Programme

ERF2025 ProgramME Overview

Experience the Variety of our Workshops, Exhibition and Site Visits

UPDATED 14/02/2025, 15:33 CET

Programme is subject to change without notice.

Monday, 24 March

8:00 – 13:30  Site Visits

SCHUNK (Brackenheim-Hausen) and IPAI (Heilbronn)

BOSCH (Ulm)

Mercedes (Sindelfingen)

Neura Robotics (Metzingen) and FANUC (Neuhausen)

12:00 – 13:30  Registration euRobotics General Assembly / Event Opening

14:00 – 17:00  euRobotics General Assembly

14:00-17:00 Public Engagement

14:00-15:25 B2B matchmaking

15:30-17:00 Investor tip session

17:00-18:00 Break

18:00 – 19:00  VIP / General Assembly Reception

19:30 – 21:30  euRobotics Member Dinner

Tuesday, 25 March

Exhibition

8:30-9:50 Workshop Sessions

10:00-10:30 Keynote

10:30 – 11:10  Coffee Break

11:10 – 12:30  Opening

12:30 – 14:00  Lunch Break

12:50 – 13:50 Company Site Visit – University of Stuttgart

14:00 – 15:20  Workshop Sessions

15:20 – 16:00  Coffee Break

16:00 – 17:20  Workshop Sessions

16:00-17:20 B2B matchmaking

17:20 – 18:30  Late Breaking Poster Session

17:30-18:45 Charity Run

18:45 – 20:30  Welcome Reception

Wednesday, 26 March

Exhibition

8:30-9:50 Workshop Sessions

10:00-10:30 Keynote

10:30 – 11:10  Coffee Break

11:10 – 12:30  Workshop Sessions

12:30 – 14:00  Lunch Break

12:50 – 13:50 Site Visit – University of Stuttgart

14:00 – 15:20  Workshop Sessions

15:20 – 16:00  Coffee Break

15:20 – 18:00  Fraunhofer IPA & ARENA2036 Lab Tour

16:00 – 17:20  Workshop Sessions

17:20 – 18:00  Break

18:00 – 18:45  Award Ceremony

18:45 – 19:00  Walk-in to Networking Dinner

19:00 – 22:00  Networking Dinner

22:00 – 23:30  After Party

Thursday, 27 March

Exhibition

8:30-9:50 Workshop Sessions

10:00-10:30 Keynote

10:30 – 11:10  Coffee Break

11:10 – 12:30  Workshop

12:30 – 14:00  Lunch Break

12:40 – 13:10  Feedback Session

13:00-18:00 Company Site Visits
Neura Robotics (Metzingen) and FANUC (Neuhausen)

14:00 – 15:20  Workshop Sessions

15:20 – 16:00  Coffee Break

16:00 – 17:20  Workshop Sessions

Friday, 28 March

8:00-13:30 Company Site Visits

SCHUNK (Brackenheim-Hausen) and IPAI (Heilbronn)

Mercedes (Sindelfingen)

Below you can find the daily ERF2025 programme.

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  • You can filter workshops by preassigned keywords, as well as a search box which searches in workshop title and presenter fields.
  • Monday 24 Mar 2025
  • Tuesday 25 Mar 2025
  • Wednesday 26 Mar 2025
  • Thursday 27 Mar 2025

Monday 24 Mar 2025

08:00 - 09:29 Day 0 - morning site visits

WS#96 Site Visits Monday

ERF organisers in cooperation with the respective companiesexternal

Questions to be answered

tbd

Description

Site visits 8:30 - 13:30 to:

  • SCHUNK (Brackenheim-Hausen) and IPAI (Heilbronn)
Mon 08:00 - 09:29
Site visits

12:00 - 13:27 Day 0 - General Assembly and side events

WS#91 B2B Matchmaking

EEN

Questions to be answered

tbd

Description

tbd

Organisation of the WS

tbd

Intended outcome

B2B matchmaking

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • tbd

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • EEN
Mon 12:00 - 13:27
B2’B, Matchmaking

WS#95 Public Engagement Monday

CyberValleytbd

Questions to be answered

tbd

Description

tbd

Organisation of the WS

tbd

Intended outcome

B2B matchmaking

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • tbd

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • CyberValley
Mon 12:00 - 13:27
Outreach

WS#98 euRobotics General Assembly 2025

euRoboticsSilchersaal

Questions to be answered

tbd

Description

General Assembly in revised format

Organisation of the WS

The registration process to the GA will be communicated soon to the members

Intended outcome

tbd

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • tbd

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • euRobotics
Mon 12:00 - 13:27
GA

WS#99 Registration to the GA

euRoboticsSilchersaal

Questions to be answered

tbd

Description

Welcoming and registering the members for the General Assembly and networking

Organisation of the WS

The registration process to the GA will be communicated soon to the members

Intended outcome

tbd

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • tbd

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • euRobotics
Mon 12:00 - 13:27
GA

Tuesday 25 Mar 2025

08:30 - 09:50 Sessions Morning Day 1 -slot 1

WS#14 R3: Mechatronics for Robustness, Resilience, and Reliability of robotic systems

Wesley Roozing (TG on Mechatronics, University of Twente), Navvab Kashiri (TG on Mechatronics, Leonardo),Room 25-27

Questions to be answered

  1. How to quantify R3 (Robustness, Resilience, and Reliability) for mechatronic systems?
  2. How to design R3 benchmarks for mechatronic systems?
  3. Where are the main R3 technology gaps in the mechatronic engineering of robotic systems?

Description

Now that robots are moving beyond traditional applications in industrial settings into applications in human, unstructured, and challenging environments in the field, their design and engineering face more strenuous requirements. Robots need to be Robust, Resilient, and Reliable (R3): Being able to withstand environmental conditions such as dust, moisture, heat, radiation, vibration, impacts, and so on, maintaining long-term reliability potentially even under sub-component failure. Operating in human environments means that these robots also need to be reliably safe in their interactions. Moreover, many of these new robots are mobile, which means that these properties need to be achieved within limited weight and energy consumption to achieve long-term operation.

Achieving these aspects at the hardware and low-level software level is a necessary condition for robots to achieve R3 at the task and cognitive level. While the latter is certainly important as well, this workshop focuses specifically on the mechatronics principles to achieve Robustness, Resilience, and Reliability of robotic systems.

Organisation of the WS

00:00 – 00:05: Introduction by organisers incl. TG Mechatronics update

00:05 – 00:40: Keynote talks

  • Speaker 1: Aksel Transeth (TG on I&M, SINTEF Digital)
  • Speaker 2: Markus Grebenstein (DLR)
  • Speaker 3: Benjamin Mottis (Anybotics)

00:40 – 01:00: Panel discussion

01:00 – 01:15: Breakout discussions (4-6 groups) w/ flipovers

01:15 – 01:20: Groups present discussion outcomes

01:20: Closing

Intended outcome

  • First definition of R3 (Robustness, Resilience, and Reliability) KPIs for Mechatronic systems, potentially leading to a whitepaper output.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Speakers/panelists:

  • Markus Grebenstein (DLR)
  • Aksel Transeth (TG on Inspection and Maintenance, SINTEF Digital)
  • Benjamin Mottis (Anybotics)

Moderators: Wesley Roozing and Navvab Kashiri

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

  • Topic Group on Mechatronics
  • Topic Group on Inspection and Maintenance

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Wesley Roozing (TG on Mechatronics, University of Twente), w.roozing@utwente.nl
  • Navvab Kashiri (TG on Mechatronics, Leonardo), navvab.kashiri@leonardo.com
Tue 08:30 - 09:50
Mechatronics

WS#37 The future of healthcare robotics: insights from deployment of assistive robots in healthcare

Françoise Siepel (University of Twente), Maren Bödding (University of Twente), Gizem Bozdemir (PAL Robotics), Magí Dalmau (EURECAT),Room 22-24

Questions to be answered

  • How do we bridge the gap from development towards deployment in clinical settings?
  • What are the key challenges the healthcare professional faces in implementing robotics in the healthcare setting? What would help increase acceptance?
  • What role do we see assistive robots playing in healthcare over the next 10-20 years?
  • What are the potential risks and benefits of leveraging generative AI to enhance robot decision-making and natural interactions in healthcare and assistive robotics?

Description

This workshop offers an essential platform for gaining deep insights into deployment of robotics in healthcare, directly from technology providers and healthcare professionals across Europe together with a future perspective. Attendees will benefit from knowledge exchange, focusing on key applications and overcoming barriers to robotic integration in healthcare. Critical aspects, such as European reimbursement models and the importance of networking for accelerating innovation, will be utilized.

Participants will gain:

  • Future perspectives and practical insights into the deployment of robotics in healthcare
  • Access to key success stories, showcasing how robotics improves care provision
  • Opportunities for knowledge transfer, networking, and collaboration across Europe.

The main topics are:

  • Clinical Deployment Insights: Experiences from practitioners across Europe.
  • Knowledge Transfer: Exchange of expertise and best practices across regions.
  • Key Application Aspects: Focus on real-world implementations.
  • Barriers and Constraints: Challenges in robotics deployment in healthcare
  • Success Stories: Case studies demonstrating successful robotics integration.
  • Importance of European Networking: fostering collaboration through DIH-HERO services.

Organisation of the WS

Key topics to be discussed include the future roadmap of euRobotics, services of DIH-HERO, a deep dive in assistive robots for care and treatment, and lessons learned from regions such as Stuttgart, providing a vision for the future of connected, advanced healthcare systems in Europe.

  • End-Users: Gain a clearer understanding of the benefits and practical applications of robotics in healthcare, facilitating informed decision-making and technology adoption.
  • SMEs: Identify market needs, explore collaboration opportunities, and access business growth insights based on real-world use cases.
  • Researchers: Benefit from exposure to cutting-edge developments and direct feedback from healthcare professionals, opening new avenues for research and innovation.

Intended outcome

The event will result in a comprehensive report, combining key insights and recommendations for future robotics applications. This report will be of critical relevance to technology providers, clinicians, policymakers, and other healthcare stakeholders, ensuring that the future of healthcare robotics is shaped by collaborative, and innovative approaches.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Organised by the TG Healthcare of euRobotics, DIH-HERO and PAL Robotics

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

TG Healthcare and DIH-HERO

Projects involved

The workshop will feature an expert from ARISE (https://arise-middleware.eu/), sharing insights on simplifying and advancing human-robot interaction and its human-centric approach to healthcare robotics. Additionally, projects such as SAFE-LY (https://www.pharaon.eu/safe-ly-pharaon-second-open-call-winner/), SPRING (https://spring-h2020.eu/), and SANDRO2 (https://dih-hero.eu/sandro/) will be highlighted by PAL Robotics, and interactive demos will provide participants with firsthand exposure to advanced healthcare robotics technologies. Furthermore, Eurecat will present insights from the projects AICCELERATE (https://aiccelerate.eu/home/)and NhoA (https://nhoa-project.eu/).

Further information

Organisers

  • Françoise Siepel (University of Twente), f.j.siepel@utwente.nl
  • Maren Bödding (University of Twente), m.boedding@utwente.nl
  • Gizem Bozdemir (PAL Robotics), gizem.bozdemir@pal-robotics.com
  • Magí Dalmau (EURECAT), magi.dalmau@eurecat.org
Tue 08:30 - 09:50
AI, Healthcare, Horizon Europe, Projects

WS#4 Machina delinquere (non) potest - Ethical consideration in AI and Robotics

Agata Suwala (MTC), Prof. Avv. Stefano Aterno (E-Lex), Sharath Akkaladevi (PROFACTOR GmbH), Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics)Room 20

Questions to be answered

Ethical considerations

  • What are the ethical considerations with respect to robotics and AI?
  • Ethical application of robots and AI across different cultures and societies?
  • Ethical decision-making
  • Applications of robotics and AI

Addressing Trustworthiness in Robotics and AI

  • Ensuring human well-being and societal values
  • Importance of global guidelines for trustworthiness in AI and robotics
  • How can AI and robotics development avoid amplifying existing biases and inequalities in society?
  • Researchers and policymakers perspective on ethics in robotics/AI

Description

Self-driving vehicles have already been involved in serious traffic accidents. Autonomous weapons can attack military targets without requiring the approval of a human operator but could strike civilians unrelated to the conflict. What responsibilities should or can remain with humans given the great limitations in predicting Robot and AI behaviour ?

Robotics and AI,in particular, have been a growing topic both in academia and industry. Introducing these novel and game-changing technologies has the potential to transform the way we design, produce and use items, but there are a number of ethical considerations that need to be addressed and understood.

This workshop will delve into two main topics relating to ethics in AI and robotics. First we will look into what are the ethical considerations that apply to robotics and AI - whether that is looking at societies and cultures or the legal implications for companies, end-users and customers. The second part will look at how we can address these considerations - whether that is through creating guidelines or increasing the trustworthiness of AI and robotics using AI.

Organisation of the WS

0 - 10 mins: Introduction - general presentation

10 - 20 mins: Introduction - technical presentation

25 - 75 mins: Panel discussion

75 - 80 mins: Wrap up

Intended outcome

To attract interest regarding the interconnection between AI, ethics and robotics, and its impacts. Increase the understanding of links between robotics, AI and ethics from both the technology and societal point of view.

  • Introduction - general: Agata Suwala (MTC)
  • Introduction - technical: Ana Cavalcanti (University of York)
  • Panellist 1: Karol Janik (MTC)
  • Panellist 2: Rich Walker (Shadow Robot)
  • Panellist 3: Christophe Leroux (CEA)
  • Panellist 4: Stefano Aterno (E-Lex)
  • Moderator: Agata Suwala (MTC)

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Projects involved

MTC, Creating an Accessible Workplace, Jessica Thorne, 2022

Further information

Organisers

  • Agata Suwala (MTC), agata.suwala@the-mtc.org
  • Prof. Avv. Stefano Aterno (E-Lex), stefano.aterno@unifg.it
  • Sharath Akkaladevi (PROFACTOR GmbH), Sharath.Akkaladevi@profactor.at
  • Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics) fk@blue-ocean-robotics.com
Tue 08:30 - 09:50
AI, Ethics, Legislation, Liability

WS#54 RESERVED SLOT

first name, last name, affiliation, email (if you want to make it visible) Organiser_2 first name, last name, affiliation, email (if you want to make it visible) etc.Room 11-13

Questions to be answered

This should explain to an attendee why they should come to your workshop rather than the other ones on at the same time

Description

Details of the WS

Organisation of the WS

How will you use the time in the workshop? What will the attendees do?

Intended outcome

We don’t expect a long list of outcomes or a set of presentation slides - we want one or two results that attendees will say afterwards “We did X at ERF2025”.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Organiser_1 first name, last name, affiliation, email (if you want to make it visible)
  • Organiser_2 first name, last name, affiliation, email (if you want to make it visible)
  • etc.
Tue 08:30 - 09:50
tbd

WS#58 Perceiving unknown and deformable objects in logistics and service robotics

Michael Suppa (Roboception GmbH), Florian Töper (Mercedes-Benz AG), Ashok Meenakshi Sundaram (DLR)Silchersaal

Questions to be answered

The workshop will introduce the novel methods for perceiving unknown objects and focus on their applicability. The attendees will get a high-level overview on the approaches enriched with application scenarios and interaction with the speakers online and in the panel. The outcome is an assessment of the current technology in real world applications and the current limitations and risks. End-users and SMEs will get an insight into how and when to use the technology. On the other side, researchers will learn what end-users expect from the technology and how it can be successfully brought to market.

Description

Perception is one of the key technologies for enabling flexible production, such as pick and place, machine tending, kitting, assembly, and quality testing. In order to make use of machine learning and AI in these applications, the challenge for obtaining good data for seen and unseen, potentially even deformable, objects is key.

