Canadian Robotics Council raises $100,000

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The Canadian Robotics Council (CRC) in December 2023 entered into a $100,000 funding partnership with Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen) — Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for Advanced Manufacturing. The CRC said this funding will play a vital role in helping it grow Canada’s robotics ecosystem and build visibility for Canadian robotics capabilities, both at home and abroad.

The CRC was launched in 2022 and formally incorporated as a non-profit in 2023. It said the funding will also be pivotal in developing its organizational structure to sustainably pursue this mission.

CRC will also join NGen’s Cluster Accelerator Network as its robotics lead. This will enable the council to form meaningful collaborations with NGen’s adjacent network clusters, including those in AI, photonics and automation, on mutually beneficial projects and events.

CRC and NGen will kick off the partnership by jointly organizing the CRC’s third annual symposium in Toronto on June 14, 2024. The symposium will bring together key representatives from industry, academia and government to discuss the state and opportunities of robotics in Canada.

“NGen’s existing network includes robotics end-users in mining, mobility, and advanced manufacturing, and connects essential but missing dots in the Canadian robotics ecosystem,” said Hallie Siegel, co-founder and co-chair of the Canadian Robotics Council and managing director of strategy and partnerships at the University of Toronto’s Robotics Institute. “Networking with NGen’s complimentary clusters will play an essential role in helping us grow the Council’s membership, ensuring that Canadian innovators do not remain siloed by industry or market, and instead work together to raise awareness of, encourage, and facilitate robotics adoption and development from coast to coast.”

“The Canadian Robotics Council has demonstrated it has a strong and united vision for growing Canada’s robotics ecosystem,” said Christy Michalak, director of advanced manufacturing development programs at NGen. “As the national voice for Canada’s robotics sector, the CRC is uniquely poised to lead NGen’s robotics cluster in a way that drives growth and innovation in Canada’s manufacturing sector.”

Ryan Gariepy is executive committee co-chair of the CRC. He is also co-founder and CTO of both Clearpath Robotics by Rockwell Automation and OTTO Motors by Rockwell Automation. Gariepy will be speaking at the Robotics Summit & Expo, which is produced by The Robot Report and takes place May 1-2 in Boston. Gariepy’s talk, “The Robots Are Here. What’s Next?,” runs on May 2 from 1:30-2:15 will examine how companies and organizations can take advantage of new robotics capabilities that can help shape their futures. Clearpath will also be showcasing its autonomous mobile robots in booth 434.

Agility Robotics, Amazon, Disney, Teradyne and Medtronic will deliver keynotes at the Robotics Summit & Expo, which will have 5,000-plus attendees from the global robotics ecosystem. There will also be 150+ exhibitors showcasing enabling technologies, products and services for commercial robotics developers.