For the past decade Pittsburgh, also known by the moniker "Roboburgh," has been identified as one of only a handful of locations leading the country in developing cutting-edge robotics technology. From the establishment of The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in 1979, to the formation of The Robotics Corridor educational initiative, to the opening of roboworld™, Pittsburgh has been at the forefront of robotics education, development, and public interaction.
Pittsburgh is uniquely positioned to be a world leader in the development of robotics-oriented industries thanks to its history of industrial and entrepreneurial leadership, wealth of technology-focused businesses, and the numerous institutions of higher education, each with a keen and specific interest in the development of the next generation of robotics technology.
More than 60 robotics companies currently reside in Allegheny County, many as products of the strong robotics, engineering, and technology programs at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. These institutions of higher education have partnered with other colleges and universities in the greater Pittsburgh region to form The Robotics Corridor, a joint degree program to develop the workforce that will be needed to expand and support the estimated $500 billion emerging robotics industry in southwestern Pennsylvania.
For more than 20 years, the Science Center (and its predecessor organization, Buhl Science Center) has been a leader in developing robotics-oriented exhibitions and educational programming. roboworld™ is the next generation of robotics exhibitions, sparking interest in robotics and leading to the next generation of robotics researchers and technicians.