One of the key findings of the previous workshop was that the use of synthetic data in combination with real data may be one of the solutions that can address this gap. This workshop covers technology and application presentations, with a focus on the industry and end-user perspective. The technology part covers the detection of unknown objects, estimation of grasp points on unknown objects, foundation models for perception, novel object introduction and adaptation followed by real life scenarios and use cases from e.g. the RoX-project. A Slido interactive session will assess questions, user needs and expectations. A panel session with the speakers will elaborate in detail the tech trends with focus on their industrial applicability for integrators and end-users.

Organisation of the WS

14:00 Introduction and definition of key statements/questions, Michael Suppa, Roboception GmbH/University of Bremen

14:05 Perception Challenges for Kitting in Automotive Assembly Lines, Florian Töper, Mercedes-Benz AG

14:15 Insights on Pose Estimation and Grasp Prediction of Unknown Objects, Rudolph Triebel, DLR

14:25 Perceiving Deformable Linear Objects in Real-World Scenarios, Alessio Caporali, University of Bologna/Robosect srl

14:35 AI-based Perception of Seen and Unseen flexible Objects, Michael Suppa, Roboception GmbH

14:45 Interactive poll session/round table discussion with the audience

15:15 Closing remarks and take home messages

Intended outcome

The workshop will provide attendees with an in-depth understanding of AI-technology and its applicability for perceiving unknown and deformable objects. The interactive session will foster collaboration and perspectives from technology provider to end-user.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Speakers:

  • Rudolph Triebel (German Aerospace Center, Germany): Insights on Pose Estimation and Grasp Prediction of Unknown Objects
  • Alessio Caporali University of Bologna,Robosect srl., Italy): Perceiving Deformable Linear Objects in Real-World Scenarios
  • Florian Töper (Mercedes-Benz AG, Germany): “Perception Challenges for Kitting in Automotive Assembly Lines"
  • Michael Suppa (Roboception GmbH, University of Bremen, Germany):

Moderator: Michael Suppa

Panellists:

Rudolph Triebel, Florian Töper, Alessio Caporali

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Perception

Projects involved

ODIN: https://odin-h2020.eu/

RoX: https://www.project-rox.ai/

SMARTHANDLE: https://smarthandle-project.eu/

IntelliMan: https://intelliman-project.eu/

Further information

The workshop will be advertised on the Roboception website. The programme, ERF registration link and slides are available under the following link: https://roboception.com/workshop-at-erf-2025/

Organisers

  • Michael Suppa (Roboception GmbH),
  • Florian Töper (Mercedes-Benz AG),
  • Ashok Meenakshi Sundaram (DLR)
Tue 08:30 - 09:50
AI, Deformable objects, Perception

WS#85 Scientific Track Robotics I

Fraunhofer IPA ISW University of StuttgartMaritim: Köln / Bonn / Hamburg

Questions to be answered

Oral presentation of papers in the field of robotics.

Description

See below

Organisation of the WS

12 Minutes presentation + 3 Minutes Q&A, i.e., 15 Minutes for each slot. There are 5 minutes buffer, e.g., to deal with technical issues.

8.30 – 8.45: Robin Strässer (University of Stuttgart), Felix Brändle (University of Stuttgart), David Meister (University of Stuttgart), Marc Seidel (University of Stuttgart), Frank Allgöwer (Universität Stuttgart): Autonomous E-Scooters for Sustainable Urban Mobility: Achievements and Insights from an Experimental Prototype

8.45 – 9.00: Marco Antonio Montes Grova (CATEC), Francisco Javier Perez Grau (CATEC), Daniel Diaz Gil (Segula Technologies), Antidio Viguria (CATEC): Aerial, Autonomous & Safe Solution for the Inspection of Underground Power Line Galleries

9.00 – 9.15: Alberto San Miguel (Eurecat), Gennaro Scarato (Eurecat), Alejandro Hernández (Eurecat), Mario Cavero (Eurecat), Aakash Maroti (Eurecat), Néstor García (Eurecat): Advances on Affordable Hardware Platforms for Human Demonstration Acquisition in Agricultural Applications

9.15 – 9.30: Vincent Groenhuis (University of Twente), Stefano Stramigioli (University of Twente): Dual-Piston Hoop Gear Driven MR Safe Pneumatic Stepper Motor

9.30 – 9.45: Anu Piirisild (University of Tartu), Leonid Zinatullin (University of Tartu), Alina Roštšinskaja (University of Tartu), Rasmus Eist (Pallas University of Applied Sciences), Renno Raudmäe (University of Tartu), Anneli Kolk (Tartu University Hospital), Alvo Aabloo (University of Tartu), Karl Kruusamäe (University of Tartu): Structuring Social Robot Requirements: Integrating User Perception and Emotional Goals in Technical Development

Intended outcome

To update the community about recent developments

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Speaker see above

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • Fraunhofer IPA
  • ISW University of Stuttgart
Tue 08:30 - 09:50
Scientific track

10:00 - 10:30 Keynote Day 1

WS#81 ERF 2025 Keynote 1 - Dr. Jörg Burzer (Mercedes-Benz)

euRobotics Frauhofer-IPA and partnersHegelsaal

Questions to be answered

tbd

Description

tbd

Organisation of the WS

tbd

Intended outcome

tbd

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Dr. Jörg Burzer

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • euRobotics
  • Frauhofer-IPA and partners
Tue 10:00 - 10:30
Keynote, Keynotes and Plenaries

10:30 - 11:10 Coffee Break

No workshops in this session.

11:10 - 12:30 Opening

WS#80 ERF 2025 Opening

euRobotics Frauhofer-IPA and partnersHegelsaal

Questions to be answered

Description

The official opening will have short statements by key players and invited guests as well as a panel discussion

Organisation of the WS

tbd

Intended outcome

Welcoming the community and share some thoughts

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • tbd

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • euRobotics
  • Frauhofer-IPA and partners
Tue 11:10 - 12:30
Keynotes and Plenaries, Opening

12:30 - 14:00 Lunch Break

No workshops in this session.

14:00 - 15:20 Sessions Afternoon Day 1 -slot 1

WS#24 euRobotics Technology Transfer Award 2025

Dr. Rainer Bischoff (Intrinsic, an Alphabet company)Silchersaal

Questions to be answered

  • What are the latest advancements in robotics technology transfer from research to industry?
  • Which collaborations between research and industry have been the most successful in creating impactful robotics solutions?

Description

Presentations by Technology Transfer Award 2025 Finalists

Organisation of the WS

  • Application Process: 5th Dec 2024 - 21st Jan 2025
  • Jury Evaluation: 22nd Jan - 24th Feb 2025
  • Nominating finalists: 25th Feb 2025
  • Finalist pitches at ERF 2025: 25th March 2025
  • Award Ceremony: 26th March 2025

Intended outcome

The Technology Transfer Award celebrates those who are pushing the boundaries of innovation. It is also an opportunity for all attendees to understand current market trends and identify potential partners. By attending the Technology Transfer Award 2025, you'll be at the forefront of robotics advancements and can connect with leaders in the field.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Jury Members:

  1. Rainer Bischoff, General Manager Germany, Intrinsic, an Alphabet Company
  2. Herman Bruyninckx, Full Professor, KU Leuven, TU Eindhoven, Flanders Make
  3. Fariba Khatami, Manager European Membership Development, VDMA Robotics + Automation
  4. Werner Kraus, Head of research division automation and robotics, Fraunhofer IPA
  5. Nicola Tomatis, CEO, BlueBotics SA
  6. Georg von Wichert, Head of Autonomous Systems & Control, Siemens
  7. Claus Risager, CEO and Founder, REGASIR ApS

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Projects involved

Further information

TechTransfer Award on euRobotics Website: https://eu-robotics.net/techtransfer-award/

Organisers

  • Dr. Rainer Bischoff (Intrinsic, an Alphabet company)
Tue 14:00 - 15:20
AI, Industry, Innovation, Research, Start-up, Tech transfer

WS#28 Sustainable business models to accelerate robotics technology adoption - going beyond the use-case

Brigita Jurisic (International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory), Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics), Carl Mörch (FARI - Ai for the Common Good Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles), Sharath Akkaladevi (PROFACTOR GmbH)Room 25-27

Questions to be answered

  • What sustainable business models can drive scalable and environmentally-conscious adoption of robotics technologies?
  • How can mutualization of infrastructure and shared resources maximize efficiency and reduce costs in robotics?
  • What roles do various actors—such as businesses, public sectors, and community organizations—play in promoting sustainable robotics adoption?

Description

This workshop will focus on sustainable business models in robotics, where we go beyond traditional use cases to explore innovative, scalable, and environmentally-conscious strategies. The session will delve into the ways robotics businesses can drive technology adoption sustainably, examining various models that support the mutualization of infrastructure and shared resources to maximize efficiency and reduce costs. Attendees will explore ingredients for building impactful business models that not only accelerate the adoption of robotics technologies but also create lasting value by minimizing resource waste and enhancing operational sustainability. From robotics libraries and robot-as-a-service to creating new business models, we expect participants to share their experiences and views.

Organisation of the WS

Introduction to the Workshop (5 min)
A quick introduction to the workshop's goals, the importance of sustainable business models in accelerating robotics technology adoption, and an overview of the session's format.

Talks (25 min)
A series of short, focused talks from diverse perspectives to set the stage for collaborative discussion:

  • Tech Transfer and Business Perspective: Insights on tech transfer in robotics from a business angle, including challenges in moving from prototype to implementation.
  • Mutualization and Sharing Models: Exploring how mutualization can help scale robotics sustainably by enabling shared use of expensive equipment, reducing costs, and fostering collaboration.
  • Company Case Study: A story from a company that initially considered robotics with support from a Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) but ultimately decided against implementation, highlighting challenges and real-world considerations.
  • Citizen Organizations and Public Administration: The value of including citizen organizations and public administrations in the conversation around sustainable robotics adoption, to ensure alignment with broader societal needs.

Workshop / Discussion Session (45 min)
Participants break into small, facilitated groups working on designing novel sustainable business models for robotics focussing on scalable implementations. Each group will choose a specific application area of the robot that is in their opinion scalable (explain why) and design the business model as well as the value chain it fits within (factory/manufacturing, agro, cyber, drones and other vehicles, humanoid robots for social and healthcare). Business model canvases, stakeholder map, post it notes and pens needed.

Sharing results (10 min)

Each group “pitches” their business model to other groups.

Intended outcome

Each group will generate a set of personas—representing a Company, Tech Transfer Officer, End-user, and Researcher—to illustrate the diverse perspectives and needs involved in sustainable robotics adoption.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Brigita JURISIC, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, brigita.jurisic@inl.int (Braga, Portugal)
  • Franziska KIRSTEIN, Blue Ocean Robotics, fk@blue-ocean-robotics.com (Odense, Denmark)
  • Carl MÖRCH, FARI - Ai for the Common Good Institute, carl.morch@fari.brussels (Brussels, Belgium)
  • Oswald Bratu, PROFACTOR GmbH, oswald.bratu@profactor.at (Austria). Confirmed
  • Sharath AKKALADEVI, PROFACTOR GmbH, Sharath.Akkaladevi@profactor.at (Austria)

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

TG Sustainability for Robotics

CAIRNE

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Brigita Jurisic (International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory), brigita.jurisic@inl.int
  • Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics), fk@blue-ocean-robotics.com
  • Carl Mörch (FARI - Ai for the Common Good Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles), carl.morch@fari.brussels
  • Sharath Akkaladevi (PROFACTOR GmbH) Sharath.Akkaladevi@profactor.at
Tue 14:00 - 15:20
Business, Sustainability

WS#35 Innovations and developments in Inspection & Maintenance Robotics

Aksel A. Transeth (SINTEF), Ferdinando Cannella (IIT), Evangelos Boukas (DTU), Mehdi Boukallel (CEA List), Malcolm Mielle (Schindler AG)Room 11-13

Questions to be answered

The workshop will be focused on two main questions

  1. What are the latest advancements and future trends in inspection and maintenance (I&M) robotics, including AI integration, digital twins, and human-robot collaboration?
  2. How can robotic systems provide value and be effectively scaled and implemented in real-world maintenance scenarios, particularly for hard-to-reach areas and large-scale infrastructures?

Description

Robot manipulators and unmanned vehicles continue to make their way into more and more applications within inspection and maintenance (I&M), and in combination with AI and data, they provide value to the industry and public sector in a variety of sectors. There are lots of potential use cases for I&M robotics, but to bring the industry and research forward we need to identify further what are the use cases with high-value, and what latest results from the technology development and research can meet the needs of these use cases, and other future use cases. These are the topics of this ERF2025 workshop. The topics will be addressed through a series of short presentations by key stakeholders, followed by an engaging plenary discussion.

Organisation of the WS

The workshop will be divided into two parts

1) (ca. 50 min) Short, 7-8-minute, presentations / statements addressing the key questions of the workshop and highlighting insights from real use cases and relevant technologies.

2) (ca. 30 min) Active plenary discussions among all workshop participants (speakers and attendees). In parallel, we use online tools such as Slido or Google Drive to gather inputs on the key questions for the workshop.

Intended outcome

We target the following main outcomes for end-users, suppliers and researchers attending the workshop:

  • Insights into the latest advancements and future trends in inspection and maintenance (I&M) robotics, including AI integration, digital twins, and human-robot collaboration.
  • Insights into how robotic systems provide value and be effectively scaled and implemented in real-world maintenance scenarios, particularly for hard-to-reach areas and large-scale infrastructures.

We will produce a summary of the workshop and share presentations in the cases possible. The inputs from the workshop could be used as inputs to other documents, e.g., strategy work in ADRA and euRobotics, and efforts in other organizations and networks.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

The list of topics and speakers is currently:

  1. Offshore wind and I&M robotics. Andry Maykol Pinto, Inesctec.
  2. UGVs for I&M of industrial facilities. Lukas Silberbauer, Taurob.
  3. Autonomous robotics through embodied AI. Kostas Alexis and Mihir R. Dharmadhikari, NTNU.
  4. Autonomous aerial inspection of GNSS-denied and confined maritime assets. Evangelos Boukas, DTU.
  5. Robotics for data collection and maintenance. Mirko Kovac, Imperial College London (Aerial Robotics Laboratory) and EMPA/EPFL (Laboratory of Sustainability Robotics).
  6. AI-driven context understanding and action enhancement for Robotics. Selen Pehlivan Tort, VTT.
  7. A Novel Remote Visual Inspection System for Predictive Maintenance, Adriano Mancini, Polytechnic University of the Marches, Italy
  8. Employee Centric Change Management - The Key to Future Proof Automated Inspections with Robotics, Benjamin Mottis, ANYbotics

The list may be subject to change.

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

The workshop program is organized by the euRobotics topic group (TG) on I&M in collaboration with the RIMA Alliance euRobotics innovation network (https://rima-network.eu-robotics.net/) and the AI, Data and Robotics Association (Adra) topic group on I&M.

Projects involved

EU-projects involved include:

Further information

Please see this webpage for further information: https://www.sintef.no/en/events/erf2025-workshop-innovations-and-developments-in-inspection-maintenance-robotics/

Organisers

  • Aksel A. Transeth (SINTEF), aksel.a.transeth@sintef.no
  • Ferdinando Cannella (IIT), ferdinando.cannella@iit.it
  • Evangelos Boukas (DTU), evanb@dtu.dk
  • Mehdi Boukallel (CEA List), mehdi.boukallel@cea.fr
  • Malcolm Mielle (Schindler AG) malcolm.mielle@schindler.com
Tue 14:00 - 15:20
AI, Cobots, Digital twins, Infrastructure, Inspection, Maintenance

WS#38 Bringing Exoskeletons to Life in Europe: From Labs to Real-World Impact: part I

Dr. Shirley A. Elprama (imec - SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel & FARI), Dr. Tommaso Bagneschi (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa), Dr. Andrea Calanca (University of Verona), Dr. Domenico Chiaradia (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa), Dr. Cristian Camardella (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa), Prof. An Jacobs (imec - SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel & FARI), Prof. Antonio Frisoli (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa)Room 22-24

Questions to be answered

  • What research is being done on rehabilitation and occupational exoskeletons?
  • What are the experiences of exoskeleton companies?
  • What different types of exoskeletons are there?
  • How does it feel to wear an exoskeleton?
  • To which extent have exoskeletons been adopted?
  • Which aspects are important to enhance acceptance of people to wear exoskeletons?

