How a robotics center found a home and grew to become a symbol of revitalization in Lawrenceville
Lawrenceville today is one of the hottest communities in the region, but it's had its ups and downs over the years. And when the decline of the steel industry devastated communities around the region, Lawrenceville was among them.
In 2002, Pittsburgh Magazine described the area as 'more down and out than up and coming.'
It was at about that time that the Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC) decided to make a bet on Lawrenceville's future. RIDC acquired the 14-acre former Heppenstall Steel Company site and a nearby chocolate factory building and began the creation of the Lawrenceville Technology Center.
The Heppenstall building, a 30,000-square-foot heavy industrial high-bay facility, turned out to play a leading role in the development of the RIDC project as well as in the story of Lawrenceville's revitalization and development into 'Robotics Row.'
The space was built out by RIDC and became known by its distinctive exterior as the Blue Building. It is fully occupied by Carnegie Robotics, which was spun out of Carnegie Mellon University and led by CEO John Bares, Ph.D., a founding father of robotics who served as director of the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) — which was already a neighbor in Lawrenceville.
Carnegie Robotics has become a globally recognized leader in its field and a catalyst for economic growth, focused on engineering and commercializing autonomous applications. Its goal from the outset has been to research, develop and produce industry-leading autonomous solutions in the U.S. — and it has been involved in notable developments in the autonomy industry.
Early in the company's history, it was chosen as part of the federal government's National Robotics Initiative. In 2014, it was chosen by the U.S. Army to develop an autonomous mine detection system. A year later, it partnered with Uber to create Uber ATG — developing the first fully autonomous, on-road cars, and achieving over 1 million miles of on-road autonomy.
In 2016, Carnegie Robotics partnered with industry leader in floor cleaning, Nilfisk, to create the world's first fully autonomous and safety-certified floor care autonomous mobile robot (AMR). This partnership proved to be so successful that a new company, Thoro.ai, was spun out and is now an industry leader in this category.
Today, the company supports several key U.S. DoD programs, including the DARPA RACER program, where it designs, develops and manufactures full fleets of light wheeled vehicles, plus large cables tracked platforms (tanks) that are a critical component of what is the largest robotic commercial system in the world.
Today, its products serve industries as diverse as defense, agriculture, marine and manufacturing, and one of its newest products — CardShark — a military-grade, body-worn computing device, has generated significant attention.
With over 10 million current accumulated total hours of autonomous robots in constant operation and powered by Carnegie Robotics, the company attracts visitors from around the world and has become one of the notable symbols of Pittsburgh's new economy — and an anchor of a revitalized Lawrenceville, one of the great turnaround stories in our region.
'When we think about catalytic development, we consider several concepts,' said RIDC President Donald F. Smith, Jr. 'Is the company likely to expand? Is it likely to attract talent from our universities and from outside our region? Will other companies see some utility in proximity and open their own facilities nearby? Is it the type of company that could produce spin-offs? Carnegie Robotics has done all those things and, along with other major developments — like Children's Hospital — has been an important catalyst for Lawrenceville's transformation.'
Learn more about the Pittsburgh region's economic development agenda and RIDC's leadership role in it, providing public policy insights and developing homes for job-creating companies.
The mission of the Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern PA is to catalyze and support economic growth and high-quality job creation through policy advocacy, real estate development and finance of projects that advance the public interest. A not-for-profit entity, RIDC's 8 million square feet of property, in 15 industrial and innovation parks, is currently home to 118 companies that support over 8,500 jobs. More information is available at ridc.org.
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