2026 Type & Perform Problem groups on the Robotics Summit & Expo. Supply: MassRobotics
BOSTON — On the Robotics Summit & Expo final week, MassRobotics introduced the winners of its fourth Type & Perform Robotics Problem. Fifteen groups from schools and universities from across the globe showcased their robotics and automation tasks, competing for money prizes.
Competing groups for this occasion included MIT, Purdue College Indiana, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Laval University Quebec, College of Pennsylvania, Manipal Academy Dubai, University of Waterloo, Ontario, UMass Boston, University of British Columbia, Boston University, Northeastern College, and Tufts College. The objective of this problem was for greater ed groups to create a robotic that each seems good (type) and works (operate).
The Form & Function Challenge required college groups to create a robotics or automation mission that delivers a compelling type issue particular to its duties whereas conducting a helpful operate. The problem is open to groups from across the globe, and encourages cross-collaboration between state-of-the-art software program and {hardware} suppliers, together with MassRobotics strategic sponsors.
This 12 months, elements, providers and software program have been donated to groups by MassRobotics sponsors AMD, Dassault Systèmes, Harmonic Drive, Maeden, maxon, Mitsubishi Electrical, and Reynolds & Moore.
2026 Type & Perform Robotics Problem Winners
- First Place and Viewers Alternative: Boston College with AGROBOT T.O.M., a gantry-mounted, precision-harvesting robotic designed for indoor/vertical farming; the system autonomously traverses a growbed, makes use of lidar and a imaginative and prescient/machine studying pipeline to determine fruit, assesses ripeness/injury by way of coloration and dimension cues, and gently harvests solely certified produce with a mushy robotic gripper
- Second Place: Northeastern University with its Planar Mechanism for Metrology
- Third Place: WPI with its Centrifuge Loader for Lab Automation
- Honorable Point out: Purdue College and Columbia University for partnering and co-developing with good spirit of the competitors
“The Type & Perform Problem continues to offer publicity to pupil tasks, whether or not they’re a step into what is feasible as a business utility or just to spark the ideation and creation of a startup,” acknowledged MassRobotics.
The nonprofit group fosters and helps STEM (science, know-how, engineering, and arithmetic) schooling and robotics innovation by varied applications.
The Type & Perform Problem is MassRobotics’ premier world competitors to have a good time greater ed college students and join them with useful sponsor help to showcase compelling tasks every year on the Robotics Summit & Expo. The Type & Perform robotics groups every get sales space area on the occasion, and the competitors is judged by a panel of robotics business specialists.
Boston College’s AGROBOT T.O.M. gained First Place within the 2026 Type & Perform Robotics Problem. Supply: MassRobotics
MassRobotics showcases startups, bodily AI, and healthcare
Boston-based MassRobotics additionally hosted a Startup Alley that showcased 13 of its resident startups together with: Algorized | ATDev | Ava Robotics | Canvair | Endox AI | Normal Robotics | LabyrinthAI | Nexterity Inc. | RealBotics Inc. | Retail Robotic Solutions Inc. | SYNTHIUM | TP7 AI Robotics | XYZ Robotics
MassRobotics stated the alley demonstrated the breadth of innovation rising from its resident startup neighborhood and the rising pipeline of firms advancing bodily AI and automation.
MassRobotics resident startups exhibited on the Robotics Summit & Expo. Supply: MassRobotics
As well as, MassRobotics, NVIDIA, and AWS highlighted the second cohort of their Bodily AI Fellowship: Burro | Config | Deltia | Haply Robotics | Luminous Robotics | Roboto AI | Telexistence | Terra Robotics | WIRobotics
The fellowship is an eight-week digital program designed to speed up high-potential startups on the intersection of robotics and bodily AI. Fellows achieve entry to specialists from the AWS Generative AI Innovation Middle (GenAIIC), AWS compute and cloud credit, NVIDIA {hardware} and software program help, and connections throughout MassRobotics’ world robotics community.
The Robotics Summit introduced collectively all 9 firms of this world cohort. Every was featured prominently on the expo ground and delivered pitches to an viewers of buyers, builders, and company prospects. The occasion supplied a robust platform for fellows to show their cutting-edge applied sciences and forge significant connections with potential companions and buyers.