Description

This first workshop on exoskeletons with speakers from industry and academia focuses on exoskeletons for rehabilitation and industry and includes the technical aspects and evaluation of exoskeletons. It focuses on how exoskeleton technologies developed by European research groups and companies are making an impact in the real world.

Organisation of the WS

0 - 5 min: Introduction (Exoskeletons in Europe)
Dr. Domenico Chiaradia - Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa

5 - 15 min: Soft Wearable Robotics for Human Augmentation in Wellness and Industry
Prof. Lorenzo Masia - Deputy Director of the Munich Institute for Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI) - Technische Universität München (TUM)

15 - 25 min Rehabilitation and Occupational Exoskeletons: Sant’Anna’s experience
Dr. Tommaso Bagneschi - Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa, Italy

25 - 35 min Hybrid Arm Exoskeleton: Energy-efficient architecture for load-handling
assistance
Eng. Edgar Daniel Fonseca Roja - Wearable Robotics, Italy

35 - 45 min Industrial exoskeletons evaluation: methodologies and experiences
Dr. Angel Dacal – Innovation and Impact in Manufacturing Head of Department CTAG Centro Tecnológico de Automoción de Galicia, Spain

45 - 75 min Interactive demos

Workshop participants will be able to try out different exoskeletons and ask questions to experts about these exoskeletons.

75 - 80 min Closing

Dr. Andrea Calanca - University of Verona, Italy

Intended outcome

  • Participants will gain insights into the current landscape of exoskeleton technology in Europe.
  • Attendees will have the opportunity to try exoskeletons firsthand and understand the practical challenges and benefits of their usage.
  • Establish a bridge between academic research, industrial needs, and potential users for increased technology adoption.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Speakers

  • Dr. Domenico Chiaradia - Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa
  • Prof. Lorenzo Masia - Deputy Director of the Munich Institute for Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI) - Technische Universität München (TUM), Germany
  • Dr. Tommaso Bagneschi - Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa, Italy
  • Eng. Edgar Daniel Fonseca Roja - Wearable Robotics, Italy
  • Dr. Angel Dacal – Innovation and Impact in Manufacturing Head of Department CTAG Centro Tecnológico de Automoción de Galicia, Spain
  • Dr. Andrea Calanca - University of Verona, Italy

Demo

The final list of exoskeleton demos is still under construction but will include prototypes and commercially available exoskeletons of various EU countries including Italy and Germany.

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Not applicable.

Projects involved

  • NRRP AVATAR
  • SWAG Project
  • SUPERHUMAN project

Further information

Not applicable.

Organisers

  • Dr. Shirley A. Elprama (imec - SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel & FARI), shirley.elprama@vub.be
  • Dr. Tommaso Bagneschi (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa), tommaso.bagneschi@santannapisa.it
  • Dr. Andrea Calanca (University of Verona), andrea.calanca@univr.it
  • Dr. Domenico Chiaradia (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa), domenico.chiaradia@santannapisa.it
  • Dr. Cristian Camardella (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa), cristian.camardella@santannapisa.it
  • Prof. An Jacobs (imec - SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel & FARI),
  • Prof. Antonio Frisoli (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa)
Tue 14:00 - 15:20
Exoskeletons, Industry, Rehabilitation, Research, Wearables

WS#52 6G empowering future robotics

Karol Janik (euRobotics, Telerobotics TG), Paolo Barattini (euRobotics, Standards TG), Antidio Viguria Jiménez (euRobotics, Aerial Robotics TG), Aksel A. Transeth (euRobotics, Inspection & Maintenance TG), Daniel Gordon (one6G association, HWDU), Mohammad Shikh-Bahaei (one6g association, KCL), Periklis Chatzimisios (one6G association, IHU), Ana Garcia Armada (one6G association, UC3M), Mona Ghassemian (one6G association, Huawei), Kaspar Althoefer (one6G association, QMUL), Youssef Nasser (one6G association, Greenwave), Joseph Eichinger (one6G association, Huawei), Albena Mihovska (one6G association, SmartAvatar), Xueli An (one6G association, HWDU)Room 14-16

Questions to be answered

> General outcomes:

Overall, the workshop provides a unique forum to explore the transformative impact of 6G on the future of telerobotics. It brings together a diverse group of stakeholders to discuss this important intersection of technologies. The workshop aims to facilitate collaboration between robotics and communications experts. This will enable them to jointly address the potential challenges, as well as to discuss the robotic requirements and potential capabilities for communication systems, and vice versa.

> Outcomes for the Robotics Community:

  • Gain insights into how 6G technology can enable advanced telerobotics capabilities
  • Learn about the latest research and developments in 6G for robotic applications
  • Opportunity to network and collaborate with leading experts in 6G and robotics

> Outcomes for End-Users:

  • Understand how 6G-enabled telerobotics can improve remote operations and service delivery
  • Explore new use cases for telerobotics in industries like healthcare, manufacturing, disaster response, etc.
  • Provide input to shape the development of 6G for end-user needs

>Outcomes for SMEs:

  • Learn about new market opportunities for 6G robotics startups
  • Connect with potential partners, customers, and investors

> Outcomes for Researchers:

  • Engage with the broader 6G and robotics research community
  • Showcase your latest work and get feedback to advance the field
  • Identify new research directions and collaboration opportunities

Description

1. Robotic requirements: what are the human and robot interaction and communication and sensing requirements and how to measure them

2. Robotic use case scenarios: which robotic use case domains have the potential to significantly be enhanced by 6G enabling tech? Key domains including Agriculture, Healthcare, Industrial Robotics, Logistics and Transport, Assisted Living, Space, Construction, Inspection & maintenance, Aerial robotics, Automation and navigation, and Harsh environment. For example, for the case of Aerial robotics:

• How can 6G networks support long distance operations at low level altitude (below 120 meters above ground)?

• Can 6G networks provide accurate positioning to complement GNSS-based positions?

• How can 6G networks provide edge computing resources on the network to implement high demand AI-based algorithms with aerial robots in real-time and for safety critical functionalities?

3. Lessons learned for networked robotics: What are the key connectivity-related lessons learned from commercial deployments of networked robotics systems?

4. Enabling technologies: what are the main elements that may allow us to achieve the challenging requirements? How can robotic technologies improve the performance of 6G networks and vice versa?

5. New features from 6G: What are the new/enhanced features introduced by 6G which are essential for robotic industries?

6. AI techniques’ Privacy and Ethical consideration: what are the considerations for AI models and techniques for processing multimodal information collected either by cameras on the robot or 6G sensing in the edge/cloud?

7. Standards: Route for 6G research outputs for standardisation and challenges, cross SDOs collaboration for harmonised and interoperable standards.

Organisation of the WS

  • Introduction and Structure Explanation: 5 min

Chairs: Prof. Kaspar Althoefer (QMUL)/Mona Ghassemian (Huawei) [one6G 6G empowering Robotics co-leads]

  • Provocation 1: Robotic Perspective & Discussion: 10 min

    Speaker 1: Dr. Karol Janik (the-MTC & TeleRobotics TG Chair)

Topic: Network applications for Connected Robotics including end-user perspectives and emerging use cases; robotic vertical perspectives; UC requirements for telerobotics; current state of standardisation.

  • Provocation 2: Communication Perspective & Discussion: 10 min

    Speaker 2: Prof. Narcis Cardona (UPV & one6G Association Vice-Chair)

Topic: Advanced mobile communication technologies for Connected Robotics including telecom industry view; recent research advances; current state of standardisation.

  • Breakout Sessions (one6G/eu-robotics) 45 min

Lead: Dr. Paolo Barattini (K46 / Standard TG Chair)
Co-Leads: eu-robotics TG leads / one6G WI leads

Topic: Working on sections of a roadmap based on the outlined workshop topics.

Breakout session format

  • Number of Breakout Sessions: Subject to room size and participant numbers, assuming 20-30 participants (including speakers).
  1. 5 min: Introduction to breakout session descriptions, themes, and expected outcomes by Dr. Paolo Barattini.
  2. 5 min: Formation of 4 groups of 5 to 7 participants, with attendees physically moving around the room to form groups.
  3. Group Discussions: 35 min
  • 15 min: In-depth group discussions on selected themes.
  • 20 min: Each group presents a 5-minute summary of their discussion. TGs/WI leads
  • Themes for Selection:
  • 6G Empowering Robotics (one6G) [Narcis Cardona, Mohammad Shikh Bahaei, Aryan Kaushik, Mona Ghassemian (T1 or 3)]
  • Robotics Empowering 6G (eu-robotics) [Karol Janik, Kaspar Althoefer, Alireza Rastegarpanah,Antidio Viguria Jiménez, Aksel A. Transeth [TBC] ]
  • Standardisation Activities (eu-robotics/one6G) [Paolo Barattini/ Albena Mihovska (TBC)]
  • Testbeds and Implementations (one6G/eu-robotics) [Jesus Fernandez/ Joseph Eichinger (T1 or 4)]
  • Discussions and Conclusion [Prof. Kaspar Althoefer (QMUL)/Mona Ghassemian (Huawei) [one6G WI216 (6G empowering Robotics) co-leads] ] : 10 min
    Discussions on expectations, challenges, and the way forward for research and standardisation

Intended outcome

General outcome:

Overall, the workshop provides a unique forum to explore the transformative impact of 6G on the future of telerobotics. It brings together a diverse group of stakeholders to discuss this important intersection of technologies.

The workshop aims to facilitate collaboration between robotics and communications experts. This will enable them to jointly address the potential challenges, as well as to discuss the robotic requirements and potential capabilities for communication systems, and vice versa.

Outcomes for the Robotics Community:

- Gain insights into how 6G technology can enable advanced telerobotics capabilities

- Learn about the latest research and developments in 6G for robotic applications

- Opportunity to network and collaborate with leading experts in 6G and robotics

Outcomes for End-Users:

- Understand how 6G-enabled telerobotics can improve remote operations and service delivery

- Explore new use cases for telerobotics in industries like healthcare, manufacturing, disaster response, etc.

- Provide input to shape the development of 6G for end-user needs

Outcomes for SMEs:

- Learn about new market opportunities for 6G robotics startups

- Connect with potential partners, customers, and investors

Outcomes for Researchers:

- Engage with the broader 6G and robotics research community

- Showcase your latest work and get feedback to advance the field

- Identify new research directions and collaboration opportunities

[* one6G WI216 whitepaper is planned to be released at the Workshop]

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Robotics: a) Jesus Fernandez (UMA), b) Rich Walker (SR), TG leads (Antidio Viguria Jiménez (Aerial Robotics TG))
  • Communication: one6G board members Narcis Cardona (UPV), Mohammad ShikhBahaei (KCL), Periklis Chatzimisios (IHU)
  • Moderator: TG leads (Paolo Barattini (Standard TG), Karol Janik (Telerobotic TG))

eu-Robotics Topic Groups (TGs) involved in workshop organisation

Telerobotics TG [Karol Janik]

Standards TG [Paolo Barattini]

Aerial Robotics TG [Antidio Viguria Jiménez]

Inspection & Maintenance TG [Aksel A. Transeth]

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Projects involved

One6G Work Items (WI) [Working groups – one6G – Taking communications to the next level] involved in workshop organisation

WG1: 6G and robotics (WI102)

WG2: Multimodal sensing, communication and control for 6G remote operation (WI213) and 6G-empowered robotics (WI216)

WG4 Testbed and demonstration WI and WG3 Dissemination.

Further information

Following the one6G and eu-robotics joint workshop at the one6G summit 2023 in Munich and MoU agreement signed at one6G Summit 2024 in Valencia,, the one6G working item members on the 6G and robotics topic are looking to run a joint workshop jointly with eu-robotics TGs this time under the European Robotics Forum (ERF).

Organisers

  • Karol Janik (euRobotics, Telerobotics TG),
  • Paolo Barattini (euRobotics, Standards TG),
  • Antidio Viguria Jiménez (euRobotics, Aerial Robotics TG),
  • Aksel A. Transeth (euRobotics, Inspection & Maintenance TG),
  • Daniel Gordon (one6G association, HWDU),
  • Mohammad Shikh-Bahaei (one6g association, KCL),
  • Periklis Chatzimisios (one6G association, IHU),
  • Ana Garcia Armada (one6G association, UC3M),
  • Mona Ghassemian (one6G association, Huawei),
  • Kaspar Althoefer (one6G association, QMUL),
  • Youssef Nasser (one6G association, Greenwave),
  • Joseph Eichinger (one6G association, Huawei),
  • Albena Mihovska (one6G association, SmartAvatar),
  • Xueli An (one6G association, HWDU)
Tue 14:00 - 15:20
6G, Actuation, AI, Perception, Sensing, Standardisation, Telerobotics

WS#56 Association round table (invite only)

Reinhard Lafrenz (euRobotics)Maritim: 3x70 pax, extra room, if split

Questions to be answered

This should explain to an attendee why they should come to your workshop rather than the other ones on at the same time

Description

Details of the WS

Organisation of the WS

How will you use the time in the workshop? What will the attendees do?

Intended outcome

We don’t expect a long list of outcomes or a set of presentation slides - we want one or two results that attendees will say afterwards “We did X at ERF2025”.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Reinhard Lafrenz (euRobotics)
Tue 14:00 - 15:20
euRobotics will harmonise for the web, Suggest some tags / keywords

WS#6 Robotics & AI for Harsh Environments: Cross-sector synergies and opportunities

Eloise Matheson (CERN), Ladislav Vargovčík (Technical University Kosice), Karol Janik (Manufacturing Technology Centre)Room 20

Questions to be answered

1. What are the key technological and operational challenges for deploying robotics and AI in harsh environments, and how can shared autonomy and teleoperation address them?

2. How can lessons and technologies developed for one sector (e.g., nuclear or big science) be transferred to benefit another (e.g., forestry or deep-sea exploration)?

3. What are the pathways for fostering collaboration across industries to drive innovation, standardization, and cost-effective solutions in harsh environment robotics?

Description

Harsh and challenging environments – from nuclear decommissioning sites and dense forestry management operations to cutting-edge big science facilities – demand innovative Robotics solutions including remote operations, telerobotics, and supervised autonomy. These sectors share similar challenges: extreme conditions, limited human access, and the need for high precision, safety and reliability.

This workshop explores how Robotics and AI can address these challenges and identifies opportunities for cross-sector knowledge sharing and technology adoption. By leveraging synergies between industries, we aim to accelerate the development and deployment of robotics systems that can thrive in hostile and unstructured environments.

The session will feature three keynote presentations from leading experts in robotics and AI for harsh environments, covering advancements and case studies in remote operations, shared autonomy, and sensor integration. Each presentation will highlight specific sector challenges, innovative solutions, and lessons learned from deployments in nuclear, big science, and forestry sectors.

Following the keynotes, there will be an interactive Q&A session where participants can engage directly with the speakers. The workshop will conclude with a panel discussion featuring experts and industry leaders, focusing on cross-sector synergies, collaborative opportunities, and future directions for robotics and AI in harsh environments.

