ARTPLAY DESIGN CENTRE
Jun-ho Oh
Professor of KAIST, Korea, creator of Hubo Robot
For the last ten years professor has created a unique humanoid robot models of KHR-1, KHR-2, Hubo and Hubo 2 series, and also has designed Albert Hubo and Hubo FX-1. Jun-Ho Oh is the director of Hugo Lab research center at KAIST. He participated in many field and state scientific research projects on innovative technologies. Also, Jun-Ho Oh is a member of National Academy of Engineering of Korea. He is currently working on developing and improving new robotic models, in particular on finding technologies enabling robots to move faster and have a more reliable integration system.
Giorgio Metta
Creator of humanoid robot ICub, Director of iCub Department at IIT / Italy
The scientific research activity of Giorgio Metta is focused on biologically motivated robots. He also participates in developing humanoid robots that can adapt and learn from experience. His research developed in collaboration with leading European and international scientists from different disciplines like neuroscience, psychology, and robotics. Giorgio Metta is the author of approximately 250 publications. He has been working as principal research scientist in over ten international and national projects.
MARK SHMULEVICH
Deputy Minister of Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation / Russia
Will Jackson
Head of Engineered Arts Ltd, creator of RoboThespian / USA
Design-engineer and creator of RoboThespian and SociBot. In times past Will Jackson designed interaction stands for museums and exhibitions. After receiving several orders to make "mechanical actors", he came to a conclusion that he needed to create a general programmable model. Later on, he decided that it would be great if the "actors" could interact. Thus Engineered Arts started its work on creating humanoid robots. The first models were rather clumsy, but their creators continued improving the robots and made good progress.
Francesco Ferro
CEO of PAL Robotics that created robot REEM / Italy
An expert in robotics, he got a master's degree at Institut Supérieur d'Electronique et du Numérique in Lille, France, then an MBA degree in Technology Management. Since 2011 he has been the CEO of PAL Robotics (Barcelona, Spain), that focuses on creating humanoid robots. The main design by the PAL Robotics is the series of android robots REEM. Five models have been already released so far. The latest generation of the robots is REEM–С able to see, speak, recognize faces and speech in several languages and orientate itself.
MUN-SANG KIM
Director of Cognitive Robotics Center at KIST, co-creator Mero, Kibo, Ciros and Silbot robots/ Korea
Kim Mung San got a master's degree at the Seoul National University, then passed an engineering doctoral dissertation defense at Technische Universität Berlin (Germany). He is the author of many scientific articles and books on robotics and a participant of a scope of conferences. He was awarded more than 20 times for his researches and designs.
Currently, Kim Mung Sun is the Director of the Center for Cognitive Robotics at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. He is also participating in developing robots such as Mero, Kibo, Ciros and Silbot.
Gor Nakhapetyan
Founder of the Robot Prom (BAL ROBOTOV), entrepreneur, the dean's advisor in the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO / Russia
Gor Nakhapetyan started his career in 1992 at DialogBank. In 1993 he came to Troika Dialog and worked at ground zero of the company. From February till September of 2013 Gor Nakhapetyan occupied the position of Vice-President of Sberbank. As Vice-President he supervised the HR department responsible for forming and developing corporate culture, improving stuff motivation program, creating a corporate university, building up a system of efficient communications inside the company.
Since 2006 Gor Nakhapetyan has been a member of the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO Coordination Council.
Valery Komissarova
Business Development Director at Grishin Robotics
Valeria is a real expert in the field of technological innovations. She has more than 100 publications on the Internet and 50 in specialist printed media. As an author and consultant Valeria has worked with such renowned companies as GameLand, Axel Springer Russia, RBC, and the Computerra publishing house, among others. Since 2007 she has worked in the field of public relations. Having worked at Microsoft and RBC, in 2008 Valeria moved to Mail.Ru as PR manager and in 2010 became Head of Public Relations Department. After a year and a half, Mail.Ru Group’s CEO Dmitry Grishin invited her to work in the newly created investment company, Grishin Robotics, engaged in the development of the Russian and world market for personal robotics, where Valeria currently holds the post of Director of Business Development.
