More than 400 global automation leaders and executives from the robotics, machine vision and motion control industries will be in attendance at the 21st annual event.

ORLANDO, Fla. (January 22, 2014) - The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) Business Forum, a premier event exploring how and why the robotics industry is changing businesses for the better, begins today at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando. More than 400 global automation leaders and executives from the robotics, machine vision and motion control industries will be in attendance at the 21st annual event.

The forum includes informative presentations from top-notch keynote speakers, several networking opportunities and meaningful discussions designed to arm global business leaders with real-world strategies that can be used immediately.

"A3 has been at the forefront of robotics industry for more than 30 years, and never has there been such excitement around the possibilities that automation can bring," said Jeff Burnstein, president of A3, the Association for Advancing Automation. "With a wealth of fresh technologies now emerging, the A3 forum will be an ideal setting to foster important discussions about how far we've come and - more importantly - just how far we can go."

Featured speakers and topics include:

· Robert Atkinson, President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation - "Competitiveness, Innovation and Productivity: The Global Race for Advantage"

· Larry Bock, Founder and Principal, Science Spark; Creator and Executive Director of the USA Science & Engineering Festival - "Shock and Awe: Getting Students Excited About Science and Engineering"

· Harry Moser, Founder and President, Reshoring Initiative - "Using Total Cost to Justify Automation for Reshoring"

· Adam Steltzner, Lead Landing Engineer, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover Project - "From Leading a High Performance Team to Landing on Mars"

· Jeff Burnstein, President, Association for Advancing Automation

The forum will run today through Friday, January 24. Activities will kick off with an opening keynote at 5:30 p.m. followed by networking receptions from 7:00-9 p.m. A full day of keynote speakers, roundtable discussions, breakout sessions and more will begin at 7 a.m. Thursday, and the forum will conclude at 12 p.m. Friday. For more information on A3 please visit www.a3automate.org.

A full agenda and list of speakers can be found at www.robotics.org/events.