The return of MD&M West Aug. 10-12 at the Anaheim Convention Center is expected to be both a recap of the long journey from the 2019 show at the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic and a look to the future of the medical device industry. While health and safety issues are at the forefront of show planning, so too is a pent-up spirit of innovation among exhibitors.
More than 1,300 of those exhibitors are bringing more than 2,100 new products to MD&M West and its affiliated shows: WestPack, ATX West, D&M West and Plastec West. The estimated 13,000 attendees at MD&M West will be able to review everything from packaging lines to robotics applications to the machines, accessories and tools needed to shape the modern medical manufacturing systems.
Can AI and Machine Learning Get Along?
One of the keynote topics at MD&M West will be the relationship between artificial intelligence and machine learning, and whether these two cutting edge technologies actually can work together.
Kevin Goodheart, of Siemens Digital Energy Software, Kelly Malone of Taqtile and Dave Saunders of Galen Robotics will discuss industry trends around the use of AI and machine learning and, according to the program, “The love-hate relationship between AI and big data.”
The discussion is scheduled on Tues., Aug. 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
Rebuilding the Post-COVID Workforce
Another presentation at MD&M West, scheduled for Tues., Aug. 10 at 9:45 a.m., will focus on the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic placed on manufacturing, and how and why to invest in people and processes to make manufacturing’s future pandemic-proof.
It also will discuss the future of Industry 5.0, or what the presentation calls, “technologies that place humans and human ingenuity and adaptability at the center of advanced manufacturing processes that promise to help companies get more out of smaller teams.”