Burro exhibited its Grande area robotic on the 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo. Supply: MassRobotics
The Healthcare Robotics Startup Catalyst program powered by FESTO, Mitsubishi Electric, and Novanta promoted its fifth cohort of startups, which offered demonstrations and their achievements made throughout this 12 months’s mentorship program. Cohort startups included: Concerto Biosciences | Enchanted Tools | Hesy Tech | Humotech | HyperSpectral | Inception Robotics | Lupa Robotics | Ras Labs | Revolve Surgical | Whelix | Zeus Robotics
Attendees noticed healthcare robotics improvements firsthand, from a patient-transfer system to surgical device dealing with.
Enchanted Instruments was among the many healthcare and academic startups in Boston. Supply: MassRobotics
Girls in Robotics Breakfast, Technical Profession Truthful deal with the robotics workforce
The Girls in Robotics Breakfast drew a full home, bringing collectively business leaders, innovators, and advocates dedicated to advancing variety within the robotics sector. It featured a dialog with Mikell Taylor, head of robotics technique at Normal Motors, and Joyce Sidopoulos, co-founder and chief working officer of MassRobotics.
The breakfast supplied a discussion board for discussions round management, innovation, and the way forward for robotics. It additionally provided alternatives for attendees to construct new connections, strengthen present relationships, and champion better illustration of ladies in robotics management.
GM’s Mikell Taylor and MassRobotics’ Joyce Sidopoulos on the Girls in Robotics Breakfast. Supply: MassRobotics
The MassRobotics Technical Profession Truthful, sponsored by Würth Professional Solutions, introduced collectively greater than 25 hiring firms from Boston to California. It attracted practically 1,000 job seekers, underscoring the power and continued progress of the robotics expertise ecosystem.
Constructing on this momentum, MassRobotics plans to host its subsequent profession truthful on Sept. 25 as a part of RoboBoston, its largest public-facing occasion bringing collectively business leaders, innovators, and the broader robotics neighborhood.
Wurth Skilled Options sponsored the Technical Profession Truthful. Supply: MassRobotics
Strategic companions search to develop the robotics ecosystem
As a strategic companion with WTWH Media for the 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo, MassRobotics performed a key position in shaping the occasion by business experience, strategic steering, and its intensive world robotics community. The summit introduced collectively robotics leaders, innovators, buyers, and finish customers from world wide for thought-provoking discussions on the way forward for robotics and automation.
Almost 5,000 attendees gained useful insights from business specialists, whereas greater than 200 exhibitors on this 12 months’s exposition confirmed a spread of cutting-edge applied sciences and options, reflecting the continued progress and momentum of the robotics ecosystem.
“We proceed to see unimaginable momentum on the Robotics Summit & Expo, with rising participation from throughout the worldwide robotics ecosystem,” stated Steve Crowe, chair of the Robotics Summit & Expo and govt editor of The Robotic Report.
“MassRobotics has been an excellent strategic companion, serving to carry collectively startups, business leaders, buyers, and innovators from world wide,” he added. “Their management and deep engagement throughout the robotics neighborhood play a serious position in making Boston the middle of robotics innovation, and we’re excited to maintain constructing on this success collectively.”
Extra from MassRobotics
The MassRobotics startup ecosystem continues to increase at a speedy tempo, now approaching 100 present startups in residence. The group has supported greater than 250 startups since its founding in 2017, which it stated displays its sustained momentum and rising position as a world hub for robotics innovation.
Upcoming MassRobotics occasions embody:
- Robotics Founders & Funders Capital Discussion board on June 10: Register here.
- Calling all early-stage robotics firms: MassRobotics is organizing the Robotics Startup Pitchfest at IROS 2026. Evaluate eligibility standards and prize particulars, and submit functions here.
- The MassRobotics 9th Annual Robot Block Party will happen Sept. 26 in Boston’s Seaport district. Signal as much as request exhibition area to showcase robotics know-how or present a demo here. For sponsorship, inquire here.
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