Aaron Parness

Across healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, and public spaces, robots are increasingly operating alongside people. This marks the era of Physical AI, where perception, autonomy, and software-defined intelligence intersect with the real world. When humans and robots share space, there are no second chances.

This session will explore the foundational software and critical building blocks that enable safe autonomy at scale. As robotics transitions from contained automation to open deployment, safety must move beyond being an afterthought or a compliance checkbox—it needs to be integrated into the heart of every system and continuously enforced as environments and software evolve.

Together with executives from QNX, Amazon Robotics, Locus Robotics, and Universal Robots, we’ll discuss how leading organizations are tackling autonomy at scale, balancing innovation with predictability, and weaving safety, security, and real-time performance into their solutions. Drawing from real-world deployments, the panel will examine what it takes to build robotics systems that people can confidently trust to operate around them every day, as intelligence takes its place in the physical world.

Join us for the 3rd annual RBR50 Gala, a celebration of the world’s leading robotics innovators. The evening will honor winners of Robot of the Year, Startup of the Year, Application of the Year, Robots for Good winners and more. Guests will enjoy dinner, drinks, and an exclusive conversation with Steve Crowe, Chair of the Robotics Summit & Executive Editor of The Robot Report, Aaron Parness, Director of Applied Sciences at Amazon Robotics, and Bhavana Chandrashekhar, Senior Manager of Applied Science at Amazon Robotics. The conversation will explore Amazon’s latest robot, Vulcan — named RBR50 Robot of the Year — and the keys to its development and rollout. Attendance is limited to RBR50 ticket holders. Gala access can be added during Robotics Summit registration.