Organisation of the WS

0-15 min keynote presentation + Q&A Big Science/Fusion

15-30 min keynote presentation + Q&A Nuclear

30-40 min keynote presentation + Q&A Forestry Machinery
45-60 min keynote presentation + Q&A Technology Solutions

60-80min discussion details

Intended outcome

This workshop will bring together experts, practitioners, and researchers to showcase successes, share challenges, and build bridges between sectors, ultimately fostering innovation and accelerating adoption. As a stretch goal the workshop would aim to create a short whitepaper publication.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  1. Big Science - Eloise Matheson (CERN)
  2. Nuclear - Emmanuel Wozniak (EDF)
  3. Forestry - Esa Haapa-aho (Terrasolid)
  4. Tech Provider - Azmat Hossain (Extend Robotics)
  5. Discussion on possible future activities - Ladislav Vargovčík (Technical University Kosice)

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

  • euRobotics Telerobotics Topic Group
  • euRobotics Harsh Environments Topic Group

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Eloise Matheson (CERN), eloise.matheson@cern.ch
  • Ladislav Vargovčík (Technical University Kosice), ladislav.vargovcik@tuke.sk
  • Karol Janik (Manufacturing Technology Centre) karol.janik@the-mtc.org
Tue 14:00 - 15:20
Artificial Intelligence, Forestry, Harsh environments, Nuclear, Remote Operations, Robotics, Shared Autonomy, Teleoperation, Telerobotics

WS#86 Scientific Track AI for Robotics

Fraunhofer IPA ISW University of StuttgartMaritim: Köln / Bonn / Hamburg

Questions to be answered

Oral presentation of papers in the field of AI for robotics.

Description

See below

Organisation of the WS

12 Minutes presentation + 3 Minutes Q&A, i.e., 15 Minutes for each slot. There are 5 minutes buffer, e.g., to deal with technical issues.

14.00 – 14.15: Ahmed Abdelrahman (Technical University of Munich), Abdalla Swikir (Technical University of Munich), Peter So (MIRMI), Hoan Le (MIRMI TUM), Sami Haddadin (Technical University of Munich):Task-oriented Visual Object Pose Estimation for Robot Manipulation: A Modular Approach

14.15 – 14.30: Maximilian Mehl (Inria Rennes), Alberto Dalla Libera (University of Padova), Ruggero Carli (University of Padova), Marco Tognon (Inria): Model-Based Reinforcement Learning for Robust End-to-End UAV Control from Simulation to Real System Application

14.30 – 14.45: Faseeh Ahmad (Lund University), Jonathan Styrud (KTH Royal Institute of Technology), Volker Krueger (LTH): Addressing Failures in Robotics using Vision-Based Language Models (VLMs) and Behavior Trees (BT)

14.45 – 15.00: Mahya Mohammadi Kashani (IT University of Copenhagen), Stefan Heinrich (IT University of Copenhagen), Andrzej Wąsowski (IT University of Copenhagen): MarineLLM-PDDL: Generation of Planning Domains for Marine Vessels Using Past Incident Response Plans

15.00 – 15.15: Jaime Maldonado (University of Bremen),Malte Huerkamp (University of Bremen, Institute for Artificial Intelligence), Jonas Krumme (University of Bremen, Cognitive Neuroinformatics), Christoph Zetzsche (University of Bremen, Cognitive Neuroinformatics), Michael Beetz (University of Bremen, Institute for Artificial Intelligence): Robot Pouring: Modeling and Sim-to-Real Evaluation Using Causal Discovery

Intended outcome

To update the community about recent developments

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Speaker see above

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • Fraunhofer IPA
  • ISW University of Stuttgart
Tue 14:00 - 15:20
Scientific track

16:00 - 17:20 Sessions Afternoon Day 1 -slot 2

WS#30 Test before Invest! : Reproducibility, benchmarking and competitions as enablers of technology transfer for Robot Skills in Manufacturing, Circular Economy, Smart Cities and Smart Lands.

Fabio Bonsignorio (University of Zagreb FER and Heron Robots), Pedro U. Lima (ISR/IST, University of Lisbon), Daniel Bargmannc (Fraunhofer IPA), Peter So (TUM), Mikkel Olsen (DTI), Ian Pulford (Smart City Consultancy)Room 14-16

Questions to be answered

When can research results be considered ‘true’? What does it mean that some research results are ‘reproducible’? How can different approaches to cope with the same task sets be compared? How to estimate the TRL of a robotic solution? Does it make sense to talk about ‘Evidence Based’ Investing and Technology Transfer in Robotics? How to encourage modular, transferable and reusable solutions for robotics subsystems.

Description

The fundamental objective of this workshop is to furnish practical examples, case studies, and direction for a thorough comprehension of the role of reproducibility, benchmarking, competitions and challenges in robotics, facilitated by expert inspiration and mentoring. By emphasizing the importance of consistent and reproducible results in practical robotic applications, we seek to expand knowledge, facilitate collaborative research and crucially speed up the rate of innovation.

We will highlight the critical roles of robot competitions, challenges as well as reproducibility and benchmarking, and modularity, transferability and compositionality, fostering research and innovation progresses, as well as reducing the hurdles in robot technologies' transferability from lab to market. (euROBIN)

We will discuss challenges, competitions, reproducibility and benchmarking can accelerate the transition to sustainable Manufacturing, Circular Economy and Smart Cities.

Organisation of the WS

There will be a few <5’ short TED style talks. They will be followed by a discussion based on interactive tools like mentimeter and the likes. There will be a follow up using pol.is.

We will have:

- Opening Session presenting Challenges in Robot Transferability

- Invited (mini)Talks from Industry Domain Experts (Manufacturing, Recycling,Refurbishment, Medical,...)

- Example for Measuring Reproducibility. We will show the euROBIN Electronic Task Board - Lessons Learned.

Followed by a Discussion of Future and Current applications and how to ‘validate’ them as technology transfer candidates.

Intended outcome

Validation of the ‘Rimini Declaration’ and a one page summary of it.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Fabio Bonsignorio, Pedro Lima, Matthew Studtley, Ian Pulford, Daniel Bargmannn, Mikkel Olsen, Peter So. Other speakers need to be confirmed.

There will be an open call for short talks to collect info about ongoing research and experiences in Europe and globally.

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Benchmarking and Competitions, Software Engineering, Industrial Robotics, Service Robotics, Systems Integration and Systems Engineering

Projects involved

euRobin, https://www.eurobin-project.eu/, EU Grant No 101070596

Further information

https://www.eurobin-project.eu/

F. Bonsignorio and A. P. del Pobil, "Toward Replicable and Measurable Robotics Research [From the Guest Editors]," in IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 32-35, Sept. 2015, doi: 10.1109/MRA.2015.2452073.

keywords: {Special issues and sections;Benchmarking;Measurements;Robots},

F. Bonsignorio, "A New Kind of Article for Reproducible Research in Intelligent Robotics [From the Field]," in IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 178-182, Sept. 2017, doi: 10.1109/MRA.2017.2722918.

keywords: {Robot kinematics;Research and development;Artificial intelligence},

The Rimini Declaration:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i1kJrTM3RA4h-i7wor8ACiopaMAN7deS/view?usp=sharing

The Euron GEM Guidelines:

GemSigGuidelinesBeta.pdf https://heronrobots.com/EuronGEMSig/downloads/GemSigGuidelinesBeta.pdf

Organisers

  • Fabio Bonsignorio (University of Zagreb FER and Heron Robots), fabio.bonsignorio@gmail.com fabio.bonsignorio@fer.hr fabio.bonsignorio@heronrobots.com
  • Pedro U. Lima (ISR/IST, University of Lisbon), pedro.lima@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
  • Daniel Bargmannc (Fraunhofer IPA), daniel.bargmann@ipa.fraunhofer.de
  • Peter So (TUM), peter.so@tum.de
  • Mikkel Olsen (DTI), miol@teknologisk.dk
  • Ian Pulford (Smart City Consultancy) ian.pulford@smccl.co.uk
Tue 16:00 - 17:20
Benchmarking, Competitions, Innovation, Reproducibility, Reusability, Tech transfer

WS#39 Bringing Exoskeletons to Life in Europe: From Labs to Real-World Impact: part II

Dr. Shirley A. Elprama (imec - SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel & FARI), Dr. Tommaso Bagneschi (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa), Dr. Andrea Calanca (University of Verona), Dr. Domenico Chiaradia (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa), Dr. Cristian Camardella (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa), Prof. An Jacobs (imec - SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel & FARI), Prof. Antonio Frisoli (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa)Room 22-24

Questions to be answered

  • What research is being done on occupational exoskeletons?
  • What different types of exoskeletons are there?
  • How does it feel to wear an exoskeleton?
  • To which extent have exoskeletons been adopted?
  • Which aspects are important to enhance acceptance of people to wear exoskeletons?

Description

This second workshop on exoskeletons focuses on how exoskeleton technologies developed by European research groups and companies are making an impact in the real world. It brings together experts and practitioners to discuss the transition from laboratory development to market adoption in the context of rehabilitation, assistance, and occupational exoskeletons. This workshop emphasizes (user-centered) design, control, and acceptance of exoskeletons.

Organisation of the WS

0 - 5 min: Introduction

Dr. Shirley A. Elprama - imec - SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel & FARI, Belgium

5 - 15 min: EMG-driven adaptive gravity compensation for upper-limb exoskeletons

Dr. Andrea Calanca - University of Verona, Italy

15 - 25 min: Introducing SWAG: Pioneering Soft Exosuits for Human Empowerment
Dr. Patrick Holthaus - Robotics Research Group, University of Hertfordshire, UK

25 - 35 min: Development of occupational exoskeletons
Dr. Christophe Maufroy - Fraunhofer IPA, Germany

35 - 45 min: Towards acceptance in industry and healthcare: subjective evaluation of occupational exoskeletons
Dr. Shirley A. Elprama - imec - SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel & FARI, Belgium

45 - 75 min Interactive demos of exoskeletons
Workshop participants will be able to try out different exoskeletons and ask questions to experts about these exoskeletons.

75 - 80 min: Closing

Dr. Andrea Calanca - University of Verona, Italy

Intended outcome

  • Participants will gain insights into the current landscape of exoskeleton technology in Europe.
  • Attendees will have the opportunity to try exoskeletons firsthand and understand the practical challenges and benefits of their usage.
  • Establish a bridge between academic research, industrial needs, and potential users for increased technology adoption.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Speakers

  • Dr. Andrea Calanca - University of Verona, Italy
  • Dr. Patrick Holthaus - Robotics Research Group, University of Hertfordshire, UK
  • Dr. Christophe Maufroy - Fraunhofer IPA, Germany
  • Dr. Shirley A. Elprama - imec - SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel & FARI, Belgium

Demo

The final list of exoskeleton demos is still under construction but will include prototypes and commercially available exoskeletons of various EU countries including Italy and Germany.

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Not applicable.

Projects involved

  • NRRP AVATAR
  • SWAG Project
  • SUPERHUMAN project

Further information

Not applicable.

Organisers

  • Dr. Shirley A. Elprama (imec - SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel & FARI), shirley.elprama@vub.be
  • Dr. Tommaso Bagneschi (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa), tommaso.bagneschi@santannapisa.it
  • Dr. Andrea Calanca (University of Verona), andrea.calanca@univr.it
  • Dr. Domenico Chiaradia (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa), domenico.chiaradia@santannapisa.it
  • Dr. Cristian Camardella (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa), cristian.camardella@santannapisa.it
  • Prof. An Jacobs (imec - SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel & FARI),
  • Prof. Antonio Frisoli (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa)
Tue 16:00 - 17:20
Exoskeletons, Industry, Rehabilitation, Research, Wearables

WS#45 Remanufacturing and recycling: are robots the way to a sustainable future?

Dr. Tero Kaarlela (Centria University of Applied Sciences), Dr. Tomi Pitkäaho (Centria University of Applied Sciences), Dr. Alireza Rastegarpanah (The University of Birmingham), Dr. Enrico Villagrossi (Institute of Intelligent Industrial Technologies and Systems for Advanced Manufacturing, National Research Council of Italy), Dr. Esmaeil Najafi (Saxion University of Applied Sciences), , Dr. Iñaki Díaz (CEIT), , Agata Suwala (MTC), Sharath Chandra Akkaladevi (Profactor Gmbh), Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics), Berkhan Bayraktar (Boğaziçi University, Research Assistant), Dr. Evren Samur (HKTM), Dr. Fotis Konstantinidis (ICCS), Konstantinos Kokkalis PhDc. (ICCS)Room 11-13

Questions to be answered

  • Is the current direction of robotic research the right way to improve the autonomy and flexibility required by the evaluation, disassembly, and sorting for recycling and remanufacturing?
  • Open issues and current technological limits of robotized disassembly. What are the current challenges of robotics and automation hindering more effective and reliable robotic disassembly?
  • Preview the latest innovations in the robotized disassembly/recycling of electric vehicle batteries, consumer electronics, metal industry, and ship recycling

Description

The growing emphasis on sustainability, and the increasing demand for recycling and remanufacturing, presents a critical opportunity for robotics to contribute to a more sustainable future. As automotive, electronics, and shipbuilding industries face rising pressures to reduce waste and conserve rare raw materials, robotized disassembly offers a promising solution. This workshop explores whether robots can pave the way to a sustainable future by improving the efficiency, precision, and safety of recycling processes.

Supported by insights from EU and national projects, such as REBELION, RECIRCULATE, BATTEREVERSE, REINFORCE, SHEREC (Ship Recycling), REEPRODUCE, and DemoDataPRO, THESEUS, OPTIMINER this workshop aims to showcase the latest advancements in robotic disassembly, sorting and recycling. It delves into the open issues hindering wider adoption of robotic disassembly, evaluates whether current research is moving in the right direction, and discusses the latest developments relevant to the circular economy. Key questions addressed in this session will include the technological limits of current robotic systems and how AI and machine vision can overcome these barriers. We will showcase the latest advancements in robotic technologies, including innovations in the disassembly of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, electronics, and ship components, and discuss how AI tools, automation, and machine vision are driving these innovations. Despite these advancements, several technological challenges remain, particularly in ensuring the autonomy and flexibility of robots in disassembly tasks and adapting to the wide variability in end-of-life (EoL) products in the entire lifecycle.

By attending this workshop, participants will gain valuable insights into how robotic solutions can address the sustainability challenges in various sectors, focusing on rare earth elements (REEs), EV battery recycling, and ship disassembly. Participants will also be able to engage with experts from the aforementioned projects, gaining valuable insights into real-world case studies and innovative solutions.

Additionally, the workshop will provide a platform for networking with leading researchers and industrial partners and for discussing strategies to strengthen Europe's recycling and remanufacturing industry.