Vladimir Konyshev
General director of Neurobotics / Russia
Vladymir Konyshev is a Doctor of Medical Science, the head of Neurobotics company specializing in developing and selling systems for human and animal physiology research. He is a key person of strategic social initiative «Russia 2045» that advocates human development by means of accelerating scientific and technological progress and integration of advanced technologies.
Leonid Gusev
Head of the All-Russian Science Festival , Vice-chancellor of MSU
Maxim Kashulinsky
CEO of SLON portal / Russia
Business journalist, media manager, business expert. Maxim graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University, where he majored in philosophy. He started his journalist career in 1994 at Skate news agency. Then he worked as a business news-writer for Segondnya newspaper, as a managing editor for Company magazine, as a vice chief editor and vice-editor of Consumer Market Department at Vedomosti. In September, 2003 Maxim started his work at Axel Springer, Russia in the position of managing editor, and further on in the position of chief editor of Forbes magazine. Since March, 2011 he has been working as CEO and editor of Slon.ru, and since January, 2012 – as an acting general director of OOO Bolshoy Gorod.
Alexander Kaplan
Biology Professor at Moscow State University, Head of the Laboratory for Neurophysiology and Neuro-Computer Interfaces
Alexander Kaplan is a Doctor of Biological Science and has taught since his undergraduate days in the Department of Human Physiology in the Faculty of Biology. He founded Russia's first Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neurointerfaces in the Biology Faculty of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. The "Innovative Technology" project lead by Alexander is accredited by Skolkovo. He is well-known for his work on deciphering the electrical signals of the brain and neurocomputer communication. He received a State Award from the Russian Government in 2003.
Igor Vittel
Russian Journalist, Broadcaster, Producer, Writer / Russia
Igor graduated with a specialisation in life support for manned vehicles. He continued his education in the humanitarian sphere, with an economic and journalistic bias. He has worked for Russian and foreign media, both electronic and printed. He has produced on several online projects. Since 2002 he is a presenter on the RBC TV channel. Igor is the head of the Vittel and Partners consulting company. He teaches at the London School of Public Relations and the Maimonides State Classical Academy. He supervises "Economic Observer" professional retraining programs at the Academy of National Economy under the Government of the Russian Federation. He is currently working on a book on Russia’s modern economic history.
Patrick Tresset
French Artist and Scientist, creator of Paul, the sketching robot / Russia
Patrick Tresset created robot Paul that can draw just as well as a human artist. Patrick spent many years studying and analyzing thousands of graphics by different ages' and styles' artists. His idea was embodied through the software supporting the movements of a mechanic arm, which is nothing else but Paul itself. Patrick is currently working on improving his creature and finding the way to teach Paul various techniques used by famous artists, so that the robot could have its own style of drawing.
Adam Ben-Dror
Industrial Designer, Victoria University of Wellington / New Zealand
Adam majored in industrial design at Victoria University of Wellington. He creates objects balancing on the edge between esthetic and functionality. He believes that the incentive of his creativity is his passion for synergism between beauty and usefulness. His work is based on the experiments with materials, balance and scale. He is also interested in creating products for pets and implementing media technologies in his projects. For the last several years Adam has gained a lot of awards, including Click Suite prize for innovations in media-design(2012) and the first prize of the New Zealand Best Awards for interaction design (2013).
Umberto Giraudo
PhD, course director of Bachelor degree in Product Design in British Higher School of Art and Design / Italy
Professor of British Higher School of Art and Design and curator of Industrial Design Degree Course. He got a bachelor's degree in Industrial Design, Politecnico di Milano. In 2002 Umberto collaborated with Toshiroh Ikegami for the NGO Japanese “Eco Design Network”. He was also engaged in car design, design management and organization of Geneva Motorshow. Later on Umberto developed the concept and modeled surface for a new airport fireman truck.
