The Bridge to the Future
Written By: Kenzy Hesham and Demiana Iskandar
Edited by: Mariam El-Sayed
Because artificial intelligence (AI) has been the hot topic of the past year, AUC Venture Labs held an event titled “The Cutting Edge of AI and Robotics” on Wednesday, September 13. The event highlighted how robotics is thriving in the business-to-business field of commerce.
The diversity in the attendees’ gender and age ratio reflected a wide interest in the evolving field. Attendance was not limited to AUC students, and included students from various other universities.
The event buzzed with engineers and computer science enthusiasts discussing the future of AI and its impact on us.
Fady Saad was the main speaker for the event. He is the founder and general partner of Cybernetix Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in early stage robotics, AI and automation start ups.
He explained how the use of robotics has improved the sectors of healthcare, construction, advanced manufacturing and logistics and warehousing.
“Robotics has gained popularity due to the decline in the cost of technology and computing power. Another cause is the decline in the availability and performance of labor leading to an overall deterioration in the quality of labor,” said Saad.
He explained how Realtime Robotics, a software company located in Boston, has developed a software that allows multi-robot collaboration. This technology enables companies in the advanced manufacturing field to increase productivity and save time.
In the construction sector, Liftbot led to increased levels of worker safety and increased efficiency. According to Saad, the Liftbot, which was designed by a German company called Kewazo, lifts scaffolding materials and transfers them between different levels.
During the panel discussion, Saad repeatedly highlighted how AI is the future, giving various examples of thriving businesses using the technology to make their operations smoother and more efficient. He explained how Amazon, for instance, is using an army of robots in their warehouse.
Saad added that surgical robots are coming very soon.
“The younger generations of doctors love it because it’s like video games,” Saad said.
He added that younger generations are increasingly adopting these technologies, and that eventually it would be the only scenario.
In an age dominated by innovation and fast-paced change, robotics appears to be a lucrative field to enter.
“Try to learn as much as you can about artificial intelligence, mechatronics and think about the market needs. Ask yourself where are people looking for automation?” said Saad.
Many of the attendees stuck around after the talk to consult Saad on their startups and how to start their own journey.
Ayman Ismail, the associate professor Abdul Latif Jameel endowed chair of Entrepreneurship and founding director of AUC Venture Lab, was also behind the planning of the event.
“The AUC Venture Lab supports startups and emerging technologies like AI and these kinds of sessions are providing inspiration, knowledge and networking that will eventually result in leading startups,” said Ismail.