Topics are:

  • AI tools are available for the robotized recycling process.
  • Methods applied for the robotized recycling process. Applying the methods developed for battery disassembly to other recycled products. (Tero added these, feel free to modify)

Organisation of the WS

  1. Introduction: general advantages, the lookout on topic, opening and setting the scene (5 min)
  2. Impulse talks on applications:
  3. Electronics and electrical recycling (e-devices) (8 min)
  4. Electric vehicle battery recycling (8 min)
  5. Ship recycling (8 min)
  6. Application of machine vision for recycling (5 min)
  7. Sum up the challenges and provide points of discussion for the interactive session (8 min)
  8. Group discussions: To do: Identify key research questions. Focus on: what are the key aspects in each sector? (40 min) - speakers above one per group at least
  9. Wrap-up (8 min)

Intended outcome

Key Research Priorities Identified: Participants will collectively define the top research challenges and technological gaps in robotic disassembly for recycling, particularly in the areas of EV batteries, electronics, and ship recycling. This will shape the future research agenda and collaborations in sustainable robotics.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Introduction: Agata Suwala, MTC, Agata Suwała CEng | LinkedIn

Speaker: Dr. Alireza Rastegarpanah, The University of Birmingham, Senior Robotic Scientist

Speaker: Dr. Iñaki Díaz, CEIT, Head of Robotics and Artificial Vision Research Group | LinkedIn

Speaker: Dr. Esmaeil Najafi, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands, Associate Professor

Speaker: Berkhan Bayraktar, Boğaziçi University, Türkiye, Research Assistant (PhD Candidate)

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

TG Sustainability

Projects involved

REBELION (https://rebelion-project.eu/),

RECIRCULATE(https://recirculate.eu/),

BATTEREVERSE (https://www.battereverse.eu/),

REINFORCE (https://reinforceproject.eu/)

THESEUS(http://theseus-h4c.eu/)
OPTIMINER(https://www.optiminer-project.eu)

REEPRODUCE (https://www.reeproduce.eu/ ),

SHEREC ( HORIZON-IA, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101136056 )

Demo Data PRO (national project)

AI PRISM (https://aiprism.eu/)

SOPRANO (https://www.soprano-project.org/)

Further information

Organisers

  • Dr. Tero Kaarlela (Centria University of Applied Sciences),
  • Dr. Tomi Pitkäaho (Centria University of Applied Sciences),
  • Dr. Alireza Rastegarpanah (The University of Birmingham),
  • Dr. Enrico Villagrossi (Institute of Intelligent Industrial Technologies and Systems for Advanced Manufacturing, National Research Council of Italy),
  • Dr. Esmaeil Najafi (Saxion University of Applied Sciences), e.najafi@saxion.nl,
  • Dr. Iñaki Díaz (CEIT), idiaz@ceit.es,
  • Agata Suwala (MTC), agata.suwala@the-mtc.org
  • Sharath Chandra Akkaladevi (Profactor Gmbh), sharath.akkaladevi@profactor.at
  • Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics), fk@blue-ocean-robotics.com
  • Berkhan Bayraktar (Boğaziçi University, Research Assistant), berkhan.bayraktar@bogazici.edu.tr
  • Dr. Evren Samur (HKTM), evren.samur@hktm.com.tr
  • Dr. Fotis Konstantinidis (ICCS), fotios.konstantinidis@iccs.gr
  • Konstantinos Kokkalis PhDc. (ICCS) konstantinos.kokkalis@iccs.gr
Tue 16:00 - 17:20
Remanufacturing, Sustainability

WS#59 How can European regions stimulate innovations in robotics?

Iddo Bante (University of Twente)Silchersaal

Questions to be answered

Goal of the workshop is to inspire, discuss and deepen joint understanding of innovation strategies: knowledge exchange and insights in how regional and national innovation instruments & strategies can stimulate innovation with and uptake of robotics technology.

Description

Organization of the workshop:

  1. Opening, welcome, introduction to the topic.
  2. Five short pitches of examples of inspiring successful regional innovation approaches stimulating innovation and uptake of robotics technologies.
    Odence region, Twente region, EDIH, TEF, DIH-HERO or RIMA
  3. Interactive discussion: what makes these examples successful?
  4. Interactive discussion: what are crucial tools, instruments, methodologies driving regional innovation in robotics? (e.g. test facilities, access2funding, …)
  5. Discussion: what are the roles of regional and national stakeholders?
  6. Discussion: What are the different needs/approaches per application domain (e.g. healthcare, agrifood, manufacturing, …)?
  7. Formulation of the take-away message(s) during a small panel discussion.

Organisation of the WS

The workshop will start with 5 short pitches (5 minutes each, that means 25-30 min in total), followed by interactive discussions with participation of all attendees about the lessons learned, best practices, take-away messages.

Intended outcome

We don’t expect a long list of outcomes or a set of presentation slides - we want one or two results that attendees will say afterwards “We did X at ERF2025”.

Better understanding of the Inspiring examples how to improve the robotics innovation processes in your own region.

Results of the Workshop will be used as input for Task 4.4 of the European ADRA-e CSA project.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Iddo Bante and Anne Bergen (University of Twente, Netherlands)
  • Christophe Leroux (CEA France), Richard Bormann, Tamim, …

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

This topic has links to multiple euRobotics Topic Groups / Innovation Networks, e.g. TG Entrepreneurship, TG Healthcare, TG agriculture. There are also clear links with the Adra Topic Group Innovation, Uptake and Deployment of AI-Data-Robotics.

Projects involved

CSA Adra-e, DIH-HERO, RIMA

Further information

Organisers

  • Iddo Bante (University of Twente) I.Bante@utwente.nl
Tue 16:00 - 17:20
Agriculture, Healthcare, Horizon Europe, Innovation, Regions

WS#8 Pushing the limits of robotics for sustainable use of space

Miguel A. Olivares Mendez (University of Luxembourg), Carlos J.Pérez-del-Pulgar (University of Malaga), Amit Kumar Pandey (Rovial Space), Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics)Room 20

Questions to be answered

  • Innovation: What are the current challenges in Space Robotics? Which initiatives and efforts are ongoing or should be initiated to overcome challenges? How can Space Robotics support use cases related to sustainability and planetary exploration? Which SDGs relate to sustainability in Space Robotics?
  • Community: How could I get information about funding sources for Space Robotics? Where could I meet with organizations with an interest in Space Robotics? How could I participate in different activities related to Space Robotics?

Description

The field of robotics for space applications is rapidly advancing. Beyond planetary exploration, in-orbit services facilitated by robotics are gaining significant momentum. These services encompass a range of critical activities, including assembly, maintenance, and manufacturing in space. To maintain and enhance its innovation leadership and strategic advantages, Europe must take the lead in orbital robotics. This workshop aims to lay the groundwork for identifying and prioritizing the necessary initiatives and efforts in this domain. Special focus will be put on how Space Robotics can support use cases related to space exploration and sustainability (e.g. power generation, debris handling, …). By involving diverse stakeholders and fostering a collaborative ecosystem, we seek to advance innovation and cultivate a thriving market for in-orbit robotic services, to shape the future of space robotics and ensure Europe's prominent role in this transformative field.

Organisation of the WS

00:00 - 00:10 Introduction to workshop and topic, update by the Topic Groups

00:10 - 00:20 Interactive poll

00:20 - 00:50 Impulse talks. Speakers to be confirmed, preliminary areas for talks:

  • Collaboration between Academia, SMEs and big companies in space (robotics)
  • Application areas/ tech transfer/ advancements
  1. Multi robots
  2. Teleoperation
  3. In-orbit services (assembly, maintenance, …)
  4. Sustainability

00:50 - 01:15 Panel discussion with focus on research and market questions (15min community, 20min innovation)

01:15 - 1:20 Wrap up and closing

Intended outcome

The workshop aims to connect leading experts, innovators, and stakeholders in

the field of space robotics. The audience will be updated about Topic Groups activities, and funding opportunities and gain knowledge of the latest advancements and emerging trends. The workshop will discuss key needs for in-orbit robotics and the use cases to solve future challenges connected to space exploration and sustainability. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to engage in defining future roadmaps related to Space Robotics and shaping a collaborative ecosystem for advancing innovation and market growth in the domain.

Insights into priority research areas and EC calls as well as networking among participants will drive collaborative projects to push for scientific and technological progress.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Moderators: Miguel A. Olivares-Mendez and Carlos J. Pérez-del-Pulgar,

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

  • TG Space Robotics
  • TG Robotics for Sustainability
  • TG Socially Intelligent Robots and Societal Applications

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Miguel A. Olivares Mendez (University of Luxembourg), miguel.olivaresmendez@uni.lu
  • Carlos J.Pérez-del-Pulgar (University of Malaga), carlosperez@uma.es
  • Amit Kumar Pandey (Rovial Space), amit@rovial.space
  • Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics) fk@blue-ocean-robotics.com
Tue 16:00 - 17:20
Space, Sustainability

17:20 - 18:40 Poster, end of day gap and charity run

No workshops in this session.

18:40 - 21:10 Evening Day 1 - Welcome reception

No workshops in this session.

Wednesday 26 Mar 2025

08:30 - 09:50 Sessions Morning Day 2 -slot 1

WS#22 Georges Giralt PhD Award 2025 finalists presentations

Gianluca Antonelli (University of Cassino and Southern Lazio)Silchersaal

Questions to be answered

Who will be the 2025 winner of the euRobotics George Giralt PhD award?

Description

The finalists will present their PhD thesis work.

Organisation of the WS

10 minutes presentation by the award’s chair followed by the presentations of the finalists.

Intended outcome

Stay up to date on theses that were deemed worthy of making it to the finals

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Finalists, i.e., freshly PhD

More information on the award committee on the website

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

All TG

Projects involved

none

Further information

https://eu-robotics.net/awards/#phd-award

Organisers

  • Gianluca Antonelli (University of Cassino and Southern Lazio)
Wed 08:30 - 09:50
Awards, PhD

WS#27 Challenging Robotics/AI Use Cases by End-Users

Ramez Awad (Fraunhofer IPA), Dr. Björn Kahl (Fraunhofer IPA), Dr. Fotios Konstantinidis (ICCS), Konstantinos Kokkalis (ICCS)Room 11-13

Questions to be answered

  • What high-potential use cases / applications are not yet automated?
  • What unsolved robotic/AI challenges are hindering the automation of those use cases applications?
  • Which companies/end users are interested in the automation of those use cases?

Description

Organisation of the WS

  • 08:30-09:15: Presentation of 4-5 selected representative use cases by end-users highlighting common robotic and AI challenges
  • 09:15-9:50: Poster Sessions, where system integrators and RTOs can peruse the use cases and discuss potential solutions with end-users.

Intended outcome

  • List of challenging high-potential use cases by end-users
  • Identified clusters of common robotic and AI challenges
  • For ERF2026/2027: Feedback from end-users whether challenges have been solved

Speakers, Panelists, etc

To be announced.

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Ramez Awad (Fraunhofer IPA), ramez.awad@ipa.fraunhofer.de
  • Dr. Björn Kahl (Fraunhofer IPA), bjoern.kahl@ipa.fraunhofer.de
  • Dr. Fotios Konstantinidis (ICCS), fotios.konstantinidis@iccs.gr
  • Konstantinos Kokkalis (ICCS) konstantinos.kokkalis@iccs.gr
Wed 08:30 - 09:50
AI, Business, Challenges, End-users, Use-cases

WS#47 (Sustainable) Robots in Public Environments: Advancements and Challenges

Paul Schweider (HFC Human-Factors-Consult GmbH), Martina Overbeck (FZI Forschungszentrum Informatik), Tristan Schnell (FZI Forschungszentrum Informatik), Laura Fiorini (University of Florence), Filippo Cavallo (University of Florence)Room 20

Questions to be answered

In this interactive session we want to address questions concerning the development of service robots in everyday use, as:

  • What might/should an everyday service robot look like in 1, 5, 10 years?
  • Which applications should we solve?
  • What are the most valuable (technical) challenges to tackle?

Description

Service robotics is at a stage where an extensive application in our everyday lives starts to become very likely. However, the question of what exactly the robotisation of public spaces will look like is still completely open, as it depends on a complex interplay of different technologies, economical and societal factors, and of course researcher interest and funding. In this workshop, we would like to invite you to share your educated guesses and help sketch a timeline for the development of robots in public spaces. The discussion will entail, but won't be limited to, the following aspects:

Decisions: What does an everyday robot look like in 1, 5, 10 years?

  • Wheels vs. Legs
  • Specialized vs. Universal
  • Anthropomorphism vs. Functionalism
  • Local Computing vs. Cloud Computing
  • Teleoperation vs. Autonomy

Which applications should we solve? What are the most valuable technical challenges to tackle?

  • What are the most valuable applications to target?
  • What can we solve today?
  • What are major hardware limitations?
  • Where do we need more R&D activities?
  • Where are we missing key concepts?
  • Any other bottlenecks?

Organisation of the WS

The workshop will be structured as follows:

- 5' a brief introduction by the organisers

- 30' three keynotes from research and industry

- 50' Moderated Session: Towards a timeline/agenda for everyday robots: what are the pressing issues? (Talking points: see content description)

- 5' closing remarks

Intended outcome

Participants will obtain a structured overview of the current developments in public service robotics.

The main outcome is a rough timeline for (possible) future developments in that sector for the next 5-10 years.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Moderators: Laura Fiorini, Tristan Schnell, Paul Schweidler

Invited speakers:

  • Alessandra Sciutti Istituto italiano di Tecnologia
  • Francesco Ferro, CEO of PAL Robotics
  • Prof. Dr. Sven Behnke, Universität Bonn (w/ reservation)

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

-

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Paul Schweider (HFC Human-Factors-Consult GmbH), schweidler@human-factors-consult.de
  • Martina Overbeck (FZI Forschungszentrum Informatik), overbeck@fzi.de
  • Tristan Schnell (FZI Forschungszentrum Informatik), schnell@fzi.de
  • Laura Fiorini (University of Florence), laura.fiorini@unifi.it
  • Filippo Cavallo (University of Florence) filippo.cavallo@unifi.it
Wed 08:30 - 09:50
HRI, Social robots

WS#49 Next-Gen Software Systems Engineering for Robotics and Automation: Towards future proof architectures, platforms, tools

Christian Schlegel (Technische Hochschule Ulm), Julian Öltjen (voraus robotik GmbH), Arne Nordmann (NEURA Robotics GmbH)Room 14-16

Questions to be answered

  • What’s next in software systems engineering for robotics?
  • What’s next in software-driven automation?
  • What are opportunities in robotics and automation of generative AI for tools for development, configuration and deployment?
  • What are challenges and needs foremost from users and what are priorities?

Description

  • Elaborate latest trends in software-driven automation and delve into the cutting edge of software engineering for robotics
  • Explore the latest trends and discuss the next steps including the opportunities of generative AI for next-gen development, configuration and deployment tools and platforms for robotics and automation
  • Keynote talk by Geoffrey Biggs and insights and case studies from “voraus robotik GmbH”

Organisation of the WS

5 min Welcome

20+10 min Invited Keynote Talk Geoffrey Biggs, Open Robotics, US:

Evolutionary changes in ROS 2 through 9 years of design and use

20+10 min Julian Öltjen, voraus robotik GmbH
Building next-generation automation and robotics platforms:

Insights and use-cases

20 min Interactive Moderated Mentimeter Session:

Needs, Challenges, Priorities in S/W Systems Engineering

Intended outcome

  • Achieve a better mutual understanding and sustainable networking between stakeholders interested in all aspects of software systems engineering (academia, industry, novice, experienced, from different domains, different TGs, from robotics, software, automation) to foster follow-up activities
  • Increase awareness that the TG serves as THE meeting place for the community, its experts and for actively shaping and moderating and discussing conceptual and technical issues
  • Get insights into use-case demands

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Christian Schlegel, Technische Hochschule Ulm (Organizer, Moderator)
  • Julian Öltjen, voraus robotik GmbH (Organizer, Moderator)
  • Geoffrey Biggs, Open Robotics, US (Keynote Talk)
  • Audience (Discussions)

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

  • Topic Group Software Engineering, Systems Integration and Systems Engineering

Projects involved

  • none

Further information

Organisers

  • Christian Schlegel (Technische Hochschule Ulm), christian.schlegel@thu.de
  • Julian Öltjen (voraus robotik GmbH), julian.oeltjen@vorausrobotik.com
  • Arne Nordmann (NEURA Robotics GmbH)
Wed 08:30 - 09:50
AI, Software and systems engineering

WS#5 Elevating Infrastructure: AI and Aerial Robotics in Inspection and Maintenance

Emad Ebeid (University of Southern Denmark), Francisco J. Perez-Grau (CATEC)Room 22-24

Questions to be answered

How can drones and robotics support an aging society and its infrastructure needs?