FRANCESCO FRESA
Architect, studio Piuarch founding partner, best Italian architect 2013 / Italy
So far, Piuarch has completed dozens of projects, including showrooms, business centers, fashionable headquarters, villas and stores. This studio is responsible for Dolce&Gabbana boutique's style and has also developed functional design of Passage 15 and Helen Marlen 2. Francesco believes that both spheres of his work are based on the same principles - both designer's and architect's successful creation depends on balanced proportions, accord of dimensions and matching materials.
Jonathan Tippett
One of the creators of robots Mondo Spider and Titanoboa. MIT
Jonathan Tippett is an artist and mechanical engineer with lifelong curiosity for the relationship between humans and machines. He earned his mechanical engineering degree from UBC in 1999 and has since worked in fuel cells, hydraulics and neurovascular implants. He still practices ceramic sculpture at his studio in False Creek, but his love of machines brought him to explore the intersection of form, function and human skill in the context of engineered and interactive sculpture. Co-creator of The Mondo Spider and co-founder of eatART, he has run the eatART Lab since its beginning and is now stepping down as Lab Chief to focus on developing his next experience based machine in the eatART Lab, Prosthesis: The Anti-Robot , slated for completion in 2014.
Eric Joyner
Artist and illustrator, who has chosen a robot as the main character of his work / UK
In 1983 Eric graduated from San Francisco University. For the last 20 years he has been working as a freelance illustrator for a variety of companies, such as Mindscape, Spunky Productions and Midland Productions. Joyner's prints were exhibited in New York and California, and the artist himself was awarded a lot of prizes. His works' theme is fantasy and the main characters are robots. Joyner's robots are often travelling. The old-fashioned vision of the future, which is not going to ever happen, is the background of his posters, where robots are created based on Japanese toys. Sometimes Joyner's robots fight against each other or against classical science fictional monster.
Nick Hawes
Senior Lecturer at the School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham, specialist in AI / UK
Nick's main research interest lies in the application of artificial intelligence and on the methods of creating intelligent self-controlled robots that could work for people. Nick spent many years working on information-processing architectures for intelligent systems and on implementing AI planning techniques into various robotic systems. He is currently the coordinator of the STRANDS project focused on producing intelligent mobile robots. Besides, Nick participated in a variety of media and other events, such as BBC News, BBC World Service, British Science Festival, Cheltenham Science Festival, where he delivered lectures on robotics and AI.
ALEXANDER REBEN
Kinetic engineer and interactive artist, creator of BlabDroid, researcher of MIT Media Lab / USA
Alexander Reben designs robots and new interfaces to experimentally explore humankind’s evolving relationship with technology. His works have been shown at Ars Electronica, MIT, Axiom, EYEBEAM, The Whitney Biennial, and has been featured in New Scientist, Fast Company, BBC, CBC and Hack a Day. After his MIT thesis “Boxie”, he was invited to speak at TED and several universities. Alexander’s recent interactive installation, “Robots-in-Residence: The World’s First Documentary Shot And Directed Entirely By Robots” premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam’s Doclab.
Roman Luchin
Founder of TRIK project and CEO of CyberTech Labs / Russia
Started as researcher in laboratory of theoretical cybernetics in Saint Petersburg State University, where developed robotics multi-agent control system setups. Faced with two evils of Russian robotics, — young professionals and outdated approaches, — decided to devote himself to the development of STEM robotics education and the creation of new educational tools. As a result, came to develop a unified cybernetic platform for education, research, and robotics projects — TRIK. Nowadays there is continuously growing community around the TRIK, including universities, researchers, prototyping labs, and creative teams working hard to provide everyone the opportunity to create a modern intelligent robots that can "see", "hear" and even collaborate.
Chris Wake
Strategist at NanoSatisfi / USA
Chris Wake is a strategy maker for commercial production by NanoSatisfi, serial entrepreneur, Oxford grad. He worked for and was a manager both in large and in small companies. His work was noted by Forbes, The Huffington Post and Wired. Since February of 2013 Wake works for NanoSatisfi, a company that launches open-source satellites. It took only a year for NanoSatisfi to make and launch three models, however they are not going to rest on their laurels. Chris writes of himself on his blog: «I do cool things. In space.» «I consistently transform chaos into process».
