Robotics Session

Herzlia Conference, June 9^th, 2015

It was a first at the Herzlia Conference: an entire session was dedicated to robotics, within the innovation track which took place on the third day of the conference. Mr. Haim Rousso, chairman of the committee for industry-academia relations at the Israel National Council for Research and Development, presented the Israeli Robotics Initiative. A senior panel of speakers participated in this session: Minister of Science Danny Danon opened the session with words of support for the field of robotics in industry and education. Chiarman of the Israel National Council for Research and Development, Prof. Yitzchak Ben Israel, noted that robotics should be the very next state supported field to be developed, similarly to the support given to aerospace and cyber. VP of GE Software Mr. Harel Kodesh, described the center for artificial intelligence which GE plans to establish in Israel. Former chairman of Iscar, Mr. Eitan Werthheimer, highlighted the contribution of robotics and automation to the success of Iscar in the global market. The main consideration in favor of robotic integration was preservation of quality. Director General of the National Insurance Institute, Prof. Shlomo Mor Yosef, presented a vision of a digital world which will assist the elderly to live in their natural environments. With a large budget from the Ministry of Defense’s budget, there is a hope that the National Insurance Institute will join the Israeli robotics initiative. Prof. Moshe Shoham, head of the robotics lab at the Technion, introduced the field of medical robotics. Dr. Amir Ziv Av spoke of the importance of robotics and mechatronics education.

Herzliya mayor, Mr. Moshe Fadlon, offered his assistance in establishing a robotics institute in Herzliya and in sponsoring the Israeli Conference on Robotics. The robotics session at the Herzlia Conference was, without doubt, a defining event on the road to the promotion of the Israeli robotics initiative.