  • The workshop will discuss how drones and robotics can assist in maintaining and upgrading infrastructure to meet the needs of an aging population, ensuring safety, accessibility, and sustainability.

How can drones and robotics revolutionize infrastructure inspection and maintenance?

  • Attendees will learn about the latest advancements in drone and robotic technologies and how they can be applied to improve efficiency and accuracy in infrastructure projects.

What role does AI play in enhancing the capabilities of drones and robotics?

  • The workshop will explore how AI integration can optimize the performance of drones and robotics, leading to smarter and more autonomous systems.

What are the practical applications and real-world case studies of these technologies?

  • Participants will gain insights from real-world examples and case studies, demonstrating the successful implementation of these technologies in various infrastructure projects.

How can these technologies reduce costs and increase safety in infrastructure maintenance?

  • The session will highlight the cost-saving benefits and safety improvements that drones, robotics, and AI can bring to infrastructure maintenance.

What are the future trends and innovations in this field?

  • Attendees will get a glimpse into the future, learning about emerging trends and innovations that will shape the next generation of infrastructure inspection and maintenance.

Description

Drones and robotics are revolutionizing the inspection and maintenance of hard-to-reach infrastructures like powerlines, wind turbines, and bridges. Despite their growing use, both research and commercial platforms still need essential features for fully autonomous inspections, often requiring significant human intervention.

In this workshop, we’ll explore how these technologies can support aging societies by ensuring that infrastructure remains safe, accessible, and sustainable. As populations age, maintaining and upgrading infrastructure becomes even more crucial, and drones and robotics can play a vital role in meeting these challenges.

We’ll shine a light on the latest research and innovations in autonomous and intelligent drones and robotics for infrastructure inspection and interaction. You’ll discover the newest breakthroughs and impressive strides made in developing these technologies.

Participants will dive into cutting-edge technologies, methodologies, and best practices that push the limits of what drones and robotics can achieve in inspecting and maintaining critical infrastructures. This workshop is a fantastic opportunity for experts, researchers, and practitioners to share experiences and learn from each other.

Key topics will include autonomy, edge computing, energy harvesting, sensor integration, control, and AI in drones and robotics.

By bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders, this workshop aims to accelerate progress in autonomous drone and robotic-based inspections and drive the evolution of these essential technologies

Organisation of the WS

Proposed agenda (80 minutes)

Introduction and Overview (5 minutes)

  • Welcome and introduction to the workshop objectives.
  • Brief overview of the agenda and key topics to be covered.

Keynote Presentations (60 minutes)

  • 4 expert speakers (from industry and academia) will present the latest research and innovations in drones, robotics, and AI for infrastructure inspection and maintenance.
  • Focus on real-world applications and case studies, including support for aging societies.

Panel Discussion, Q&A and Closing Remarks (15 minutes)

  • A panel of experts will discuss the challenges and future trends in the field.
  • Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussions.
  • Summary of key takeaways from the workshop, and opportunities for further networking and collaboration

Intended outcome

We developed a practical solution for autonomous drone inspections at ERF2025.

We collaborated on innovative robotic applications for aging infrastructure at ERF2025.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  1. Aksel Andreas Transeth, SINTEF
  2. Richard Moore, SINTEF
  3. Etienne Dupont, Skydio
  4. Jake Lahmann, Valmont
  5. Stjepan Bogdan, University of Zagreb
  6. Nicolaj Malle, SDU
  7. James Riordan, University West Scotland
  8. Gerard Dooly, University of Limerick
  9. Marco Tognon, Inria
  10. Matteo Fumagalli, DTU
  11. Anibal Ollero, University of Sevilla
  12. Antonio Alonso, ACCIONA
  13. Frazer Robertson, CHEVRON
  14. Carlos Matilla, FUVEX
  15. Mathieu Claybrough, Donecle

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

euRobotics and ADRA

Projects involved

EU projects: Drones4Safety, RAPID, SPADE, SIMAR, BEEYONDERS, NATURE-DEMO

Further information

Organisers

  • Emad Ebeid (University of Southern Denmark), esme@sdu.dk
  • Francisco J. Perez-Grau (CATEC) fjperez@catec.aero
Wed 08:30 - 09:50
Drones, Infrastructure, Inspection, Maintenance, Navigation

WS#87 Scientific Track Robotics II

Fraunhofer IPA ISW University of StuttgartMaritim: Köln / Bonn / Hamburg

Questions to be answered

Oral presentation of papers in the field of robotics.

Description

See below

Organisation of the WS

12 Minutes presentation + 3 Minutes Q&A, i.e., 15 Minutes for each slot. There are 5 minutes buffer, e.g., to deal with technical issues.

8.30 – 8.45: Marcus Baum (University of Goettingen): A Blimp-based Robot That Moves Under the Ceiling

8.45 – 9.00: Marco Conenna (TU Delft), Jian Guo (TU Delft), Armin Wedler (German Aerospace Center (DLR)): Elasto-Kinematic Calibration of the Lunar Rover Mini 6 DOF Robotic Arm

9.00 – 9.15: Andreas Kernbach (University of Stuttgart), Daniel Bargmann (Fraunhofer IPA), Manuel Zürn (University of Stuttgart), Carsten Schmerback (KIT), Alper Yaman (University of Stuttgart), Mara Kläb (University of Stuttgart), Lukas Zeh (University of Stuttgart), Philipp Tenbrock (-), Samiha Durnagoez (Audi AG), Mathias Mayer (Audi AG), Michael Heizmann (KIT), Armin Lechler (University of Stuttgart), Alexander Verl (University of Stuttgart), Marco Huber (Fraunhofer IPA), Werner Kraus (Fraunhofer IPA): Automotive Wire Harness Connector Installation Using Skill-Based Robotic Programming

9.15 – 9.30: Christoph Heindl (PROFACTOR/JKU), Gerhard Ebenhofer (Profactor GmbH): SketchGuide: A Baseline Vision-Based Model for Rapid Robot Programming via Freehand Sketching on Any Surface

9.30 – 9.45: Andrea Govoni (University of Bologna), Nadia Zubair (University of Bologna), Simone Soprani (University of Bologna), Gianluca Palli (University of Bologna): Performance Analysis of a Mass-Spring-Damper Deformable Linear Object Model in Robotic Simulation Frameworks

Intended outcome

To update the community about recent developments

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Speaker see above

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • Fraunhofer IPA
  • ISW University of Stuttgart
Wed 08:30 - 09:50
Scientific track

10:00 - 10:30 Keynote Day 2

WS#82 ERF 2025 Keynote 2 - Dieter Fox (Nvidia)

euRobotics Frauhofer-IPA and partnersHegelsaal

Questions to be answered

Description

tbd

Organisation of the WS

tbd

Intended outcome

tbd

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Dieter Fox

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • euRobotics
  • Frauhofer-IPA and partners
Wed 10:00 - 10:30
Keynote, Keynotes and Plenaries

10:30 - 11:10 Coffee Break

No workshops in this session.

11:10 - 12:30 Sessions Morning Day 2 -slot 2

WS#10 12th Hybrid Production Systems Workshop - Entering the AI era in flexible production

Sotiris Makris (Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems and Automation (LMS)), George Michalos (Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems and Automation (LMS)), Inaki Maurtua (Autonomous and Intelligent Systems Unit - Tekniker)Room 11-13

Questions to be answered

As in the past years the workshop aims to:

  1. Introduce latest projects-technologies in the area of HPS including but not limited to robotics, AI, humans, human-robot collaboration/ interaction and flexible production processes
  2. Explore new research areas and map them to existing industrial applications benefiting from the covered technological fields
  3. Gather distinguished speakers from industry and academia to share their visions and experiences highlighting the latest trends and challenges

Description

The format of the workshop is presented in the next paragraph. The topics to be addressed in the keynote speeches, presentation pitches and panel discussion will revolve around:

  • Mobile autonomous co-workers
  • Innovative human machine interfaces for interaction and collaboration
  • AI-based workplace optimization, dynamic planning, and control of HPS
  • Exoskeletons-human augmentation and support systems
  • Perception as cognitive capability for versatile handling of products
  • Safe and Adaptable behaviour to non-expected situations / dynamic environments
  • Human safety and novel methods for autonomous and AI based risk assessment

Organisation of the WS

  • The workshop will consist of two sub-sessions addressing different topics.
  • Each subsession will consist of a keynote talk (10min) and a series of targeted - pitch style - presentations of (4 minutes each) on different aspects of Hybrid Production systems. Presentations may include:
  • Early results: presentations introducing early results from just started research projects. These will be in the form of elevator pitches, focusing one the innovation idea, its benefit to potential users and a short proof of concept.
  • Technologies: presentations about technologies that have been developed within the research project, ready to be picked up by a larger user group to expand the potential customer base or that already are in the commercialization phase.
  • At the end of the workshop the audience will be engaged in an open dialogue with the speakers using interactive tools such as Slido/Mentimeter etc (including both academics and people from the industry) to identify the milestones achieved so far and the key challenges to be addressed in the next 1, 5, and 10 years.
  • The last part of the discussion will also involve joint dissemination activities to be undertaken by the participating projects (Exhibitions, joint workshops etc).
  • To prevent inhomogeneity and delays, all the authors will be provided by a presentation template in order to harmonize the speeches to the topics sequence and timetable of the workshop.
  • A dedicated report will be made available after analyzing the results of the iterative session, summarizing the outcomes of the WS.

The current draft of the agenda is as follows:

  • 00:00 - 00:04 Introduction of Workshop and recap of HPS activities by moderator
  • 00:04 - 00:14 Keynote presentation (10 minutes)
  • 00:14 - 00:26 First round of 3 pitch style presentations (4 minutes each)
  • 00:26 – 00:40 Round table, engagement with the audience, conclusion of the sub-session 1 of the Workshop by moderator
  • 00:40 - 00:50 Keynote presentation (10 minutes)
  • 00:50 - 00:62 Second round of 3 pitch style presentations (4 minutes each)
  • 00:62 – 00:80 Round table, engagement with the audience, conclusion of the sub-session 2 of the Workshop by moderator

Intended outcome

Speakers attending the HPS workshop will experience it as follows:

  • We identified X companies currently investing or investigating HPS to achieve flexible production
  • We witnessed X demonstrations of robotics, mechatronics, AI etc. solutions working together with humans in several sectors.
  • We now understand why it is challenging to deploy such systems and what needs to be done in the coming years
  • We know who to contact in order to further collaborate and contribute in the development of AI enabled HPS systems

Speakers, Panelists, etc

A tentative list of speakers (to be confirmed) involves:

  • Sotiris Makris - LMS - Moderator
  • George Michalos - LMS - Moderator
  • Inaki, Maurtua - TECNIKER - Moderator
  • Nikos Dimitropoulos - LMS - Speaker
  • Kirill Safronov - KUKA - Speaker
  • Florian Toeper - Mercedes Benz - Speaker
  • Jon Agire - TECNALIA - Speaker
  • Nabil Belbachir - NORCE - Speaker
  • Oliver Avram - SUPSI - Speaker
  • Aulon Bajrami - Fraunhofer IPA - Speaker
  • Roel Pieters - Tampere University - Speaker

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

HPS projects cluster - www.hybrid-production-systems.eu/

Trinity Innovation Network - Homepage - Trinity Innovation Network

AI in Manufacturing, Testing and Experimentation Facilities Network for European industries (AI-Matters) - AI Matters : AI in Manufacturing for EU industries

Projects involved

Tentative list (to be confirmed)

Further information

Previous workshops:

https://sites.google.com/view/hybridproductionsystems/erf2021?authuser=0

  • ERF 2022 – Hybrid Production Systems:

https://www.hybrid-production-systems.eu/?page_id=257

  • ERF 2023 – Hybrid Production Systems:

https://hybrid-production-systems.eu/erf-2023/

  • ERF 2024 – Hybrid Production Systems:

https://hybrid-production-systems.eu/erf-2024/

Publications workshops:

  • Artificial intelligence in manufacturing (White Paper by AIM-NET): link
  • Aristeidou, C., Dimitropoulos, N., Michalos, G., (2024) Generative AI and neural networks towards advanced robot cognition, CIRP Annals, ISSN 0007-8506, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2024.04.013
  • Papadopoulos, G., Dimosthenopoulos, D., Basamakis, F., Michalos, G., Andronas, D., Makris, S., (2024), On intelligent object sorting and assembly: versatile end-effector for robotized handling of electrical components, Procedia CIRP, 128, 363-368. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2024.07.051
  • Konstantinou, C., Antonarakos, D., Angelakis, P., Gkournelos, C., Michalos, G., Makris, S., (2024) Leveraging Generative AI Prompt Programming for Human-Robot Collaborative Assembly, Procedia CIRP, 128, 621-626. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2024.03.040
  • Papadopoulos, G., Andronas, D., Kaliakatsos-Georgopoulos, D., Kampourakis, E., Kavvathas, K., Theodoropoulos N., Aivaliotis, P., Michalos, G., Makris, S., (2024). Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems through Intelligent Workpiece Handling and Artificial Intelligence, Procedia CIRP, 128, 793-798. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2024.07.064
  • Dimitropoulos, N., Papalexis, P., Michalos, G., Makris, S. (2024). Advancing Human-Robot Interaction Using AI – A Large Language Model (LLM) Approach. In Advances in Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing. ESAIM 2023. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Cham. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-57496-2_12
  • Dimitropoulos, N., Togias, T., Zacharaki, N., Michalos, G., & Makris, S. (2021). Seamless Human–Robot Collaborative Assembly Using Artificial Intelligence and Wearable Devices. Applied Sciences, 11(12), 5699. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125699
  • Dimitropoulos, N., Michalos, G., Arkouli, Z., Kokotinis, G.,Makris, S., (2024) Industrial collaborative environments integrating AI, Big Data and Robotics for smart manufacturing, Procedia CIRP, 128, 858-863. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2024.04.027
  • Dimitropoulos, N., Papalexis, P., Michalos, G., Makris, S. (2024). Advancing Human-Robot Interaction Using AI – A Large Language Model (LLM) Approach. In Advances in Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing. ESAIM 2023. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Cham. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-57496-2_12
  • Katsampiris-Salgado, K., Dimitropoulos, N., Gkrizis, C., Michalos, G., Makris, S., (2024) Advancing human-robot collaboration: Predicting operator trajectories through AI and infrared imaging, Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 74, 2024, pp 980-994, ISSN 0278-6125, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsy.2024.05.015
  • Kousi, N., Dimosthenopoulos, D., Matthaiakis, A.-S., Michalos, G., & Makris, S. (2019). AI based combined scheduling and motion planning in flexible robotic assembly lines. 7th CIRP Global Web Conference – Towards Shifted Production Value Stream Patterns through Inference of Data, Models, and Technology (CIRPe 2019) - Procedia CIRP, 86, 74–79. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2020.01.041

Organisers

  • Sotiris Makris (Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems and Automation (LMS)), makris@lms.mech.upatras.gr
  • George Michalos (Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems and Automation (LMS)), michalos@lms.mech.upatras.gr
  • Inaki Maurtua (Autonomous and Intelligent Systems Unit - Tekniker) inaki.maurtua@tekniker.es
Wed 11:10 - 12:30
Generative AI, Human-robot Interaction, Hybrid production

WS#11 Mobile Manipulation of rigid and deformable objects: Community Challenges and Opportunities

Marco Rosa (PAL Robotics), Ashok Meenakshi Sundaram (DLR), Florian Pokorny (KTH)Room 22-24

Questions to be answered

  • How will mobile manipulation impact real-world applications and benefit society? Providing specific examples or case studies from healthcare, agriculture, logistics, or manufacturing to illustrate the tangible impacts of MoMa technologies.
  • What are the most promising advancements or breakthroughs in mobile manipulation, and what challenges still need solutions? Highlight some of the most exciting recent developments — such as advancements in perception and dexterous manipulation of diverse object types (known/unknown, rigid/deformable), or innovative machine learning applications.
  • How can professionals and researchers from different backgrounds get involved or benefit from this field? How the exploitation of synergies across like-minded projects like the ones present in this WS can help R&I in the MoMa field?

