Humanoid Pavilion Stage Speakers
AADEEL AKHTAR
CEO
PSYONIC
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Dr. Aadeel Akhtar, CEO of PSYONIC, founded the company to create advanced, accessible bionic limbs after meeting a young girl missing a limb in Pakistan. PSYONIC's bionic Ability Hand is the fastest on the market, impact-resistant, and the first to provide a sense of touch. It is also covered by Medicare and is being used by humans and robotics companies globally, including NASA, Meta, Mercedes, and Google. Dr. Akhtar earned a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and an M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois, along with a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in Computer Science from Loyola University Chicago. He’s been recognized by MIT Technology Review and Newsweek and secured a 3-shark deal on Shark Tank.
Session(s):
Real to Real Transfer: Closing the Loop Between Human Hands and Humanoid Robots | Wednesday, June 24, 2026 - 11:45 AM (CDT)
JEANINE BANKS
Founder & CEO
Lovell AI
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Jeanine is co-founder and CEO of Lovell AI, a deep tech startup that is building the training academy for cognitive robots. She started in robotics as co-captain of her high school team and spent the past 2 decades building the entire stack that makes adaptive robotic intelligence possible today. During that time, Jeanine introduced many technologies at Google, Amazon Web Services, Axway and GE. Most recently she founded and led Google Developer X, expanding the company's developer ecosystem by 50% to many millions of students, startups, and enterprises. In this role, she supported open source projects like Go, Flutter, and Genkit and incubated new platforms, including developer tools for Gemini and Gemma. Jeanine is also a startup advisor, an AI ethics lecturer at Adelphi University, and an investment partner with Ntrypoint Ventures. She earned a bachelor's degree in computer science at Dowling College and a master's degree in general management at Adelphi University.
Session(s):
Cognitive Robots and the New Industrial Apprenticeship | Monday, June 22, 2026 - 2:00 PM (CDT)
JON BATTLES
VP, Technology Strategy
Cobot
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A distinguished industry expert in autonomous supply chain and robotics, Jon has designed over 150 greenfield facilities, overseen multibillion-dollar capital improvement investments, contributed to over 80 robotics-related patents, and played a critical role in integrating Kiva Robotics Systems into Amazon's operation. Jon brings 40+ years of experience in enterprise systems, robotics and automation, including 17 years at Amazon and 25 years at Hallmark Cards. Jon has served on multiple Boards including Secretary RIA Robotics Industry Association, University of Washington ME Board and currently A3 Artificial Intelligence Industry Board. At Cobot, Jon leads technology strategy, applying decades of robotics and automation expertise to shape the next generation of collaborative, AI-powered systems for the physical world.
Session(s):
How to Buy a Robot in 2026: A Strategic Framework (Plus, What's New at Cobot) | Wednesday, June 24, 2026 - 1:15 PM (CDT)
PETER BOTTICELLI
Principal Business Development
Apex Sensing LLC
Peter Botticelli joined Apex Sensing with a strong background in custom robotics and control systems. Peter studied electrical engineering both at Worchester Polytechnic Institute and the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. He worked in development as a robotics engineer at Barrett Technology Inc., UniFirst Corporation, and SynTouch, prior to Apex. Peter develops state-of-the-art machine sensing technology, working with leaders in various industries including consumer electronics, automotive, textiles, and consumer goods to provide novel applications for machine touch.
Session(s):
Next Generation Tactile Sensing for Robotics | Monday, June 22, 2026 - 3:30 PM (CDT)
AKSHAY CHALANA
CEO
Saphira AI
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Akshay Chalana is the CEO and co-founder of Saphira AI, where he works on functional safety, cybersecurity, and certification workflows for robotics and autonomous systems. His work focuses on helping humanoid and industrial robotics teams manage continuously evolving risk across hardware, software, AI models, and operational environments through dynamic traceability, scenario-aware hazard analysis, and continuous compliance infrastructure. Akshay collaborates with robotics manufacturers, OEMs, and standards organizations on operationalizing safety frameworks for real-world deployment of intelligent machines alongside humans.
