| National Instruments Corp., www.ni.com/niweek/ |
A robotics expert with 25-years experience building robots that walk, hop, swim, roll, and entertain for commercial, industrial, and governmental organizations will deliver the closing keynote address at this year’s NIWeek conference in Austin, Tex. Dr. David Barrett, director of the Senior Consulting Program for Engineering (SCOPE) and associate professor of mechanical engineering at Olin College, is recognized as one of the most influential voices in the field of mobile robotics. During his keynote presentation, he will share insights on how robots in industry and engineering education are poised to revolutionize the way people interact with technology in their daily lives.
In addition to the keynote, Dr. Barrett will participate in a panel discussion about technological advances in robotics and how they shape the future for a myriad of industries and applications. Other participants invited to join Dr. Barrett on the panel include Ellen Purdy, enterprise director of Joint Ground Robotics for the U.S. Department of Defense; Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and president of Deka Research and Development Corp.; and Jeanne Dietsch, CEO and cofounder of MobileRobots.
NIWeek 2009 is National Instruments 15th annual customer and technology conference, which runs from Aug. 4 through 6. It provides three days of technical sessions, hands-on workshops, targeted summits, and interactive exhibitions on the latest developments in design, control, automation, manufacturing, and testing. The conference also features product demonstrations that explore how engineers and scientists can use cost-efficient and flexible technologies to boost productivity and lower costs. More than 200 booths representing many different industries make up the NIWeek exhibition floor.
Technical sessions from companies and universities will highlight test and data acquisition, industrial measurements and control, embedded design, and software development, as well as equip engineers and scientists with the skills to stay competitive in development and business practices. This year NIWeek 2009 offers the first ever NIWeek Military and Aerospace Summit, along with the usual array of summits covering RF and wireless communications, vision, and robotics.
A two-day seminar prior to the convention offers advanced training to give attendees in-depth product knowledge and learn best practices for NI LabView and RF applications. Attendees can earn 1.4 continuing education units (CEUs) to meet educational demands needed to maintain professional status. They can also take certification exams in LabView, NI Lab- Windows/CVI, and NI TestStand software.
For further information about NIWeek 2009, visit National Instruments on the Web at www.ni.com/niweek/, or call (888) 564-9335.