INNOROBO attracts top range leaders, pioneers and researchers with international prominence. As robotics is multi-disciplinary, INNOROBO gathers experts in diverse disciplines from design to engineering through anthropology, electronics, artificial intelligence and much more.

A complete list of speakers will be announced in January 2013. In the meantime, announcements will be made through our newsletter and social media.

Confirmed speakers and topics to date are:

BRUNO BONNELL a renowned high tech international multi-entrepreneur, is pioneering the service robotics market in Europe.
He is the president of Syrobo, the French trade association for robotics, at the initiative of the first INNOROBO event. A qualified chemical engineer, Bonnell received a degree in economics at the Université Paris IX. He began his long career on the Thomson TO7, one of the earliest French-produced home computers, before founding Infogrames/Atari (international video games company). He has been chairman and chief creative officer of the company during nearly 25 years. Since 2006, Bonnell has been living for his passion of Robotics and Robopolis, a Lyon-based company and European leader in service robotics. He also shares his vision through two R & D companies (POB Technology and Awabot) working on robotic platforms (hardware and software) dedicated to the world of education and entertainment market. Bruno Bonnell is at the initiative of the first European fund dedicated to robotics, Robolution Capital, which contributes to consolidating a dynamic industrial base by supporting innovative robotics companies in the financing of their development.

HUGH HERR is one of the leading pioneers of robotics in the US.

As associate professor and director of the Biomechatronics group at The MIT Media Lab, Herr focuses on developing physically assistive technologies that will be intimate extensions of the human body—structurally, neurologically, and dynamically. A double amputee himself, Herr is the holder (or co-holder) of 14 patents related to assistive devices, including those for a computer-controlled artificial knee, commercially available as the Rheo Knee, an active ankle-foot orthosis, and the world's first powered ankle-foot prosthesis. The powered foot and ankle is being commercially produced by iWalk, a Media Lab spinoff company, of which Herr is founder and chief scientific officer. The computer-controlled knee was named one of TIME magazine's Top Ten Inventions in 2004; the robotic ankle-foot prosthesis was named to the same list in 2007.

DMITRY GRISHIN is considered one of the most successful young entrepreneurs in Russia.

He founded Grishin Robotics, first international investment company, dedicated to consumer robotics in 2012 and co-founded Mail.Ru Group, biggest internet-company in the Russian-speaking world, in 2005. Currently, he also serves as CEO & Board Chairman at the Mail.Ru Group, now a public company.
In addition to being head of the department of Information Technologies and Programming at St. Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, his passion for innovation led him to found the Russian Code Cup – the largest competition for programmers in Eastern Europe. Through the Code Cup and other projects, he continues to foster growth in the technology sector worldwide.

Dominique Sciamma is Deputy Director, Member of the direction board of the school and is also in charge of development and research at Strate College in France. Dominique created and manages the "Interactive Systems & Objects" department, which focuses on intelligent objects. Dominique’s goal is to prepare the future designers for the coming world, where we are surrounded by objects with behaviors, rather than functionalities. Holding a DEA and a Maîtrise in theoretical Computer Science and a Maîtrise in Mathematics, and with a thorough career within international companies, Dominique has led, until his integration at Strate, a triple activity, as a teacher, an pluri-media author, and a NTIC consultant. Dominique will be speaking on the influence of design on our reactions and interactions with objects, robots and devices.

Vincent Rabaud will be on the Imaginove workshop

  Vincent Rabaud joined Willow Garage in January 2011 as a research engineer in computer vision. With a background in structure from motion his current focus is to teach robots to recognize objects. Among other things, he is working on acquiring a database of household objects, developing 3D object recognition and fast feature detection on cellphones. His research interests include 3D, tracking, face recognition and anything that involves underusing CPU's by feeding them very fast algorithms.
Dr. Rabaud completed his PHD at UCSD, advised by Professor Belongie. He also holds a MS in space mechanics and space imagery from SUPAERO and a BS/MS in optimization from the Ecole Polytechnique.

Yves Legrand  is the global vertical marketing director for Industrial Automation and Robotics at Freescal Semiconductor. He based in France and has spent his professional career between Toulouse and the USA where he worked for Motorola Semiconductor and Freescale in Phoenix and Chicago. 

His marketing expertise ranges from wireless and consumer semiconductor markets and applications to gree chargers and wireless charging systems. He has an EE masters from Grenoble INPG in France and master in Industrial and System Engineering frim San Jose State University, CA.