Session(s):
Beyond the Cage: Navigating Humanoid Safety Standards, Field Realities, and the Road to Certification | Wednesday, June 24, 2026 - 2:15 PM (CDT)
SAURABH CHANDRA
CEO
Ati Motors
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Surabh Chandra founded Ati Motors in 2017 to revolutionize material movement in factories and warehouses through autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). Driven by a first-principles approach to design, his leadership has enabled Ati Motors to solve complex operational challenges that redefine efficiency and automation in the industrial sector.
With over two decades of experience in building and scaling technology companies, Saurabh combines engineering expertise with a visionary approach to robotics and automation. His work continues to push the boundaries of what's possible in industrial innovation.
Session(s):
Design Choices for Manufacturing Humanoids | Thursday, June 25, 2026 - 11:45 AM (CDT)
CHRIS CHEN
Co-CEO of FF AI-Robotics
FF AI-Robotics Inc.
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Chris Chen is Global Partner of Faraday Future?, serving as the Global Head of User Ecosystem and Co-CEO of FF AI-Robotics, while also acting as Co-Dean of the BIBS-FF AI Robotics Institute. Chris has nearly 20 years of extensive experience across the global automotive, technology, and embodied AI robotics industries. He possesses deep expertise and hands-on experience in public company governance, user ecosystem development, robotic commercial deployment, Robot as a Service (RaaS), robotic data training and collection, EAI brain & open-source open-developer ecosystems.
Session(s):
Build a Physical AI Infrastructure Platform Through a Three-in-One Robotics Ecosystem Strategy | Monday, June 22, 2026 - 12:30 PM (CDT)
PETER CHIA
Director of Industrial Innovation
Unitree
Peter (Xie Yipeng) is Director of Industrial Innovation at Unitree, where he focuses on bridging the gap between humanoid robotics and real-world industrial deployment. Drawing on extensive experience in industrial automation—spanning product management, large-scale system integration, and global project delivery—he now leads Unitree's strategy for bringing Physical AI from simulation to factory floors. His current work centers on building the ecosystem, partnerships, and deployment models that enable humanoid robots to create measurable value in industrial environments without disrupting existing production systems.
Session(s):
Building Physical AI from Factories | Monday, June 22, 2026 - 1:15 PM (CDT)
POONAM CHITALE
Senior Manager, Ecosystem Development, Physical AI
NVIDIA
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As Senior Manager of Ecosystem Development and Physical AI at NVIDIA, Poonam works at the forefront of GPU acceleration and AI platform innovation, helping organizations and developers adopt accelerated computing for next-generation AI workloads.
Session(s):
Unlocking Productivity and Enhanced Safety for Autonomous Robots | Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - 11:00 AM (CDT)
JONATHAN DAGORNE
Global Product Manager
Regal Rexnord Warner Electric
Jonathan brings a globally diverse background supporting customers across multiple regions. He has spent time working on-site in China, Europe and NA partnering directly with local engineering and procurement teams to accelerate development cycles and ensure optimal brake and motor integrations for actuator development. His experience includes managing international customer relationships, navigating regional market dynamics, and providing exceptional support to successfully execute projects across geographies.
Session(s):
Beyond the Lab: Designing Scalable Motion Systems for Humanoid Robots | Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - 12:30 PM (CDT)
AMOD DAMLE
Head of Product
FORT Robotics
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Amod Damle leads Product at FORT Robotics, owning the vision and execution of the FORT platform to help customers safely scale autonomy in the era of Physical AI.
Prior to FORT, Amod held product leadership roles across robotics, industrial IoT, and networking. At Reach Power, he worked at the intersection of wireless power, robots, and drones, partnering with U.S. defense and public safety programs to bring novel technologies to life. At Fetch Robotics, he helped deliver cloud-based robotics platforms used by large 3PLs and leading logistics providers across the U.S., improving pick rates while reducing repetitive and physically demanding warehouse labor.
Earlier in his career, Amod built and scaled platform products at Cisco, focused on observability and cybersecurity for Industrial OT environments, enabling customers to secure and operate mission-critical infrastructure. At Infinera, he led services and subscription products in optical networking, helping deliver high-speed internet connectivity to millions of homes worldwide.
