Abstract:  This talk tells the Berkshire Grey story, from its founding in 2013 to its IPO earlier this year — the first robotics IPO since iRobot over15 years ago.  Berkshire Grey produces automated systems for e-commerce order fulfillment, parcel sortation, store replenishment, and related operations in warehouses, distribution centers, and in the back ends of stores.  The talk will discuss the commercial opportunity, the technology and solutions developed by Berkshire Grey, and discuss the challenges and research opportunities in warehouse automation.

Brief Bio: Matt Mason has been on the Robotics Institute and Computer Science faculty since coming to CMU in 1982.  He was Chair of the Robotics PhD program from 1994 to 2004, and Director of the Robotics Institute from 2004 to 2014.  Since 2014 he has also been the Chief Scientist at Berkshire Grey.  He is a Fellow of the AAAI, and a Fellow of the IEEE. He is a winner of the System Development Foundation Prize, the IEEE RAS Pioneer Award, and the 2018 IEEE Technical Field Award in Robotics and Automation.

Host: Howie Choset

Point of Contact: Jean Harpley (jean@cs.cmu.edu)