Timandra Harkness
Writer, journalist on BBC Radio 4, famous British science show host and stand-up comedian / UK
Timandra makes a business of engineering-based and scientific comedy. Her new project is a solo show “BrainSex”. Last year she worked on a research comedy project with Matt Parker, the project grew into a stand up show and a tour around Great Britain and Australia. Timandra often hosts or moderates various scientific or political debates. Besides, she writes screenplays and scripts for films, radio shows and science exhibitions.
Elena Pismennaya
Robotics Specialist
Elena is Head of Robotics at ExoAtlet and Senior Researcher at the MGU Institute of Mechanics. She is a Candidate in Technical Sciences and an associate professor, and has written a number of articles on control systems and robotics patents.
VITALY POLEKHIN
Head of Investors' Club of the Moscow School of Business SKOLKOVO
PhD in philosophy, high technology entrepreneur and investor. Forbes and Hopes & Fears technology trends columnist. Head of SKOLKOVO Investor club, сo-founder and managing partner of VENTURE ANGELS high technology seed and early stage investment fund, investment partner of ADDVENTURE venture fund, investor and supervisory board member of TEXDRIVE technology accelerator, board member of portable electronic devices manufacturer QUMO.
Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO Executive MBA alumnus, Lomonosov Moscow State University MBA alumnus.
Peter Zhegin
Senior Analyst Venture Fund ABRT Venture Fund
The analyst at ABRT Venture Fund, responsible for research and deal execution, covering enterprise software, e-commerce and robotics sectors. Prior to joining the fund, worked at the Russian Agricultural Bank headquarters.
Ekaterina Khramkova
Futurist designer, founder and CEO of the design agency of innovations "Lumiknows" / Russia
Ekaterina Khramkova specializes in creating innovative products (New Product Design & Development). She is one of the first Russian design researchers in the sphere of consumers' preferences and application context of products, services, brands, as well as in defining consumers' preferences that are hard to set in words. Ekaterina Khramkova has developed design research and trends forecasting course and teaches it at Higher British School of Design in Moscow. She also writes for her own column about design thinking and innovations in Harvard Business Review, Russia. In 2005 Ekaterina took a UK Government scholarship in New Product Development. This helped her in getting British Master of Arts degree with distinction in Design & Branding Strategy at Brunel University.
Pavel Luksha
Professor of practice at the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo / Russia
Pavel Luksha creates and implements systems of managing innovations at large corporations. He is one of the leaders of the project group.
Metaver. Pavel have previously worked as a consultant for Sollers, Accenture, Alvarez & Marsal, Arcadis Euroconsult. Pavel is one of the authors of a specific foresight methodology Rapid Foresight. Foresight forecasts and shapes the future via specific methodics. Traditional Foresight involves thousands of experts, and overall development takes several years. Methodology Rapid Foresight (RF) – is one of a kind, allowing to obtain comparable accuracy predictions for a much shorter time and without multi-million dollar budget. Analysis and forecasting of trends, events, facts allows consciously and actively approach the construction of the future, and after that to implement those options that seems the most positive to all experts.
ELAD INBAR
Creator of RobotAppStore / USA
In 2011 RobotAppStore, the first online shop of robotics applications, started working in testing mode. In 2012 it became accessible for all users, and it now sells applications for 10 robot models. RobotAppStore was founded by a serial entrepreneur Elad Inbar. Prior to that he created MassiveImpact, a mobile marketing platform, and RobotsLab, a robot store. "I worked with the customers and realized that everybody needs pretty much the same apps, but there is no platform where one can buy them. Opening an application store is a milestone in the history of robotics", says Inbar. He believes that an inexpensive and user-friendly robot will hit the market in the nearest future, though he hesitates to predict in which country this will happen. "It can be invented anywhere, really", Inbar smiles; then he notes, that many investors all over the world are interested in robotics, though very few of them really invest funds, and that takes brakes on the industry.
