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By Beth Ezar, Create Program Manager, Robotics Factory
Meaningful innovation begins with a problem. That’s why the Robotics Factory designed our Create Summits to unite robotics entrepreneurs and industry innovators to identify challenges and generate breakthrough ideas that can lead to successful automation products.
But let’s face it, many workshops feel great at the moment but fail to deliver real change. Whiteboards get erased. Sticky notes are tossed. People return to business as usual.
We’ve built something different.
The Create Summit model ensures promising robotics ideas don’t stay trapped in a room. Instead, we provide the structure, mentorship, and resources to evolve concepts into real business cases, pilot projects, and even startups.
The Create Summit starts with a clear goal: discovering and defining real-world industry problems that robotics innovation can solve.
Too often, innovation happens in a vacuum, only to realize later there’s no actual market demand. Our Create Summits flip that model. We start with pain points—what’s inefficient, dangerous, or costly—and bring those challenges to the innovators best equipped to solve them.
At our recent Industrial Automation & Robotics Summit in Pittsburgh, industry leaders from across the U.S. collaborated with Pittsburgh’s world-class roboticists. Together, they focused on three critical challenge areas:
• Workforce shortages and safety risks
• Complex operational processes
• Integration difficulties with legacy technology and systems
Participants dug deeper into these challenges to uncover high-impact opportunities for robotics and automation solutions.
Once industry problems were clearly defined, teams rolled up their sleeves and began developing early-stage ideas to solve them.
Each team created a concept and crafted a preliminary business case, addressing key points like:
• Defined industry challenge
• Target customers or users
• Unique value proposition
• Go-to-market strategy
The result? Seven compelling robotics concepts pitched at the end of the workshop, each rooted in real-world needs and shaped by technical expertise and commercial insight.
Here’s where the Robotics Factory’s real value shines.
After the whiteboards are cleared and post-it notes put away at the summit’s close, participants choose which ideas they’re excited to continue developing. But unlike most workshops, the work doesn’t end there. Behind the scenes, our team gets busy:
• Refining problem statements and solution scopes
• Introducing teams to industry collaborators
• Connecting innovators with potential customers for discovery interviews
• Supporting early prototype development and pilot testing
• Exploring funding sources and market-entry strategies
The goal? Turn whiteboard ideas into validated robotics business opportunities.
Moving from idea to action means answering key questions:
• What does success look like for this solution?
• Who is the buyer? Who is the user?
• What’s the cost of doing nothing?
• What’s the ROI for automating this task?
• What technical risks must be addressed first?
By prioritizing product-market fit early, we boost the chances of building robotics solutions that succeed beyond the lab, delivering real value in the field.
To maintain momentum, we’ve created a private online community for workshop participants organized by industry focus.
This exclusive hub offers:
• Event photos and behind-the-scenes content
• Team presentations and post-summit resources
• Keynote videos and pitch recordings
• A space to share updates, seek advice, and find collaborators
Most importantly, it keeps participants accountable and connected, fueling long-term collaboration.
We’re tracking:
• Projects advancing to pilots or prototypes
• Partnerships formed
• Lessons learned that improve future summits
Why? Because every summit is part of a larger story of what happens when robotics meets real-world industry needs, and when innovation is guided by purpose.
Our success metrics go beyond attendance or idea count. We measure true impact by:
• Number of projects advancing to pilots
• Companies entering our Accelerate or Scale Programs
• Startups formed or funded
• New jobs created in robotics sectors
• Business development deals sparked by summit connections
Already, several teams from the Industrial Automation & Robotics Summit—and previous summits—are moving toward validation, business case refinement, and real-world implementation.
With each Create Summit, we get better at connecting robotics capabilities with real industry needs.
What happens after the summit?
• A new pilot project
• A new robotics startup
• A safer industrial process
• A stronger local economy
• A smarter, more resilient robotics industry
Progress requires showing up, collaborating deeply, and staying committed to action.
If you joined us at the Industrial Automation & Robotics Summit, thank you. Your ideas, energy, and insights made an incredible impact.
If you’re moving an idea forward, we’re here to help.
If you’re stuck, we’re here to help.
If you’re curious about what comes next, reach out.
Stay tuned to our blog and community updates—we’ll be sharing stories, milestones, and next steps as ideas from this summit evolve.
The best robotics innovations are just getting started.