Description

This workshop examines the evolving field of mobile manipulation (MoMa), a pivotal domain within robotics with applications spanning healthcare, agriculture, logistics, and manufacturing. Addressing the unique challenges of manipulating both rigid and deformable objects, MoMa demands advanced mobility and manipulation capabilities, which enable its critical role in diverse, strategically essential sectors across Europe.

MoMa technologies have advanced significantly, with robots increasingly able to perform complex tasks that require fine-grained manipulation and real-time adaptability. However, the field still faces limitations, especially in reliably handling diverse objects and environments, and in maintaining stability and precision across dynamic settings. Although recent advancements have shown promising improvements in machine learning, perception, and grasping technologies, achieving a high level of robustness, safety, and adaptability across varying tasks remains a central challenge. For instance, handling unknown or deformable objects in realistic settings outside laboratories is still an open problem. Also, developing and deploying transferable MoMa solutions applicable for multiple environmental settings or industries is crucial. Collaborative efforts across academia, industry, and public sectors are critical to accelerating these developments.

This workshop will present an in-depth examination of the current state of MoMa. It will focus on key technical and societal challenges, such as perception and handling of diverse objects, adapting to complex dynamics, and advancing human-robot interaction (HRI). It will do so by bringing to the table the perspectives and recent developments of MoMa centred Horizon Europe projects including PILLAR-Robots, AGIMUS, REGO, IntelliMan, CONVINCE, SestoSenso and SoftEnable, which will share strategic insights, highlighting community-driven solutions and future opportunities for advancing MoMa capabilities.

Organisation of the WS

Welcome & Introduction (5 minutes)

We'll kick things off by setting the stage for our deep dive into mobile manipulation (MoMa). This intro will outline what we mean by MoMa, its relevance across sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and logistics.

Project Spotlights: Exploring the Latest in Mobile Manipulation (30 minutes)

In this segment, we’ll explore a range of new and ongoing projects driving forward MoMa research and innovation. Several “sister projects”, including PILLAR-Robots, AGIMUS, REGO, IntelliMan, CONVINCE, SestoSenso and SoftEnable, will each share an overview of their work. You'll get a rapid look at the latest advancements and the specific problems each project is tackling in areas like rigid and deformable object handling, human-robot interaction, and adapting to dynamic environments.

Interactive Q&A, Panel, and Audience Engagement (45 minutes)

Next, we’re opening up the floor! This session is designed to be interactive and dynamic. Our panellists will start by discussing two key themes:

  • Mobile Manipulation: Expectations vs. Reality – Where are we seeing the most progress? What challenges remain?
  • Market Trends and Future Opportunities – What are the emerging needs in various sectors? How can MoMa adapt to them?

Afterward, it’s over to you! Whether you have questions for specific panellists, insights to share, or just want to know more about how these innovations might impact your field, this session is your chance to engage.

Intended outcome

Enhanced Understanding of Current Mobile Manipulation Advances and Challenges

Attendees will gain a well-rounded understanding of the latest innovations, real-world applications, and ongoing limitations in mobile manipulation. With insights from multiple projects and experts, participants will leave with a clearer picture of the field's current landscape and the technical hurdles yet to be overcome.

Identification of Collaborative Opportunities and Potential Partnerships

The interactive nature of the workshop, along with exposure to multiple Horizon Europe projects, can foster networking and collaboration among participants from different backgrounds. This can lead to future partnerships across academia, industry, and public sectors, helping drive forward specific research initiatives or pilot applications.

Strategic Insights for Aligning with Market Trends and Future Opportunities

Through discussions on market expectations and the gap between current capabilities and industry needs, attendees will gain valuable insights on where the field is headed and how to align their research or business strategies. This can help guide project directions, investment considerations, and future R&D initiatives aligned with evolving market demands.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Project Presentations:

  • Richard Duro (PILLAR-Robots)
  • Nicolas Mansard (AGIMUS)
  • Gianluca Palli (IntelliMan)
  • Claudio Pacchierotti (REGO)
  • Lorenzo Natale (CONVINCE)
  • Florian Pokorny (SoftEnable)
  • Giorgio Cannata (SestoSenso)

Panel Discussion:

  • Francesco Ferro (PAL Robotics)
  • Enrico Mingo (INRIA / euROBIN)
  • Stephane Doncieux (Sorbonne / PILLAR-Robots)
  • Maximo Roa (DLR)
  • Radhika Gudipati (ARIA)

Moderators

  • Marco Rosa (PAL Robotics)
  • Ashok Meenakshi Sundaram (DLR)
  • Florian Pokorny (KTH)

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

-

Projects involved

Further information

-

Organisers

  • Marco Rosa (PAL Robotics), marco.rosa@pal-robotics.com
  • Ashok Meenakshi Sundaram (DLR), Ashok.MeenakshiSundaram@dlr.de
  • Florian Pokorny (KTH) fpokorny@kth.se
Wed 11:10 - 12:30
Deformable objects, Horizon Europe, Mobile manipulation, Perception, Vision

WS#13 Industrial Robotics Safety: Challenges, Methods, and Strategies

Magnus Albert (SICK AG), Michael Rathmair (Joanneum Research), Ulrich Kirchmaier (Elektrobit Automotive GmbH)Room 25-27

Questions to be answered

Novel technologies enable innovation in industrial robotics. However, these innovations will only be accepted, if they prove to be safe. Continuing the series of successful workshops at the past editions of the euRobotics Forum, we will present and discuss new methodologies and approaches to guarantee the health and wellbeing of the users - also beyond the well known state of the art. This year’s workshop will focus along the following guiding questions:

  • Can innovation in robotics be facilitated by adopting automotive grade ready-to-use solutions and technologies?
  • Is it possible to assess the safety of a robot in a given context at runtime and what would be appropriate methods and models?
  • What are the trends in robot safety research, and what challenges arise in transferring these findings to industrial applications?

Description

The workshop brings together safety experts along the whole life-cycle of robotics. Following up on our previous workshops we would like to continue our joint efforts to enable innovations by novel methods and technologies ensuring the safety of robotics systems. This year’s workshop will focus on dynamic aspects at runtime and will focus on three main aspects: Can dynamic high-level robot control be facilitated by incorporating functional safe operating systems developed for automotive use cases? Which novel functionality may be part of dynamic risk-reduction measures at runtime? How can flexibility and adaptability of robotics systems benefit from verification at runtime?

Organisation of the WS

A short introduction will be followed by three 12-minute pitches to stimulate discussion. The talks will focus around different aspects of the safety life-cycle, i.e. the design and implementation, and the verification and validation. There will be a short question session after each talk.

We will then arrange a fish-bowl discussion with the tree speakers and involving experts from the audience. Participants will be encouraged to actively engage in the discussion, to share insights and own experiences, and to interact with the speakers. The format will allow for in-depth discussions of the topics and will facilitate the identification of common interests that might result in concrete actions.

Intended outcome

  • Bring together safety experts from different domains
  • Strengthen the euRobotics network’s safety competence and the collaboration between TG safety, TG industrial robotics, TG Standardisation
  • Engage in pre-standardization to facilitate the establishment of novel methods and technologies in standards

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Moderators: Magnus Albert, José Saenz

Speakers:

  • Ulrich Kirchmaier, Elektrobit Automotive GmbH
    Title: Functional Safe Robotic Operations
  • [TBD]

Title: Human-System Interaction - HW Sicht auf dynamische Systemänderungen]

  • Michael Rathmair, Joanneum Research Robotics
    Title: Runtime Verification to Enhance Safety in flexible Robot Applications

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

TGs: Safety, Standardisation, Industrial Robotics

Projects involved

NA

Further information

Organisers

  • Magnus Albert (SICK AG), magnus.albert@sick.de
  • Michael Rathmair (Joanneum Research), michael.rathmair@joanneum.at
  • Ulrich Kirchmaier (Elektrobit Automotive GmbH) ulrich.kirchmaier@elektrobit.com
Wed 11:10 - 12:30
Data, Safety, Validation, Verification

WS#23 Renaud Champion Entrepreneurship Award 2025

Troels Oliver Pedersen (Odense Robotics), Jon Agirre Ibarbia (Tecnalia), Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics)Silchersaal

Questions to be answered

Who will be the 2025 winner of the euRobotics Entrepreneurship award?

Description

Watch the shortlisted candidates pitch their companies and products to win the prestigious euRobotics Renaud Champion Entrepreneurship Award for the best European robotics startup in 2025.

We invite all entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs in the robotics field to join the competition for the euRobotics Renaud Champion Entrepreneurship Award. The Award is given out each year at the European Robotics Forum (ERF) to the most promising robotic start-up as judged by a jury of robotic entrepreneurship pioneers and experts. Entrants to the competition stand the chance to gain interest in their company from the robotics and investment community.

Attending the pitch competition with five promising European robotics startups, chosen by an expert jury, offers a unique glimpse into cutting-edge innovations in the industry.

Attendants will gain insights into the future of robotics and be inspired by the transformation of groundbreaking ideas into viable businesses.

Whether you're a robotics enthusiast or an aspiring entrepreneur, this event provides valuable inspiration and knowledge.

Organisation of the WS

This will be an 80 minute workshop:

0:00 – 00:10 Opening comments by the organisers and sponsors

00:10 – 00:30 Presentation by entrepreneurship role-model

00:30 – 01:15 Pitches by award finalists

01:20 Conclusion

Intended outcome

Gain insights into cutting-edge technologies, learn how bold ideas transform into successful businesses, and connect with fellow enthusiasts and entrepreneurs. Don't miss this chance to be inspired and grow your network in the robotics community!

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Finalists will be announced in week 10-11.

This year’s role model is Stefan Dörr from NODE Robotics.

Moderator will be Troels Oliver Pederson from Odense Robotics.

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

TG Entrepreneurship

Projects involved

Further information

See the call for applications here: https://erf2025.eu/awards/#entrepreneurship

Organisers

  • Troels Oliver Pedersen (Odense Robotics), trp@odenserobotics.dk
  • Jon Agirre Ibarbia (Tecnalia), jon.agirre@tecnalia.com
  • Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics) Franziska.Kirstein@gmail.com
Wed 11:10 - 12:30
Awards, Entrepreneurship, Start-up

WS#46 Brain Computer Interfaces: Enabling Next-Gen Human-Robot Collaboration

Ravi Kosuru (Fraunhofer IAO)Room 14-16

Questions to be answered

  • How can BCIs can facilitate real-time feedback and learning for robots from humans in areas such as surgical robotics?
  • In what ways can neuroadaptive systems help improve the adaptability and efficiency of robots working alongside human users?
  • How can Brain-Computer Interfaces complement other sensor technologies to enhance the safety of human-robot interactions in collaborative environments?

Description

The workshop will focus on the potential of neuroadaptive systems in fostering symbiotic human-machine interactions. Attendees will gain insights into the latest advancements in brain-computer interface (BCI) research, focusing on how these technologies can effectively detect user mental states to enhance collaboration between humans and robots. Talks will distill learnings from projects that show the use of BCIs for Human-in-the-Loop Reinforcement learning, understanding cognitive processes during observation of surgical robots in action as well as decoding mental states in humans working in proximity to robots. The session will also highlight emerging trends in neurotechnologies to develop mobile sensors, enabling the transition of BCI applications from laboratory settings to real-world environments. By showing how one could bridge the gap between human cognition and robotic responsiveness, this workshop aims to motivate the audience to sketch ideas for applications of BCIs for intuitive and adaptive robotic systems that can assist and work seamlessly with humans.

Organisation of the WS

Impulse Talks: There will be 2 or 3 talks on current state of research in Brain-Computer Interfaces and Neuroadaptive technologies. (~ 30 minutes)

Attendee Participation: The attendees will be divided in groups to interactively discuss and sketch possible interaction scenarios in concrete application areas for Human-Robot Collaboration using BCI technologies. (~ 40 minutes)

Intended outcome

Provide an insight into neuroadaptive systems and technologies that can help detect mental states such as attention and cognitive workload including applications in robotics.

Invite ideas and concepts from interdisciplinary groups of attendees for applications of Neuroadaptive technologies in integrating the human in collaborative robot scenarios in different fields.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Ravi Kosuru (Fraunhofer IAO)
Wed 11:10 - 12:30
BCI, Brain-Computer Interfaces, euRobotics will harmonise for the webHuman-Robot Interaction, HRI, Human-in-the-Loop, Human-Robot Collaboration, Suggest some tags / keywords

WS#48 Human-robot collaboration in industry 5.0: navigating acceptance, inclusion, safety, and ethics

Dr. Shirley A. Elprama (imec-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel , FARI, AI for the Common Good Institute), Dr. Milan Wolffgramm (Saxion University of Applied Sciences), Clara Fischer (JOANNEUM RESEARCH ROBOTICS), Dr. Gabriele Marchello (Italian Institute of Technology (IIT)), Agata Suwala (MTC), Carlo Weidemann (Institute of Mechanism Theory, Machine Dynamics and Robotics (RWTH Aachen University)),Room 20

Questions to be answered

Topics that will be addressed in this workshop are:

  • What does human-cobot collaboration in industry 5.0 look like (i.e., practical use cases)?
  • How can robots assist industrial work (and in other domains) to improve ergonomics, and compensate for physical changes based on age or disabilities?
  • How does worker diversity (age, anatomical gender, body heights - anthropometry, disabilities) influence the work with robots, in terms of safety, interaction and efficiency?
  • How can we design adaptive and inclusive workspaces that enhance productivity, safety, and well-being for a diverse workforce, while integrating collaborative automation?

Description

This dynamic workshop dives into the latest insights and initiatives regarding the impact of robotics on society, focusing explicitly on sustaining the balance between productivity gains and worker interests. It addresses designing inclusive human-robot collaborations, focusing on improving worker welfare, participation, and safety, preventing work-related illnesses, and supporting aging or disabled workers. Ethical implications, labor adaptation, and successful case studies of robot integration will also be discussed, highlighting challenges and best practices in creating socially sustainable, inclusive, and safe work environments. Finally, practical examples will be provided to enhance the acceptance of robotics across industries. Energetic talks and lively panel discussions are to be expected.

Organisation of the WS

  • 00:00 - 00:10 General introduction of agenda and topic: to human-robot collaboration in industry5.0 - Dr. Gabriele Marchello, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Italy
  • 00:10 - 00:40 Power pitches on diversity, acceptance, safety and ethics

Carlo Weidemann, Institute of Mechanism Theory, Machine Dynamics and Robotics (RWTH Aachen University), Germany

Dr. Milan Wolffgramm, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands

Clara Fischer, JOANNEUM RESEARCH ROBOTICS, Austria

Dr. Shirley A. Elprama - imec-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel - FARI - AI for the Common Good Institute, Belgium

  • 00:40 - 01:15 Panel moderated by Agata Suwala, Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), UK
  • Panel members:

Dr. Cecilia Scoccia, Università Politecnica delle Marche, ilabs, Italy

Dr. Milan Wolffgramm, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands

Robin Kirschner, TU Munich, Germany

Alberto Landini, STAM, Italy

  • 01:15 - 01:30 Wrap up - Dr. Gabriele Marchello, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Italy

Intended outcome

  1. Uniting professionals to discuss cobot-related acceptance, inclusion, safety, and ethics in Industry 5.0.
  2. Disseminating the latest insights and methods on cobots in Europe.
  3. Laying the groundwork for new European project consortia.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Speakers

Panelists

Moderators

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Not applicable.

