National Robotics week is the brainchild of a consortium of U.S. academics and businesses created with the aim of not only promoting the ever increasing role of robotics in industries as diverse as healthcare, agriculture and transportation, but also to advocate for increased funding for research and development into robotic technology.
A whole host of open houses, challenges, demonstrations and workshops are taking place over the week at universities, research centers, youth robotics clubs and manufacturing companies, showcasing the robotic industry and hopefully piquing the interest of potential students to pursue the study of STEM related fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
Adept, a manufacturer of intelligent vision-guided robotics systems is hosting on open house that will feature demonstrations of the human brain controlling a robot mechanism, a Wii remote control directing the movements of a robot, as well as the first iPad interface and cloud application to control an industrial robot.
National Robotics week runs until April 18. A full rundown of events can be found at the National Robotics Week website.