In package distribution facilities around the country, such as those from Amazon that stock the products you want them to deliver to you, items can be stacked only so high until humans can’t reach what’s at the top of the stack. But what could a hummingbird reach?Hummingbird Systems has created a drone that flies through distribution facilities to automatically pick up goods and drop them into packages to be delivered to their destination. The company was one of 130 vendors showing proof of concept, highlighting their market value and educating consumers about their tech products at the third annual Pittsburgh Robotics Discovery Day on Nov. 20. These technologies have their own unique slants on how they create value for their customers.  Hummingbird’s technology means that distribution facilities and factories can stock their products higher than before, because humans don’t have to climb to reach them; the drone can handle the products that are stacked near the ceiling while humans work closer to the floor.If you attended Discovery Day, whatever vision you may have had about robotics as you entered the event would’ve likely expanded by the time you left.  The event didn’t happen in “Robotics Row” in the East End, but at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown, allowing 6,000 attendees to discover how robotics could change the world – and how Pittsburgh is again leading the way. Doing it in the convention center indicates the city’s robotics culture is starting to become mainstream.Hummingbird CEO Nick Saunders shows off the prototype. Photo by David Radin.Unlike the usual robotics events hosted in the city that are filled with investors and investor pitches, this one had a broad spectrum of attendees – consumers and students among them – who were there to discover.  They could see products in action, get explanations about what types of work robotics already does and will do in the near future, and what types of careers might be available.Many facets of roboticsAs expected from a Pittsburgh robotics event, there were plenty of business-to-business (B2B) companies whose products serve other companies. Several other drone makers were there including Near Earth Autonomy, which is creating technology that allows aircraft to take off, fly and land safely without GPS.Both Near Earth and Hummingbird Systems are still in the early stages of their product life cycle, anticipating their products will soon move from a few proof-of-concept customers to a larger number of commercial customers.Arin Technologies, which has been on the Pittsburgh scene for five years after being started by a former Ansys engineer, is already serving a number of customers. It’s a combination of IoT (internet of things) sensors (like the sensors in a smart thermostat that measure the temperature in your home) and software that improves safety in manufacturing sites.Even with the large number of B2B companies, there was still plenty of room for consumer-worthy products and schools to provide technical education.Reclamation Factory bridged the B2B and consumer focus. The two-person, woman-led company in the Lawrenceville Robotics Factory incubator, is leading the charge to use robotics to automate plastic recycling and hopes to help consumers by helping manufacturers and supply chains reduce their plastics waste.  All of these product lines are powered by artificial intelligence that uses machine smarts instead of human interaction to make decisions within the products and support the actions that they want their products to take. Plenty of local learning opportunitiesDiscovery Day made it clear by the mix of vendors how big the employment opportunities are in the region for robotics jobs — 40 of the 130 vendors were education institutions or community groups that support learning.The Career Pathways section of the hall housed 20 education institutions including the names you normally associate with robotics and technology training, such as Carnegie Mellon University, the U.S. Navy and Pittsburgh Drone Services.It also included 10 universities and community colleges from around Western Pennsylvania and nearby West Virginia, each of which showed off their programs and how they can empower the students to gain access to careers.  Notable among them was RoboticsCareers.org, a website created by Hazelwood-based ARM Institute, complete with a search engine that matches your skills and interests with tech careers around the USA.VeloAI Chief of Staff Alison Treaster shows off a POGOH bike part with Velo.AI built in. Photo by David Radin.What it means to PittsburghHaving a thriving robotics community and enough interest to attract 6,000 people to this type of event is good for Pittsburgh. It shows that products can be created and thrive here, and that people can build their careers in the companies that settle here.  Nick Saunders, CEO of Hummingbird and a native of Boston, decided to grow his company in Pittsburgh intentionally — actually moving here so he could take advantage of the thriving technology educational community. One of his goals in moving here was to start with an existing team of highly skilled engineers who already have experience working together. Pittsburgh’s tech-oriented university population made that possible.  Neuraville CEO Mohammad Nadji, also an exhibitor at Discovery Day, made a similar decision to relocate here from St Louis. Birdbrain Tech STEM education robots in action. Video by David Radin.But there are still challengesSaunders told NEXTPittsburgh that his funding came entirely from sources outside of Western Pennsylvania, a not-uncommon story.BirdBrain, founded in 2010 at Carnegie Mellon University, recently achieved a milestone that many of these budding companies seek: They were acquired in July.  The acquiring company, RW Thrive, is based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, made the acquisition because they have complementary product lines that can help them expand into the education market.  While the published statements from RW Thrive say “RW Thrive is committed to maintaining the BirdBrain Technologies brand and its core values,” it does not mention staying in Pittsburgh, and the company has already changed its website to reflect Eau Claire as its address.Even with the companies that have left town after acquisitions, there is plenty of room for regional growth of robotics and other technologies – creating regional jobs and other opportunities in the near and distant future. Discovery Day is the latest proof point.The post Pittsburgh’s robotics scene heats up at Discovery Day 2024 appeared first on NEXTpittsburgh.