The COVID-19 pandemic, the world forces individuals and institutions in all areas to adhere to the new normal. In this period, when technology and innovation come to the forefront, the business world is changing and transforming.
On April 29, 2021, our CEO Leyla Arsan moderated the fifth edition of the Nordic Talks webinar series “Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Applications in Business World” organized by the Consulate General of Denmark in Istanbul.
Anette Galskjøt, Consulate General of Royal Danish in İstanbul hosted the webinar. Our CEO Leyla Arsan moderated. Dr. Erdal Kayacan, Head of Robotics Department in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Aarhus University, Kandan Ö. Gök, Country Manager of Universal Robots Turkey, Bongki Engel, Business Development Manager at Odense Robotics, and Mads Jørgensen, Managing Director of Upteko have participated as speakers.
COLLABORATION IS THE KEY
Anette Galskjøt made an opening speech and reminded of Denmark’s digitalization journey. She said that Denmark didn’t go digital in one day, and emphasized that digitalization is essential for making the public sector and modernization more efficient. Galskjøt highlighted that the key to digitalization is the private sector, and added that they care very much about the collaboration of the private sector and the public.
Galskjøt said Denmark’s innovative solutions in robotics and artificial intelligence will continue to add value to the Turkish industry. She stated that durable infrastructures, sustainable industry, and advanced innovation can be spread with Turkish and Danish stakeholders and invited everyone to imagine the business world of tomorrow together.
HUMAN-CENTERED, SUSTAINABLE, SAFE
Before giving the speakers word, our CEO Leyla Arsan emphasized that artificial intelligence, robotics researches, and innovation activities need more human-centered, sustainable, safe, and inclusive approaches as the European Commission proposed the new rules and actions for excellence and trust in Artificial Intelligence on April 21, 2021. She underlined that this can only be achieved through collaborations and partnerships, which have become more important than ever with COVID-19.
MORE THAN 50 THOUSAND COBOTS
The first speaker, General Manager of Universal Robots Turkey, Kandan Ö. Gök began his speech by saying that the human workforce should be supported by robots and continue: “Contrary to popular belief, only 10 percent of jobs can be fully automated. With cobots, productivity can be increased by 50 percent by preserving the existing human workforce.”
After Kandan Ö. Gök’s presentation, Upteko Co-Founder Mads Jørgensen spoke about the innovative drone technologies they have developed for the maritime sector. He mentioned Upteko’s autonomous drone systems that customers can easily use in offshore operations and added that these systems are also successful against bad weather, high wind speeds, and saltwater in the air.
7.8 MILLION CONSUMERS BUY DRONES IN 2020
Dr. Erdal Kayacan, Head of Robotics Department in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Aarhus University reminded of the drone technology that has entered our lives in recent years. He said that globally, 70 percent of the technology was used for military and 13 percent for commercial purposes, while only 17 percent was consumer-oriented. In 2014, 450 thousand consumers ordered drones, while in 2020, 7.8 million consumers ordered drones, and 3.3 billion dollars of turnover was made. He emphasized that these numbers are showing how fast the market for drone consumption is growing.
Bongki Engel, Business Development Manager at Odense Robotics, which produces projects with both universities and companies, also underlined the importance of international collaboration in robotics and artificial intelligence. He said that Denmark owes its leadership for 10 years in the field of robotics and drones to automation, cooperation, innovation, trust, information sharing, and hard work between the private sector, the public, and scientific institutions.
You can watch the webinar’s live stream recording on our youtube channel.