REMY GLAISNER
C0-founder of Myria Research / USA
Remy Glaisner is a co-founder of and an analyst at Myria, a company that takes part in events dedicated to the major trends in robotics and intelligence systems and their influence on the development of business and market. Research & Advisory - Myria renders services that provide the customers with constantly updating independent research data. These data enables the company's customers to improve their efficiency and marketability and promote their business.
IAN BERNSTEIN
Co-founder and chief technology officer of Orbotix / USA
Ian was fond of electronics since he was a small boy. When he was 12 he took part in BEAM International Robot Games, and this event sparked his lifelong interest in robotics. Under the mentorship of Mark Tilden, a notable robotics specialist, Ian built robots not only as a hobby, but also for university research projects, for international robotics competitions, and even for the Space Center Houston. "We have crated toys fusing emerging technology with the latest innovations in robotics to offer a new kind of open play experience. With our smart robots and open software we hope to inspire the next generation of inventors and programmers. We create fun robots that bring innovative mobile and augmented reality games to your smartphone".
MELONEE WISE
CEO and co-founger of Unboundedrobotics / USA
Prior to becoming a co-founder of Unboundedrobotics, Melonee was a Manager of Robot Development at Willow Garage and lead a group of engineers developing the next generation robots. For over ten years she participated in developing and designing various hardware and software for robots. Some of her projects included developing algorithms, databases and equipment for autonomous boats, cars and personal robotics platforms. While working for Willow Garage she was a co-creator of a budget-friendly personal robot with open-source software.
SABINE HAUERT
Co-Founder and President of Robohub and the Robots Podcast. Researcher in nanorobotics at MIT and the University of Bristol / Switzerland
Sabine Hauert is Lecturer at the University of Bristol where she designs swarm of nanobots for biomedical applications. Previously, Sabine was an HFSP cross-disciplinary fellow at MIT in the laboratory of Sangeeta Bhatia where she designed cooperative nanoparticles for cancer treatment. Her passion for swarm engineering started during her PhD at EPFL (Switzerland) making swarms of flying robots for rescue operations. Her research has been featured in CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, Engadget, PopSci, and New Scientist. Passionate about science communication, Sabine is the Co-founder and President of the Robots Association, Co-founder of the ROBOTS Podcast and Robohub, as well as Media Editor for the journal Autonomous Robots.
MONICA LOCASCIO
Author, curator, gallery dealer and art director specializing in art & science, CultureShock agency / USA
Monica inherited from her talented parents an insatiable desire for knowledge, a keen ear and eye for aesthetics, as well as an extraordinary ability to work across disciplines. Having started her career in New York as a co-publisher and art director of Overspray, shortly thereafter she became Production Director for PAPER Magazine, which in turn led her to the position of Art Director for EXTRAEXTRA, PAPER’s in-house marketing and promotions company, where she worked on promoting such brands as American Express, Absolut, LANVIN, Mattel and Target. Besides, Monica authored and edited a variety of publications for Rizzoli и ABRAMS, and was an independent curator for several art galleries in New York and Vienna. Before becoming a part of Culture Shock creative agency, LoCascio acted as Executive Producer of SCOPE Art Show, the first showcase for emerging contemporary art and creative programming.
OLGA MENSHIKOVA
Manager in the Center for Technology and Innovations (PwC)
Works at PwC Center for Technology and Innovations assisting technology start-ups in strategy consulting and fund raising. Olga joined PwC in 2007 and has a vast experience in business development and marketing including CRM, building partners network and developing sales channels, launching new products on the market. Olga participates in the mentorhsip program of business incubator "Ingria". She is a graduate of Startup Access - a two weeks program for Russian entrepreneurs based in Cambridge Innovation Center, Boston. Olga's main clients are IT and Internet companies.
