WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION - PART 2 OF 2.
Speaker: Paolo Dario, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy.
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2021 Workshop:
Dinosaurs Vs. Unicorns At The Time Of The Covid-19 Pandemic
How Robots May Save Business Dinosaurs From Extinction By Turning Them Start-Ups Again
June 4, 2021; Xi’an China.
Abstract:
The disruption of the coronavirus pandemic has been causing a severe reduction of activity and capacity for many businesses worldwide, during and after lockdown.
Recovery will take time. Whereas the skills for a quicker, painless, recovery have always been resilience and capability to adapt, the managers of established companies have very often been allergic to innovation in order not to jeopardize business performance. The corporate strategies of the so-called “business dinosaurs” have been blocked for years on efficiency and cost-cutting, instead of experimentation and value creation.
The objective of this Workshop is to address and discuss this issue from different viewpoints, and to present examples of how, after the large impact the pandemic has had on businesses, robotics, including aerial robotics, encouraged and accelerated solutions both to react during the lockdown and to restart after the crisis for two relevant fields: Logistics and Automation.
The discussion will focus on how robotics and automation could help to bring “old fashion” businesses back to their “start-ups” years when they were eager to grow, ready to experiment, and even open to making mistakes.
Contributors to the Workshop are experts in different relevant fields, from Robotics, Automation and AI, to Economy, Finance, and Industry.
The expected impact of this Workshop is to facilitate reluctantly adapting business lacking the flexibility to take up changes in the dynamic era of digital and ecological transition by means of robotics and automation technologies. An additional goal is to offer robotics and automation researchers and industry hints on significant new opportunities.
