringing together leaders from across the robotics ecosystem to talk about emerging safety requirements, new technologies, and human-centric approaches to robotics.

• Hosted by Johnson Electric and ESTAT Actuation
• ‍Location: Shared via email to attendees.

9:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Investor <> Startup Matchmaking

Private 1:1 Introduction Meetings

• Location: Shared via email to attendees.

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Charting the Future: Robotics, AI, and Economic Growth in Allegheny County

Co-hosted by Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato and the Pittsburgh Robotics Network, this public-private roundtable will convene business, government, and innovation leaders to align on strategies that strengthen the Robotics, AI, and Deep Tech ecosystem, accelerating commercialization, business expansion, and job creation across the region.

• Location: Shared via email to attendees.

11:30 AM - 2:30 PM

NVIDA Workshop:  Unlock Scalable 3D Spatial Intelligence with 𝑓VDB

Learn how to reconstruct an outdoor scene to test robots using the NVIDIA NuRec API, fVDB framework and Isaac Sim. This lab will walk through core reconstruction and rendering technologies, with a step-by-step workflow for simulating an entire outdoor environment for testing any robot. Attendees will learn how to position images using structure from motion, train 3D Gaussian Splats, extract a mesh, and convert to USD for simulation in Isaac Sim.

• Presented by Rivers Agile
• Location: Shared via email to attendees.

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Robotics & AI Talent Acquisition and Retention Workshop

Join industry leaders, educators, and workforce professionals for a peer discussion on aligning education with workforce needs and exploring new strategies to close the region’s robotics and AI talent gaps.

• Location: Shared via email to attendees.