Event
Do Good Robotics Start-Up Competition
Thursday, October 3, 2019
6:30 p.m.
College Park Marriott Hotel and Conference Center
Raj Madhavan
madhavan@umd.edu
http://dgrs.umd.edu/start-up-competition/
Organizers
Raj Madhavan, Maryland Robotics Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Sara Gallagher, Do Good Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Mangesh Wadegaonkar, Cayuga Growth Partners, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
Robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies hold tremendous potential in addressing many of the societal challenges exemplified in the seventeen sustainable development goals of the 2030 agenda of the United Nations. The inaugural 2019 Do Good Robotics Symposium (DGRS) aims to bring together researchers, practitioners, and groups engaged in multidisciplinary and cross-cutting research and deployment of technologies for the benefit of the society and the planet. To learn more about the Symposium, please visit http://dgrs.umd.edu.
As part of DGRS’19, we are organizing a Start-up Competition in line with the main theme of the Symposium. To foster the entrepreneurial spirit and provide a platform to encourage researchers and practitioners to commercialize their ideas and prototypes that squarely place the benefit of society and the planet at its core, we are inviting the robotics and AI communities to participate in the Start-up Competition.
The event is intended to inspire, educate, enable, and empower researchers, students, young professionals, and anyone else who has an idea or a vision to develop and implement solutions to benefit humanity across the globe. You get exclusive bragging rights to winning a premier AI & robotics start-up competition in the DC-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) region and a chance to get in front of top executives and investors from the DMV area who will be part of the audience or panel of judges. Winners of the Do Good Robotics Start-up Competition will also get access to Do Good Accelerator programming.
The Do Good Robotics Start-up Competition will consist of three stages:
First, submitted applications will be down-selected to arrive at a pool of qualified applicants based on a defined set of criteria developed by the organizers (see ‘Application Form’ information below).
Second, there will be a remote engagement stage where the selected applicants will be coached to refine their pitches based on the proposal content in concert with an expert. The coaches will then critique, and provide technical and professional assistance to fine-tune the idea/product pitches.
Third, we will have refined pitches and content presented in front of a panel of experts and Symposium attendees.
Who can participate?
Anyone with an idea or a prototype using robotics, AI, and/or automation technology—with societal or environmental benefit at its core—is welcome to apply. Projects that have significant or well-established start-up capital or revenue cannot be considered at this time.
How to participate?
Interested applicants should complete the Application Form. Please email completed forms to dgrs2019sc@gmail.com.
Awards
Finalists will be competing for their share of up to $5,000 in prize funds.
Important Dates
Submission of Application Forms: July 30, 2019
Announcement of Selected Applicants: August 12, 2019
Remote Expert Coaching: August 15 through September 12, 2019
Final Presentations at DGRS’19: October 03, 2019
Organizers
Raj Madhavan, Maryland Robotics Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Sara Gallagher, Do Good Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Mangesh Wadegaonkar, Cayuga Growth Partners, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
Questions? Email mrcsymposium@umd.edu
