Malta is taking part in the first European Robotics Week that will be held between November 28 and December 4 in several European countries.
Over 125 organisations in 18 European countries will organise over 340 robotics related activities, highlighting and promoting the growing importance of European robotics in a wide variety of application areas. The week’s aim is also to inspire students of all ages while building their interest in technology and innovation.
The euRobotics Week is organised by the European Robotics Technology Platform (EUROP), an industry-driven platform comprising the main stakeholders in robotics. It is supported by euRobotics Coordination Action, funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) of funding.
The organisers said a lot will happen during this week: school visits with lectures on robotics, guided tours for pupils, open labs, exhibitions, challenges and robots in action on public squares. The participating companies, universities and research centres have come up with interesting programs to bring their robots and organisations to the attention of the public educating them on how robotics impacts society, both now and in the future.
The Maltese events are being organised in collaboration with the Department of Systems and Control Engineering of the University of Malta, the Malta College for Science and Technology (MCAST), the eLearning Centre in the Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education, and two private companies, namely Holistics Ltd and IMS Ltd providers of courses in Robotics and suppliers of LEGO Education Robotics sets respectively.
“Robotics and automation are of utmost importance, since they save jobs in Europe,” insists Bernd Liepert, EUROP President, CTO KUKA AG and CEO KUKA Laboratories GmbH, on the occasion of the first European Robotics Week. “Companies that have consistently invested in automation technologies are still able to produce in Europe and remain competitive. This is a fact which also applies to the future!”
The use of robotics and automation in the production process ensures quality as no human being is as precise and fast as a robot. Furthermore, robots carry out dull, dangerous and dirty jobs that are not suited for people, thus ensuring safety and pleasant working conditions for employees.
The service robotics market has been growing impressively and the outlook is optimistic: In 2010, about 13,700 professional service robots were sold. By 2014, about 87,500 new robots will assume tasks in the areas of defence, security, facility management and medicine. Also by 2014, the IFR (International Federation Robotics) forecasts more than 14.4 million sales for the private sector, mainly in the domestic field and entertainment tasks.
www.robotics-week.eu