ALBERT YEFIMOV
Chief Roboticist at Skolkovo Foundation / Russia
Albert Yefimov has been working at the Skolkovo Foundation since January, 2011, with focus on robotics and digital manufacturing.
Albert holds Masters’ degree in Computer Science obtained at Moscow State Institute of Radiotechnics, Electronics and Automation with major in Informatics in 1992. Awarded Chevening Scholarship in 2002, he graduated from University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, Scotland) with Masters’ degree in Communications Management. For more than twenty years Albert has worked in various telecommunications and information technologies companies. Albert is in the process of earning his PhD in Economics at the Institute of World Economy and International Affairs of Russian Academy of Sciences.
Ekaterina Bereziy
Founder and CEO of ExoAtlet / Russia
Ekaterina graduated from the Mechanics and Mathematics Faculty of the Lomonosov Moscow State University (MGU) and then received an MBA at the Academy of National Economy under the Government of the Russian Federation. She has practical experience in the development of robots. The activities of EkzoAtlet, the company Ekaterina founded, are focused on the creation of an exoskeleton to increase the physical capabilities of a human being, including the rehabilitation of people with an impairment of locomotor functioning and the musculoskeletal system. Development is lead by a team of scientists based at the MGU Institute of Mechanics. The main objectives of the project are to help people with disabilities, provide assistance in conducting anti-terrorist operations, and the carrying of heavy loads, fighting forest fires and providing disaster relief.
Sergey Belousov
Director of the MadRobots Online Shop / Russia
Sergey Belousov is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, who at different times has managed IT companies in Russia, North America, Europe and Asia. He is known for his innovative activity in the sphere of virtualisation, cloud computing and data centre automation. In recent years he has invested heavily in IT start-ups and the development of quantum technologies. Sergey is the Founder and Senior Partner of the international venture funds Runa Capital and Quantum Wave Fund (Qwave Fund). MadRobots is an online gadget shop "created by geeks for people”.
VYACHESLAV KRAVTSOV
Project Manager at RBot / Russia
Vyacheslav is a graduate of the Moscow Electrotechnical Institute of Communications (1986), with a specialisation in radio. Until 2005 he was engaged in the development of software for specialised equipment, as well as the creation and implementation of automated business management systems. Since 2005 Vyacheslav has headed various spheres of activity at R.BOT, and since 2010 has occupied the position of Project Manager. He has worked in the fields of security, surveillance systems and robotics. Since 2010 he heads the promotion of the well-known R.BOT 100 interactive mobile robots, in Russia and abroad.
MICHAEL WALTERS
Professor, University of Hertfordshire, Human-Robot Interaction Specialist / United Kingdom
Michael Walters received a Master's Degree in the field of artificial neural networks and robotics in 1993 and received his Doctorate in 2008. His research interests include the study of the interaction of robots and humans, in particular how robots should behave when interacting with people and working in a human environment. Michael has worked on several research projects which have received EU funding: COGNIRON, LIREC and ACCOMPANY, where he performed research into domestic robots and robotic companions. Currently Michael is leading a series of training courses in robotics, computer-aided design (CAD) and mechatronics at the University of Hertfordshire (UK).
ALEXANDER GALITSKIY
Managing Partner of Almaz Capital Partners, member of the Board of the Skolkovo Foundation, well-known entrepreneur and inventor in the field of technology / Russia
Prior to his career in business innovation, Alexander Galitsky was one of the key technical leaders in the defence industry of the USSR. He was then involved in management in the spheres of telecommunications, software, microelectronics, among others. He started working with investments on a private basis, by investing in companies such as Parallels, Start Telecom, WikiMart, and Yam Labs. After this major venture capital funds started to hire Alexander as a consultant and expert on investment deals. He also developed the practice of investing in information and communication technologies for venture capital fund, Russian Technologies. In 2012 Alexander was awarded Best Venture Fund Investor of the Decade, and according to many experts he is the most influential person in the field of information technologies in Russia.
