York to be showcased for investors interested in robotics tech & manufacturing
FILE PHOTO: The Carnegie Mellon University Highly Intelligent Mobile Platform robot, known as CHIMP, performs a set of doorway tests during a preparation run at the National Robotics Engineering Center in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Capital investors, technology gurus and other movers and shakers to descend on York in October
(York) — Long-touted for its centralized location among major cities and ports, York could become a major player in the manufacturing of robotics, Mayor Mike Helfrich said Monday.
In October, venture capitalists, technology CEOs and entrepreneurs will be invited to York, where the city will showcase its viability as a startup community in the field of robotics.
John McElligott, CEO of York Exponential, a local robotics manufacturing company, warns the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” is coming, but adds that York could be at the forefront.
York’s selling point, McElligott said, is its history of industry and manufacturing. At the same time, there is a move away from Silicon Valley and major technology bases in Boston and New York, he said.
York was chosen among nationwide contenders as the next VentureBeat Blue Print event, which brings focus on artificial intelligence and automation in the country’s heartland. The most recent event was in Reno, Nevada, which was attended by “the most powerful and influential” investors, he said.
York will get a chance to showcase itself as a potential robots manufacturing hub in October. York Daily Record
At a news conference Monday, McElligott, Helfrich and York County Economic Alliance CEO Kevin Schreiber all recalled the region’s success in industrializing 77 years ago to arm the U.S. and its allies during WWII.
The Third Industrial Revolution, which York largely missed out on, was in the 1980s with the advent of the Internet, affordable personal computers and rapid advancement in communications technology.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is seeing the emergence of autonomous cars, artificial intelligence and robotics.
“York is poised to lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution” and needs only capital investment to get started, McElligot said.
Helfrich explained the reason for the excitement.
“This is definitely a challenge,” he said. “China has expressed the goal to be the unabashed leader in this area.
“And, unlike in our democracy, China can throw all of its resources at that goal.”
And there, Helfrich says, is the tie-in to the 1940s York Plan, when “the community got together, put aside its party politics and its differences to support the effort of WWII.
“Now, we have to change, the same as we did in WWII,” he said.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
