Robots rising
Place: Cafe Tartine (BTS Pleonchit)
Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Time: 19:00-21:00
RSVP: [email protected] or BKKSci on Meetup.com
By now, we’ve pretty much all come to accept the fact that in the war between the robots, humans will not surv…wait…I’ve just been told not everyone thinks The Terminator is a documentary. Nevermind then. Well, at any rate, one thing we can all agree on is that the field of robotics has taken some seriously amazing leaps forward over the past few decades, and those leaps are getting longer all the time.
For this BkkSci event, we are happy to welcome Dr. Thavida Maneewarn from the Institute of Field Robotics, King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Thonburi. If you want to talk advanced robotics, she’s definitely the person to listen to. After getting her master’s and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington, Seattle, she took her post at KMUT where she soon became Deputy Director of Research. Her specialty is humanoid robots and she works to promote knowledge on robotics and automation to Thailand’s youth.
It’s something they’ll need, because the way things are going, robots are going to be even more ubiquitous in the coming years. The number of robotics researchers is growing, and with access to cheaper and cheaper tech, a few kids in a garage can now build something that would have been a military project only a few decades ago. And it’s not just robots for welding doors on cars or putting your iPhone together – Dr. Thavida’s team has created aerial robots to help with reconnaissance during the floods of 2011, robotic medical devices, and even robots that act as PR agents at museums and fairs.
Dr. Thavida has titled her talk “Robots Rising” and will discuss some of the projects her team is working on, what we can expect to see become commonplace in the coming years, and why we shouldn’t be nervous about the rise of the robots. Well…maybe we should be a little bit nervous – tell me you wouldn’t flip out if you saw one of these running after you.
This event is free
All BKKSci events are free of charge. We do however ask that you please consider supporting Cafe Tartine (our venue) by purchasing your choice of food and drink during the event. Cafe Tartine has kindly agreed to host BKKSci free of charge. This is our way of thanking them for their support.
How to get there
Cafe Tartine is located on Soi Ruamrudee at Athenee Residence (65 Wireless Rd., Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330). The cafe is a but a short walk from BTS Ploenchit. Parking is limited but available.