Countdown to WearRAcon 20

This March will be the fifth annual Wearable Robotics Association Conference (WearRAcon 20).  In what has become a tradition, the conference will be held in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona.  This year, WearRAcon 20 will happen back to back with the biannual face-to-face meeting of the ASTM Committee F48 on Exoskeletons and Exosuits.  The F48 meeting will then be followed by the ASU Southwest Robotics Symposium which will focus on three themes: Manufacturing and Robotics, Agriculture and Robotics, and Mobility and Robotics.

WearRAcon 20 continues the tradition of the WearRA conference series to provide:

• Cutting edge presentations from leaders using exoskeletons in the automobile industry
• Presentation from leaders in exosuit technology
• Medical Track presentations
• Demonstrations of exo devices including a Spotlight Demo by Hero Wear LLC
• Automotive Forum led by the Automobile Exoskeleton Group
• Logistics Forum discussing back and shoulder exoskeletons with leaders such as Mr. Terry Butler, Dr. Jason Gillette, and Mr. Matthew Marino
• Specific track on discussing insurance issues
• Discussions on new standards

As usual, the primary target demographic is roboticists, technologists, and entrepreneurs.  Having now attended for four years in a row, from experience, the event would likely be quite useful to researchers, investors, policymakers, evaluators, users, and consumers.

Combined, the WearRA conference, the ASTM F48 meeting and the ASU Southwest Robotics Symposium can make for one exciting week in Phoenix, Arizona:

March 30-April 1:

The week kicks off with the 5^th annual WearRAcon 2020 conference.  Join wearable robotics professionals and entrepreneurs from industry, medical/rehab, academia, and government at WearRAcon 20! The annual event, now in its 5th year, brings together 300 attendees from across the globe in Scottsdale, AZ: http://www.wearablerobotics.com/wearracon-20/

Keynote Speakers:

• Norm Bafunno, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing and Engineering, Toyota Motor North America
• Michael Goldfarb, Ph.D., Professor, Vanderbilt University and Creator of the Indego Exoskeleton
• Rich Mahoney, CEO and Founder, Seismic

For the full list of Keynote Speakers and Speakers please visit: http://www.wearablerobotics.com/wearracon-20/speakers/

April 1, 2020: Reception at the WearTech facility:

The reception is currently scheduled in the afternoon after the conclusion of WearRAcon 20.  “The WearTech Center, home to the WearTech Applied Research Center at Park Central in Phoenix, will foster development and conduct research to advance core areas of wearable technologies, bioelectronics medicine, neurotechnology development and wearable robotics.”  More info at: azbigmedia.com

April 1-2, 2020: ASTM Committee F48 on Exoskeletons and Exosuits

The first face-to-face meeting for the 2020 calendar year of the ASTM Committee F48 on Exoskeletons and Exosuits will be conveniently held at the same venue as WearRAcon 20.  In addition, ASTM F48 members are eligible for a discount to WearRAcon 20!  F48 is instrumental in driving the drafting and publications of exo technology standards and you can find more about the group here: https://www.astm.org/COMMITTEE/F48.htm

April 2-3, 2020: ASU Southwest Robotics Symposium

ASU Southwest Robotics Symposium will focus on manufacturing, agriculture and mobility robotics. The main goal of the symposium is to build a community by fostering collaboration and promoting close interaction between leading researchers, engineers, technology adopters, all while learning about state-of-the-art applications of robotics and autonomous systems: https://swrobotics.engineering.asu.edu/

April 2, 2020:  Drone Delivery Challenge Competition (D2C2)

ASU and ASU Research Enterprise will organize an outdoor drone delivery competition. Sponsored by ASME, student teams from Arizona and across the nation will join this full-day event and demonstrate the autonomy and intelligence of low-cost aerial transportation systems: https://www.kumarrobotics.org/

• April 3: Keynote speaker: Dr. Vijay Kumar

Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19) Updates: At this time, we do not have information on any event cancellations.

Update March 16, 2020: WearRAcon 20 is planned to convert to an online-only experience while the April ASTM F48 has been canceled.  Cybathlon 2020 has also been postponed.  

The Exoskeleton Report team hopes to meet you all at WearRAcon 20!