Across his career, Amod has focused on turning customer pain points and technology into shippable products that are commercially successful and operate reliably at scale.
Session(s):
Unlocking Productivity and Enhanced Safety for Autonomous Robots | Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - 11:00 AM (CDT)
WEI DING
CEO, Co-founder
Noble Machines
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Wei Ding is the Co-Founder & CEO of Noble Machines, a company building general purpose robots designed for hazardous and physically demanding industrial tasks. Prior to Noble Machines, Wei was a Senior Software Engineer, Autonomous System at Apple. Wei holds a Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. in Aircraft Design from Beihang University.
Session(s):
Industrial Autonomy Powered by Robots Learning at Scale | Monday, June 22, 2026 - 11:45 AM (CDT)
MARTIN ELBS
VP of Global Sales
Lightwheel
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Martin Elbs is VP of Global Sales at Lightwheel. He is leading global sales strategy, with a focus on expanding Lightwheel’s presence across OEMs, automotive leaders, and industrial enterprises worldwide. Previously he was Chief Customer Officer at IPG Automotive in Karlsruhe, Germany since 2015. Before that he was Global Head of Commercial for Lotus Engineering in Hethel, United Kingdom, driving the market expansion of Lotus Engineering into Asian automotive markets. Martin has held a number of positions with ETAS, a subsidiary of Robert Bosch Corporation during his 15 years with the company, including Vice President Sales Germany and Director Strategic Marketing. For ETAS, he also worked 6 years in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Session(s):
Scaling Robot Deployment: Simulation and Evaluation for Production Readiness | Monday, June 22, 2026 - 2:45 PM (CDT)
PATRICK GAO
VP of AGIBOT Europe and North America
AGIBOT
Dr. Patrick Gao is the General Manager, North America Territory of AGIBOT Innovation Technology, a world-leading general-purpose embodied robots manufacturer. Dr. Gao received his Ph.D degree in Power Electronics and Energy Systems from University of Alberta and holds P.ENG to perform engineering design and consultation. Dr. Gao served as an active member in IEEE PES and PELS, IAS societies and is a reviewer of multiple IEEE transactions.
Under his leadership, AGIBOT has extended its international integration of industry -leading full-stack robotics platform with ‘Embodiment + AI’ to assist American enterprises and consumers. Before joining AGIBOT, Dr. Gao’s professional career includes product management, regional director and GM roles in renewable energy and consumer electronics. His unique cross-disciplinary expertise, deep technical foundation, and proven ability to build technology ecosystems have consistently positioned him as a transformative leader in high-tech industries.
Session(s):
Deployment Year One: Accelerating a New Era of Productivity with Embodied AI | Monday, June 22, 2026 - 11:00 AM (CDT)
MATTHIAS HAYNL
Bus. Unit Mgr, Func Safety & OT Cyber Sec
TÜV Rheinland of North America Inc.
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Matthias Haynl is a seasoned engineering leader and functional safety expert with over 24 years of experience in industrial systems, safety engineering, and cybersecurity. He currently serves as Business Unit Manager for Functional Safety and Cyber Security at TÜV Rheinland North America, where he oversees technical operations, business development, and cross-regional coordination of safety services.
Mr. Haynl began his career as a development engineer, specializing in hardware and software design for communication systems. Since joining TÜV Rheinland in 2003, he has built deep expertise in functional safety assessments in accordance with international standards such as IEC 61508, IEC 61511, and ISO frameworks. His work spans a wide range of industries, including industrial machinery, process automation, power generation, and safety-critical control systems.
Over the course of his career, he has led numerous safety evaluations of complex systems such as PLCs, turbine protection systems, and safety-related network components. In addition to his technical contributions, he is an experienced trainer, regularly delivering seminars on functional safety, machinery safety, and cybersecurity standards, including IEC 62443.
Mr. Haynl has also played an active role in international standardization efforts, contributing to committees such as ISO 19014 and ISO 22119. His combination of technical depth, leadership, and global experience positions him as a trusted authority in functional safety and industrial cybersecurity.