Jean-Claude Heudin is full Professor and Director of the Institut of Internet and Multimedia – Léonard de Vinci University in Paris. He has a PhD and a « Director of Research » degree from the University of Paris XI. He is the author of numerous international scientific papers as well as several books in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Complexity Science including « Les créatures artificielles » and « Robots & Avatars » published by Odile Jacob, and « Robot Erectus » published by Science-eBook. He regularly participates in the media and gives public lectures about artificial creatures. 

 Vincent Schramm, 53 years old, holds a master's degree of econometrics - Paris X Nanterre and of a Marketing - Paris IX Dauphine. He began his career at Secodip ( TNS) in 1984.He occupied successively different positions in the marketing and commercial departments of the French subsidiaries of Colgate-Palmolive and Coca-Cola from 1987 till 1992.He was General Secretary, then Managing Director of the Symo, International federation of machinery, metrology and mechanical equipment, from 1993 till 2005.Deputy Managing Director of the Symop, French federation for manufacturing tools and technologies in 2006, he became the Managing Director in July, 2008.Vincent Schramm wants a cohesive and powerful industry and wishes that the civil society becomes aware of its active role for the construction of a better life: the production technologies are everywhere, in our everyday life, as in the most ambitious scientific projects. They are carriers of innovative solutions for today and tomorrow manufacturing industry, in France and internationally. With this vision, he contributed to the development of the “Robotcaliser” action - To automate not to relocate. Then he introduced, with the Symop members, a more global approach, “Productivez! - re-industrialize thanks to machines and manufacturing technologies”. He is indeed convinced that the competitiveness of the French industry in particular of its SMI will be carried by the optimization of their tools and production processes.

Bertin NAHUM, President and founder of Medtech.  
Bertin NAHUM  was  born  in  Senegal in  1969  and  raised  in France. Bertin  NAHUM found  his  vocation  while  studying at the National Institute of  Applied  Sciences (INSA Lyon,  France): "At the end of my engineering studies, I took part in the design of a software  capable  of automatically detecting  brain lesions on  CT scans. This feeling of usefulness gave me the desire to dedicate my career to patients - but on the engineering side - through the design of robots that could assist physicians."  
In  2002,  Bertin  NAHUM  founded in  Montpellier  (France)  his  own  surgical  robotics company called Medtech.
The  first  surgical  robot  designed  by  Medtech  was  called  BRIGIT. The  entire  patent portfolio  of  this  robot  dedicated  to  knee  surgery  was  acquired  in  2006  by  Zimmer  Inc. (NYSE: ZMH), the world leader of orthopedic surgery. Medtech decided to invest the fruit of this business deal in the design of a new robot for neurosurgery: ROSA.
To date, over 600 patients have been operated with ROSA en Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain), in North America (USA and Canada) and in China.
The Canadian magazine Discovery Series recently awarded Bertin NAHUM the 4th most revolutionary  high-tech  entrepreneur  just  behind  Steve  Jobs, Mark  Zuckerberg  and James Cameron.
Bertin  NAHUM  graduated  from  the National Institute of  Applied  Sciences  (INSA Lyon, France) and holds a Master of Science in Robotics from Coventry University (UK).

Gerard de Boisboissel is a research engineer at the Saint-Cyr Research Center (CREC), hosted by the French Military Academy & Schools at Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan.
He is in charge of coordinating research programs, specifically the programs “robotisation of the battlefield” and “CyberDefense”, and in charge of the contacts with companies.
Before joining the CREC, Gerard worked as project manager & SW program manager, at multinational Telecommunications companies, such as Motorola, Lucent Technologies and Mitsubishi.

Udo Jansen is the Global Director for Small Domestic Appliances at GfK, working mainly with the company’s worldwide retail panels. Based in Nuremberg, Germany, he has tracked key developments within this industry for over a decade, collaborating with major players in 70 countries and spearheading the roll out of retail panels across the globe. During this time he has also presented at several international conferences and followed the advancement of the vacuum cleaners market. Focusing on the impact of new technology, he is particularly excited about the recent trends in robotics.

Prior to joining GfK, Udo Jansen worked in retail and obtained a master’s degree in Business Administration from University Erlangen-Nuremberg. 

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 2011 & 2012 SPEAKER PROFILES

• Speakers 2012
• Speakers 2011