Training the robot programmers of the future by experimenting with the future

An artistic endeavor wrapped in a robotic experiment with the future of architecture is a model for engaging young engineers.

I often am struck by the magnitude of the company I work for. At ABB we have tens of thousands of engineers doing incredible things with technology in more than 100 countries around the planet for the purpose of improving the lives of its billions of inhabitants.

In the world of Robotics–in which I am personally immersed–we are lucky enough to create machines and solutions that immediately connect with people. After all, the basic principle behind what a robot does is very human-like.

Yet even though we are engineering and developing the technologies that the future is made of, we face a shortage of properly skilled individuals from which we can choose the people who will help us build the future of Robotics. Over the past year the Head of ABB Robotics, Per Vegard Nerseth, has been talking quite a bit about this challenge.

So when a story comes along that simultaneously shows how ABB is taking steps to encourage the brightest and the best young engineers among us to use their creativity to learn the world of Robotics and also revolves around something as cool as an artistic endeavor wrapped in an experiment with the future, you can bet I’ll be right in there letting my passion for robotics guide my sense of storytelling.

Just a few weeks ago I was honored to be able to bring a film crew into the heart of downtown Frankfurt, Germany, to capture what turned out to be one of the coolest and most interesting stories that’s come across my desk as the Content and Editorial Manager for ABB Robotics– a robotic light art installation as part of the Luminale Festival 2014. From ABB’s student intern program to cool architecture to live artistic installations with hundreds of thousands of visitors, the story of how an ABB robot ended up dancing a lone dance with a light wand and roof in the middle of the Hauptwache on the Zeil of Frankfurt is engrossing in a way few stories are.

So sit back, watch and enjoy as ABB takes you on a journey into the future through the eyes of young innovators:

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About the author

Martin Segerstrom

I’m the Service Communications Manager for ABB Robotics globally. With 20+ years of experience in market communications and a Bachelor’s degree in marketing, my career began as an engineer at ABB in 1990, manufacturing electrical relays for four years. From 1999 to 2014, I have been Project and Account Manager as well as Partner in the advertising industry, with clients like ABB, Atlas Copco, Bahco, DeLaval, Outokumpu, Sandvik and Snap-on Inc. I joined ABB Robotics in 2014. In my spare time I enjoy the occasional film, exercising and nature in general.
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