Session(s):
Future-Proofing Physical AI Systems for Certification Readiness | Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - 1:15 PM (CDT)
HOWARD HORN
Product Line Manager
Regal Rexnord
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Howard brings over 25 years of precision gearing experience and has partnered with humanoid robotics and broader automation OEMs to develop custom, co-engineered gearing solutions. He works closely with engineering teams to design application-specific systems that meet demanding requirements for torque density, precision, and compact form factors. His strength lies in collaborating directly with customers to solve complex motion challenges, helping enable next-generation robotic platforms through tailored solutions.
Session(s):
Beyond the Lab: Designing Scalable Motion Systems for Humanoid Robots | Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - 12:30 PM (CDT)
JAN LIPHARDT
Founder
OpenMind
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Jan Liphardt is the founder & CEO of OpenMind, a San Francisco startup building OM1, an open-source, AI-native operating system for robots. A Stanford bioengineering professor, Jan has worked at the intersection of data, healthcare, and hardware, supported by the NIH, NSF, NCI, the US Department of Energy, and MITRE. His awards include a Sloan Research Fellowship, a Searle Scholarship, and a Mohr Davidow Ventures Innovator’s Award. Jan likes building things that are useful and helpful.
Session(s):
Social Intelligence for Homes and Workplaces | Wednesday, June 24, 2026 - 3:30 PM (CDT)
EDITH LLONTOP
Technical Marketing Engineer
NVIDIA
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Edith Llontop is a Robotics Technical Marketing Engineer at NVIDIA. She has a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from UC Berkeley and has experience doing robotics research both at Nvidia's Generalist Embodied Agent Research Lab and Berkeley's Artificial Intelligence Research Lab. She now works on projects that help support researchers, customers, and the broader robotics community leverage Nvidia's robotics technology.
Session(s):
How to Build End-to-End Physical AI Systems for Humanoid Robots | Wednesday, June 24, 2026 - 11:00 AM (CDT)
CARLOS OLIVEROS FORERO
Head of Product
Robot.com
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Carlos Oliveros Forero is Head of Product at Robot.com, where he leads strategy for the company's humanoid and mobile robotics platforms. He has spent his career in aerospace and robotics. Carlos holds a Master's in Engineering Management from Northwestern University, a Master's in Finance and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, both from Universidad de los Andes.
Session(s):
One Humanoid, Five Hats: Inside the R-Noid Launch | Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - 2:45 PM (CDT)
YUZHE QIN
CTO / Co-founder
Dexmate
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Yuzhe Qin is the CTO and co-founder of Dexmate, a physical AI company building general-purpose robotic systems. At Dexmate, he leads the engineering efforts to develop dexterous robots that can be deployed in the real world, with an approach grounded in hardware-software co-design and full-stack robotics engineering.
His technical focus spans robot learning, dexterous manipulation, teleoperation, and large-scale simulation for embodied AI. He has authored widely-cited work on vision-based teleoperation, sim-to-real reinforcement learning, and large-scale robotics simulation infrastructure.
Session(s):
Industrial Physical AI: What Matters for Your Robotic Deployment | Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - 11:45 AM (CDT)
JULIA ASTRID RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Business Development
Synapticon GmbH
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Speaker biography coming soon!
Session(s):
Beyond the Cage: Navigating Humanoid Safety Standards, Field Realities, and the Road to Certification | Wednesday, June 24, 2026 - 2:15 PM (CDT)
ALEXANDER SCHMITZ
CEO
XELA Robotics
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Alexander Schmitz is one of the founders and shareholders of XELA Robotics, which he established with his partners in August 2018. He has been developing tactile sensors, both hardware and software, for more than 13 years, which is part of his broader work on human-collaborative robots.
He received his master's degree with honours from the University of Vienna, Austria, in 2007, and Ph.D. degree from the University of Sheffield, England, in 2011. He performed his Ph.D. research as part of a joint location program with the Italian Institute of Technology, Italy. Alex previously held positions as an Associate Professor at Waseda University, Japan, while also working at XELA Robotics. However, he has since shifted his focus to solely working at XELA Robotics.
