NORWALK, CT-Michael G. Lutomski, NASA's risk manager for the International Space Station program, will deliver the opening keynote at Assembly Technology Expo (ATExpo) and the International Robots & Vision Show, taking place Sept. 27-29 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.

Lutomski's presentation, "Robonaut and Future Assembly of the International Space Station," will discuss efforts to develop the Robonaut, an automated dexterous manipulator designed to complete many of the routine tasks on the International Space Station.

"As robotics technology advances beyond the factory floor into a wide range of service applications, there's strong interest in NASA's plans for robots in space that are capable of assembly and maintenance tasks," says Donald A. Vincent, executive vice president of the Robotic Industries Association (RIA, Ann Arbor, MI). RIA, together with the Automated Imaging Association (Ann Arbor, MI), is cosponsoring the International Robots & Vision Show.

ATExpo, which is sponsored by ASSEMBLY Magazine, is held annually and features exhibits from some 600 suppliers of advanced assembly systems, hand tools, fasteners, adhesives and other assembly-related equipment. For more information or to register for free admission, visit www.atexpo.com.

The International Robots & Vision Show is held every 2 years and features exhibits from some 200 leading suppliers of robots, machine vision systems and related technologies.

For more information on the show as well as other robotics and machine vision activities, visit www.roboticsonline.com.