After an informative tour of WPI’s many labs and research facilities, Congressman McGovern got to meet with MassRobotics member Ubiros, and hear about the needs of robotics startups from MassRobotics’ Executive Director, Tom Ryden. Joined by members of the Robotics industry, Mr. Ryden laid out the good work that MassRobotics and the Commonwealth of MA are doing, but also the many opportunities and challenges that exist for robotics startups today – from difficulties hiring talent from an unprepared workforce, to the threat of the US losing its international competitive advantage due to lack of a national robotics strategy, to asking for robotics and automation to be clearly outlined in funding opportunities at the federal level. 

This meeting represented the first of many that MassRobotics will participate in with federal representatives, as it continues to advocate on behalf of MassRobotics startups and the forward progression of the robotics industry as a whole. If you have any questions about these meetings or how to engage with government outside of funding opportunities (or even for funding opportunities), please contact Micaelah Morrill, VP of Business Development at micaelah@massrobotics.org