He received numerous grants, including a grant of 117 million JPY from the JST START Program (Program for Creating STart-ups from Advanced Research and Technology) and support from the NEDO Entrepreneurs Program (NEP).
He has been featured in various magazines and news articles, including an article in Science magazine about his experience as an entrepreneur. He has authored more than 100 research articles, including the world's first research article about using deep learning for tactile sensing. He has received numerous awards for his work, such as the FANUC FA Foundation Award 2017
Session(s):
Tactile Sensing Systems that Give Robots a Sense of Touch — Enabling Adaptable Automation Today and Building the Foundation for Fully Accessible Automation Tomorrow | Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - 3:30 PM (CDT)
MICHELE SILVA
Engineering Manager
Reynolds & Moore
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Michele is a seasoned robotics and automation leader with close to 20 years of industry experience spanning advanced manufacturing, industrial automation, and next generation robotic systems. Her career has focused on enabling safe, reliable, and scalable deployment of emerging robotic technologies, particularly humanoids and other dynamically stable mobile robots.
She is an active contributor to international standards development and serves on multiple technical committees through ISO TC 299, shaping the future of global robotics safety. Michele is a certified Functional Safety Engineer in Machinery through TÜV Rheinland, and a Functional Safety Engineer (61508) through TÜV SÜD. Throughout her career, Michele has worked with manufacturers, integrators, researchers, and end-users to translate complex technical issues into clear, actionable guidance for industry stakeholders. Her work in reflects her commitment to ensuring that the next generation of humanoid and dynamically stable robots can be adopted safely, responsibly, and at scale.
Session(s):
Beyond the Cage: Navigating Humanoid Safety Standards, Field Realities, and the Road to Certification | Wednesday, June 24, 2026 - 2:15 PM (CDT)
YOSHI UMENO
Global Director of Business Development, Robotics
Kollmorgen, A Regal Rexnord Brand
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Yoshi Umeno is the Global Director of Business Development for Robotics at Kollmorgen, a Regal Rexnord brand, with a dedicated focus on humanoid robotics. He brings a deep understanding of motion control for humanoids—spanning actuators, drives, precision components, and system-level performance—and has extensive experience servicing and partnering with leading humanoid OEMs globally.
Session(s):
Beyond the Lab: Designing Scalable Motion Systems for Humanoid Robots | Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - 12:30 PM (CDT)
PHIL ZHENG
COO
Richtech Robotics
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Phil serves as Chief Operations Officer at Richtech, overseeing Sales, Operations, and Customer Success. Phil holds a BA from UCLA and a JD from UC Irvine School of Law.
Session(s):
Unlocking Flexible American Manufacturing through DEX, Powered by NVIDIA Technology | Wednesday, June 24, 2026 - 12:30 PM (CDT)
ZACH ZWEIG-VINEGAR
President & CTO
Gatlin Robotics
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Zach is the President and Chief Technology Officer at Gatlin Robotics, where he leads the development of automated humanoid cleaning robots and their underlying software architecture. With a deep background in robotic manipulation, computer vision, and machine learning, Zach specializes in bridging the gap between simulated training environments and real-world deployment.
Prior to founding Gatlin Robotics, Zach served as the Chief Software Architect at Miso Robotics. There, he was instrumental in building the AI and motion planning systems for "Flippy," an autonomous robotic kitchen assistant deployed in commercial environments. His work in early commercial robotics resulted in numerous foundational patents involving multi-sensor fusion, infrared perception, and the application of convolutional neural networks for real-time robotic control.
At Gatlin Robotics, Zach architected the company's proprietary "Real-to-Sim-to-Real" pipeline. By leveraging massive cloud orchestration and the NVIDIA Isaac ecosystem, his team automates the creation of high-fidelity, physics-enabled digital twins generated directly from real-world video. This approach solves the industry's environment bottleneck, allowing Gatlin to exponentially scale synthetic data collection and reinforcement learning. By training humanoid control policies in the cloud before hardware ever touches a facility floor, Zach's engineering focus remains squarely on reducing deployment timelines and moving humanoids out of the lab and into productive, scalable industrial operations.
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