ANDREY GRYAZNOV
Partner and Co-founder of Cubic Robotics / Russia
The Cubic Robotics team, which includes engineer Andrew Gryaznov, is reponsible for the creation of a personal robot assistant for the home. The first prototype of the robot was completed in October 2012. It was a cardboard box connected to a smartphone based on an Android platform, with a special program and a speaker. The robot was able turn a fan on and off, and adjust the lighting in a room. Andrew Gryaznov met the idea’s author, Yuri Burov, in Moscow in the summer of 2011. He was part of a team working on the creation of a telepresence robot, when Yuri Burov suggested that they create a home-helper robot or robot butler, which could communicate, know the answers to thousands of questions and remotely control household objects.
Vladimir Rumyantsev
Founder and CEO of Can Touch / Russia
One of the company's activities is bioprinting – the leading sphere in the development of modern regenerative medicine. Can Touch specialists have developed the technology to produce an individual robotic prosthetic hand. These prostheses are special in that they operate on myoelectrics principles and are able to move under the influence of electrical impulses from human muscle. This means that as a result of subsequent developments it may be possible to create a prosthesis that can fully replace a lost limb. Work on this project is conducted in close collaboration with medical experts from the Albrecht Institute for Prosthetic Research.
IGOR ASHMANOV
CEO at Ashmanov and Partners, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Nanosemantika
Igor is a Candidate of Technical Sciences and a renowned expert in the field of artificial intelligence, software development and project management. He graduated from the MGU Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics. He led the development of the spell-checker program "Orfo" at Informatika, was co-owner and CEO of MediaLingva, and Executive Director at the Rambler Internet holding. Igor has managed dozens of projects, including the “Orfo” linguistic module in the Russian version of Microsoft Office, “MultiLex” electronic dictionaries, a modern version of the Rambler search engine in 2001, and the spam filter "Spamtest", among others. In 2001 he resigned from Rambler and founded his own company, Ashmanov and Partners. Igor is a member of the EZHE International Union of Internet Professionals, and has twice been awarded "Man of the Year " in the ROTOR online competition.
MAXIM VASILEV
President of the Russian Association of Educational Robotics (RAOR) / Russia
Maxim began to study robotics after graduation, in parallel with his studies at graduate school. He organised the first robot competition for schoolchildren in Russia – the International Robot Competition held in 2002. The number of teams participating in International Robot Competitions has grown from 16 teams in 2002 to 4 thousand in 2014. Since 2004 Maxim has been the Chairman of the Russian Organising Committee of the World Robot Olympiad (WRO), and Head Coach and organiser of the Russian team’s participation during the global stage of the WRO.
Over the years Maxim has acted as co-organiser of a large number of events: “Mobile Robots” festival, “Robotics” exhibition, Russian Robot Olympiad, “Robots” forum, "Robofest", "Informatics and Robotics at the Palais des Congres" festival, the All-Russian Conference "Methods of Teaching the Basics of Robotics", the All-Russian Science Festival, "Robomir" festival, and the All-Russian Robotics Olympiad, among others.
In addition to his organisational activities, Maxim is actively engaged in teaching and research. Since 2002 he has been teaching courses for teachers of robotics, which have been attended by over 400 Moscow teachers and more than 500 teachers from other regions of Russia.
ANGELO CANGELOSI
Professor, School of Computer Programming and Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, University of Plymouth / England
Angelo specialises in the field of Artificial Intelligence and teaches at the School of Computer Programming and Mathematics in Plymouth. He is the Head of the Centre for Robotics and Neurosystems and leads work at the Laboratory of Adaptive Behaviour and Cognition. Angelo has participated in numerous projects in the field of Artificial Intelligence and autonomous systems, including a project for the Mars Rover.
MATTHEW CLAUDEL
Representative of the Laboratory Senseable City MIT / USA
DMITRY SUVOROV
IT Director of IT WICRON / Russia
MAXIM GORYANOV
Chief Editor of Portal SLON / Russia
SERGEY TOPOROV
Senior Investment Manager of Corporate Venture Fund LETA Capital / Russia
