[Slush Tokyo 2017] Addressing the challenges in robotics with "Cloud Robotics Platform"

Rapyuta Robotics took the stage at Slush Tokyo, one of the world’s largest start-up events, on March 30th 2017 at Tokyo Big Site. The theme of his presentation was “Making Robots Accessible to Anyone.”

The technology in the field of robotics is advancing daily, but when compared to its full potential, the current practical applications are somewhat limited. From the viewpoint of using robotics to solve modern social problems, we are still faced with the following issues

1. Many of the robots are large and lacks mobility, making them dangerous.
2. The real world environment is more chaotic, compared to laboratories and factories.
3. Integration of the technological enablers; including sensors, software algorithms, and the cloud; is extremely difficult.

The third issue is particularly complex. When Gajan worked on the RoboEarth research project in Europe, it took 15 researchers with PhDs, two weeks working around the clock, to prepare a 1-hour demonstration for the European Commission.

To solve this problem, Rapyuta Robotics is developing a “Cloud Robotics Platform”. By providing the necessary features for controlling and operating robots, and by abstracting out the complexity of hardware (similar to OS for computers), it enables software developers who are not experts in robotics to develop software for robots. In addition, being “connected to the cloud” means that these robots will have the ability to perform more complex algorithms, as well as the ability for multiple robots to work collaboratively and learn from each others experience. By combining these approaches, we are able to simplify the tasks of robotics developers and system integrators, and significantly reduce the development cost of a robotics solutions - “making robotics accessible to anyone”.   

In the Q&A session following the presentation, Gajan had the opportunity to interact with an active audience, and he respond to questions such as “what was the reason for starting Rapyuta Robotics?” “what are the opportunities of leveraging cloud robotics technology in various industries?” and “what would be your message for students currently studying robotics?”.

As pioneers in the field of cloud robotics technology, Rapyuta Robotics is developing this “Cloud Robotics Platform” to fulfill its core purpose - “empowering lives with connected machines”.   

Find out more by downloading the presentation material here.