Introduction
In 2005 the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE/RAS) and the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) agreed to jointly sponsor the Invention and Entrepreneurship Award. The purpose of this award is to highlight and honor the achievements of the inventors with value creating ideas and entrepreneurs who propel those ideas into world-class products. At the same time the joint disposition of the award underlines the determination of both organizations to promote stronger collaboration between robotics science and robotics industry. The annual presented award consists of a plaque and a $2,000 honorarium.
Presentation 2015
In a joint event the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and the International Federation of Robotics recognized and honored outstanding achievements of entrepreneurs in the commercialization of innovative robotic and automation technology. These achievements were recognized in a specially organized IEEE/IFR Joint Forum on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Robotics and Automation, which was held at the ICRA conference in Seattle. The selected finalists presented their story of the genesis of a successful innovative product in robotics and automation from its very inception to the final state of commercialization in a series of plenary lectures. The ultimate winners were chosen by an evaluation board, consisting of distinguished individuals from industry and academia.
On 28 May 2015 at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) the IERA Award was shared by Tom Lipinski, Q-Bot Limite, for developing a simple robotic solution for insulating homes thus positively impacting lives of people and protecting the environment by reducing energy consumption, and François Boucher, Kinova Inc., for providing an easy to use robotic solution that enhances the autonomy of disabled people. A prestigious plaque was awarded to each winner as well as a US$1,000 prize.
Applications and Presentation 2016
In 2016 the IEEE/IFR Joint Forum on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Robotics and Automation will be held in conjunction with the International Symposium on Robotics ISR at the AUTOMATICA in Munich, Germany. The Forum will be held on 21 June and the award will be presented at the ISR Gala Dinner in the evening.
The call for application can be downloaded here.
Award Winners
| 2015 | François Boucher, Kinova, Inc. |
| JACO Rehab Edition – a six-axis robotic manipulator arm with a threefingered hand | |
| 2015 | Tom Lipinski, Q-Bot Ltd. |
| Mini JCBs are compact, powerful and capable of operating in hazardous environments | |
| 2014 | Guy Caverot, BA Systèmes |
| Mobile X-Ray Machine | |
| 2013 | Bob Horst, AlterG, Inc. |
| The Tibion Bionic Leg | |
| 2012 | Esben Østergaard, Universal Robots |
| UR5 – a flexible and eco-friendly robot arm. The UR5 is a small, light and user friendly 6-axis industrial robot, which has been created specifically for small and medium sized enterprises | |
| 2012 | Gino De-Gol, RoboCoaster |
| Passenger Carrying Industrial Robotics – The RoboCoaster TÜV robot is the world’s first application of industrial robotics being fully adapted and certified for passenger carrying operations. | |
| 2011 | Bruno Maisonnier, Aldebaran Robotics |
| NAO – Humanoid Robot | |
| 2010 | Alexander Verl, Fraunhofer IPA |
| Inline Measurement Robots – Robots Get the Precision for Car Body Inspection | |
| 2009 | Yoshiyuki Sankai, Cyberdyne Robot Suit HAL |
| Wearable suit that expands, enhances, and supports the physical capabilities of its user | |
| 2008 | Mick Mountz, Pete Wurman, and Raffaello D’Andrea, KIVA Systems |
| Kiva Moblie Fulfillment System, in which pallets, cases, and orders are stored on inventory pods that are picked up and moved by a fleet of mobile robotic drive units to any operator on the factory floor. | |
| 2008 | Thomas Brandstetter, Dieter Steegmüller, and Michael Zürn, Daimler |
| The development of the Assembly 21:an innovative system and assembly concept for rear axle assembly for the new C-Class with cooperatíng robot teams. | |
| 2007 | Hugh Durrant-Whyte, Australian Centre for Field Robotics |
| AutoStrad: An Autonomous Straddle Carrier for movement of shipping containers | |
| 2006 | Rainer Bischoff, KUKA Roboter |
| CAFIR: Flexible and Scalable Collision Avoidance for Industrial Robots based on complex geometric models | |
| 2005 | Joe Jones, I-Robot |
| Roomba Discovery Robotic Floorvac |