Projects involved

Further information

WS LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/10009247/

Organisers

  • Dr. Shirley A. Elprama (imec-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel , FARI, AI for the Common Good Institute), shirley.elprama@vub.be
  • Dr. Milan Wolffgramm (Saxion University of Applied Sciences), m.r.wolffgramm@saxion.nl
  • Clara Fischer (JOANNEUM RESEARCH ROBOTICS), clara.fischer@joanneum.at
  • Dr. Gabriele Marchello (Italian Institute of Technology (IIT)), gabriele.marchello@iit.it
  • Agata Suwala (MTC), agata.suwala@the-mtc.org
  • Carlo Weidemann (Institute of Mechanism Theory, Machine Dynamics and Robotics (RWTH Aachen University)), weidemann@igmr.rwth-aachne.de
Wed 11:10 - 12:30
Collaboration, Ethics, Industry, Safety

WS#88 Scientific Track Poster Session I

Fraunhofer IPA ISW University of StuttgartMaritim: Köln / Bonn / Hamburg

Questions to be answered

Poster Pitches of papers in the field of robotics.

Description

See below

Organisation of the WS

4 Minutes per Pitch + 30 Seconds for switching, i.e., 4.5 Minutes per Pitch. There are 3.5 minutes buffer, e.g., to deal with technical issues.

  1. Coastal Management through Safe Event-Triggered Predictive Control for UAVs
  2. Excerpt from a practical risk assessment of the hand-arm region for workplaces with collaborative robots
  3. Shopfloor-Ready High Accuracy Robotics – Mark II
  4. Automated Leaf-Level Inspection of Crops Combining UAV and UGV Robots
  5. Codeless teaching of robot-arm positioning in VR
  6. A Novel DMPs Based Approach to Comply ISO/TS 15066
  7. Planning under Uncertainties with Closed-Loop Sensitivity: Recent Results and Perspectives
  8. Friday: The Versatile Mobile Manipulator Robot
  9. Performances of a hybrid drive robot for steel machining
  10. Acceleration-based Inner-loop Control and MPC for Aerial Robots: Advantages and Drawbacks
  11. Modelling and Simulation of Industrial Delta Robots in ROS2 and Gazebo
  12. Automated Multi-Agent Assembly: Collaborative Robot-Crane Concept and Capability Matching Implementation for the Automated Assembly of Heavy Construction Components
  13. Factors Affecting Passive Stability of Quadruped Trotting with An-isotropic Compliant Legs
  14. Automated Euro NCAP testing of vehicles and mobile robots on automotive proving grounds
  15. Enhancing Construction Steel Assembly through Semantic Data Connectivity: Insights from an Adaptive Welding Procedure and in-process monitoring
  16. Pilot test to evaluate Ergonomic risk of industrial Exoskeleton with semi-autonomous method that relies on AzKCLI and the Equivalent Weight
  17. The Next Frontier: Deploying Autonomous Robotic Systems for Safer Nuclear Decommissioning in Europe

Intended outcome

To update the community about recent developments

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • Fraunhofer IPA
  • ISW University of Stuttgart
Wed 11:10 - 12:30
Scientific track

12:30 - 14:00 Lunch Break

No workshops in this session.

14:00 - 15:20 Sessions Afternoon Day 2 -slot 1

WS#15 Bringing Soft Robotics to Application

Florian Hartmann (Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems), Linda Paternò (The BioRobotics Institute of Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies), Gernot Kronreif (ACMIT - The Austrian Center for Medical Innovation and Technology)Room 14-16

Questions to be answered

This workshop will focus on the challenges that are involved into bringing soft robotics to application. We will discuss how soft machines can support and interact with the human body and address translational questions such as: What are the potential barriers from the regulatory side? What are the potential barriers on the technology side?

Description

The demand for compliant machines capable of safely interacting with the human body is growing across various applications. To meet this need, significant research in robotics has focused on developing new classes of devices through the soft robotics approach. However, despite extensive efforts in recent years, the commercialization of these systems remains absent. Therefore, further research is required to develop soft robots that are both effective and durable enough for successful market translation. This workshop aims to explore the scientific advancements and the challenges of bringing soft robotics to various applications, including rehabilitation, haptics, and surgery.

Organisation of the WS

The workshop is featuring four speakers, that give presentations of each 12 min. All four speakers will participate in a panel discussion that summarizes the workshop.

12 min | Kaspar Althoefer

12 min | Elena Giannaccini

12 min | Alona Shagan

12 min | Hedan Bai

30 min | Panel discussion

Intended outcome

The workshop aims to bring together the leading experts in soft robotics. Attendees will benefit from an interdisciplinary research talks on that topic, focusing on the challenges involved to bring soft robots to the market. The WS will stimulate ideas for future research collaborations between researchers and enable SMEs to discuss market needs and potentials with the community.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Speaker 1: Kaspar Althoefer, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.

Speaker 2: Elena Giannaccini, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.

Speaker 3: Alona Shagan, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart, Germany.

Speaker 4: Hedan Bai, ETHZ, Zürich, Switzerland.

All speakers are panelists.

Moderators: Linda Paterno, Florian Hartmann, Gernot Kronreif

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Projects involved

MAPWORMS - Mimicking Adaptation and Plasticity in WORMS

Further information

Organisers

  • Florian Hartmann (Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems), hartmann@is.mpg.de
  • Linda Paternò (The BioRobotics Institute of Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies), linda.paterno@santannapisa.it
  • Gernot Kronreif (ACMIT - The Austrian Center for Medical Innovation and Technology) gernot.kronreif@acmit.at
Wed 14:00 - 15:20
Bio-inspired, Exoskeletons; Rehabilitation robotics, Healthcare, Medical robots, Soft robotics, Wearables

WS#25 Sustainability Leadership Recognition in Robotics 2025

Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics), Sharath Akkaladevi (PROFACTOR GmbH)Room 22-24

Questions to be answered

This session is honoring organizations and teams leading the way with innovative solutions and transformative practices, showcasing their contributions to inspiring the global robotics community toward a sustainable tomorrow. The focus is on two key topics:

  • Robots for Sustainability: How can we use/deploy robots to support sustainability?
  • Sustainability of Robots: How can we make (and use) robots themselves sustainably?

Description

Robots have significant potential to support sustainability, contributing to efforts such as combating climate change, improving recycling, reducing manufacturing waste, and transforming social applications. As demand for robotics grows, it becomes essential to ensure that their production and disposal are aligned with sustainable practices. Addressing the long-term sustainability of robotic technologies is complex and requires careful consideration to avoid negative environmental impacts. Sustainability, as defined by the 1987 Brundtland Report, emphasizes intergenerational equity—ensuring that current generations meet their needs without compromising future generations’ ability to do the same. It also stresses the importance of balancing three core elements: economic growth, environmental protection, and social inclusion. These principles are foundational to the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which address pressing global challenges and aim to create a more sustainable future for all. Integrating sustainability into robotics can drive innovation and contribute to a healthier planet and a more equitable society.

The "Sustainability Leadership Recognition in Robotics" initiative has been launched to highlight and celebrate sustainability efforts within the robotics community. This session aims to inspire others by recognizing innovations that address sustainability challenges through robotics and acknowledging those who are leading the way in integrating sustainable practices into the development and deployment of robotic technologies.

Organisation of the WS

Interested applicants have submitted a proposal ahead of the ERF, which has been evaluated by a jury with expertise in the areas of robotics and sustainability. The candidates shortlisted by the jury will get the chance to present their sustainability journey at this workshop. All applicants will be represented in a short video played at the beginning of the workshop.

Followed by the presentations, we hope to be able to network with participants and shortlisted candidates.

Intended outcome

This session will honor organizations and teams that are making a significant impact through innovative robotic solutions focused on environmental, social, and economic sustainability. By showcasing these efforts, we aim to inspire further commitment to sustainability within the robotics community.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Shortlisted candidates who will present their sustainability journeys will be announced in week 11.

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

TG Sustainability

Projects involved

The initiative is supported by ARIA and euRobotics.

Empowering the Underrepresented in Robotics

Many talented individuals in robotics face barriers to participation due to financial constraints, limiting diversity and innovation in the field. This initiative supports underrepresented groups by providing opportunities to engage, contribute, and thrive in the robotics community. Thus, an exclusive opportunity awaits two applicants who can benefit from:

ARIA Travel Awards

Each of the two selected applicants will have the chance to receive a 500 Euro travel award supported by ARIA https://www.aria.org.uk/

European Robotics Forum Access

The two applicants will also receive free access tickets (one each) to the European Robotics Forum 2025 supported by euRobotics.

Further information

Find the call for applicants here: https://www.roboticsforsustainability.eu/post/robotics-sustainability-leadership-recognition-at-erf-2025

Organisers

  • Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics), fk@blue-ocean-robotics.com
  • Sharath Akkaladevi (PROFACTOR GmbH) Sharath.Akkaladevi@profactor.at
Wed 14:00 - 15:20
Awards, Sustainability

WS#31 Collaborative Heterogeneous Robots in Extreme Environments

Abeje Yenehun Mersha (Saxion University of Applied Sciences), Carlos Rizzo (EURECAT), Julian Cayero Becerra (EURECAT)Room 20

Questions to be answered

How can we leverage the complementarity of heterogeneous robots for effective task execution, resilient navigation, failure recovery, and accurate 3D mapping in extreme environments?

Description

This workshop focuses on advancing the deployment of collaborative heterogeneous robots in extreme environments, addressing challenges like harsh conditions, limited visibility, and unpredictable hazards. By harnessing the complementary strengths of diverse robotic platforms—spanning ground, aerial, and underwater systems—participants will gain insights into advanced strategies for robust task execution, resilient navigation, and failure recovery. A key emphasis will be on utilizing multimodal sensor fusion frameworks from heterogeneous robots to generate accurate and consistent 3D maps of unknown terrains, even under disruptions like non-uniform particles or adverse weather. These maps will serve as critical infrastructure for navigation and task execution. Featuring expert talks and panel discussions, the workshop aims to connect cutting-edge research with real-world applications, advancing collaboration among academia, industry, and policymakers.

Organisation of the WS

The workshop will begin with a Welcome and Introduction (10 minutes), followed by Presentations (40 minutes) on topics such as Future Trends in Heterogeneous Robotic Systems, Designing for Extremes, Collaborative SLAM, and Collaborative Task Planning. A Panel Discussion (20 minutes) will explore the Role of AI in Extreme Robotics, highlighting its contributions to adaptability and resilience in hazardous environments. Both the presentation and the panel discussion will be interactive, engaging the attendees of the workshop. The session will conclude with a Wrap-up (10 minutes), summarizing insights and identifying future directions.

Intended outcome

Workshop on recent developments in technology or applications, Collaborative EU projects

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Mohammad Aldibaja

Julian Cayero Becerra

Matteo Fumagali

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Autonomy, Navigation

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Abeje Yenehun Mersha (Saxion University of Applied Sciences), a.y.mersha@saxion.nl
  • Carlos Rizzo (EURECAT), carlos.rizzo@eurecat.org
  • Julian Cayero Becerra (EURECAT) julian.cayero@eurecat.org
Wed 14:00 - 15:20
Autonomy, Collaborative Robots, Resilience

WS#53 The Future of Robotics in Europe - Is there a common strategy?

David Bisset (euRobotrics), Reinhard Lafrenz (euRobotics)Silchersaal

Questions to be answered

There are several strategy and roadmap documents that came out in recent months defining the future of European Robotics. This workshop will answer the question; “What are the different visions for robotics in Europe and do they align?”

Description

This workshop brings together the key organisations responsible for the current collection of European robotics strategy and roadmap documents. It will assess the viewpoints expressed by each organisation and collate the primary challenges for European Robotics. Panelists will explain the key focus in each strategy followed by an open discussion with the audience on the future direction of robotics in Europe.

Organisation of the WS

  • Introduction and brief overview of strategy documents.
  • Focused explanations of key elements in each strategy.
  • Panel discussion on key questions.
  • Structured discussion between the panelists and the audience on the way forward.
  • Panel viewpoint on the key challenges and actions that need to be taken.

Intended outcome

  • Creating understanding of the different documents and the (common) direction of these
  • Better connect the key players for each strategy
  • Identify concrete steps to implement the strategy / strategies

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • David Bisset, euRobotics
  • Reinhard Lafrenz, euRobotics
  • Gregorio Ameyugo, CEA (tbc)
  • Patrick Schwarzkopf, VDMA (confirmed)
  • Alin Albu-Schäffer /Aude Billard, euROBIN (tbc)
  • Philip Piatkiewicz, Adra (confirmed)
  • Cecile Huet/ Cem , EC (tbc)
  • Petra Koudelkova-Delimoges, Adra & euRobotics (tbc)

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

-

Further information

Links to strategies to add

Organisers

  • David Bisset (euRobotrics),
  • Reinhard Lafrenz (euRobotics)
Wed 14:00 - 15:20
Challenges, Competitiveness, Roadmapping, Strategy

WS#57 Robotics in the pharma industry: from drug discovery to drug delivery

Radhika Gudipati (ARIA), Patrick Courtney (tec-connection), Karol Janik (MTC)Room 25-27

Questions to be answered

To discuss challenges in pharma and life sciences industries

  • in robot adoption
  • what are the new opportunities
  • where are potential collaborations possible

End-users, Research community, Tech developers, suppliers, engineering

community Speakers: end-user organisations, research and academia

Description

The pharmaceutical industries, and life sciences more generally, play an important role in our quality of life and economic prosperity. However, the use of robotics has been quite limited due to missing capability. In this workshop, we bring together perspectives from both the industrial robots and lab robotics TGs to identify and address the challenges.

Speakers and panellists are from End-users, Research, and academic communities (details provided in the sections below).

Tech developers, suppliers, engineering community already expressed interest in participating in the workshop discussions

Organisation of the WS

AGENDA

  • Introduction & scene setting - 5mins
  • Presentation 1 - (10+5) mins
  • Presentation 2 - (10+5) mins
  • Presentation 3 - (10+5) mins
  • Panel discussion (audience survey runs in parallel) - 25 mins
  • Closure - 5mins

Intended outcome

From the audience survey/poll as well as the live conversation in the workshop, we will capture

  • Challenges in robot adoption
  • New opportunities that can lead to collaborations

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Speakers:

  • Milad Jami, Novo Nordisk (Confirmed)
  • Philip Schneider, Roche (Confirmed)
  • Andreas Traube, Fraunhofer IPA (Confirmed)

Panellists:

  • All of the above presenters
  • Karol Janik, MTC (Confirmed)

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Laboratory Robotics TG , Industrial Robotics TG

Projects involved

Digital Manufacturing Accelerator, DMA-MTC (https://digitalmanufacturingaccelerator.com/), Liverpool Metropolitan Area Regional Funding, DMA project involved developing two highly reconfigurable production lines dedicated to pharmaceutical (personalised packaging of pills) and fast moving consumer goods industries (personalised shampoo filling) as a physical demonstration of reconfigurable manufacturing digital infrastructure.

TraceBot (http://www.tracebot.eu) which involved developing traceable robotics suitable for use in regulated environments such as pharmaceutical manufacturing, based on advances in perception, planning and reasoning to create a digital audit trail.

Further information

Organisers

  • Radhika Gudipati (ARIA), radhika.gudipati@aria.org.uk
  • Patrick Courtney (tec-connection), patrick.courtney@tec-connection.com
  • Karol Janik (MTC) karol.janik@the-mtc.org
Wed 14:00 - 15:20
Laboratory, Logistics, Pharma

WS#89 Scientific Track Poster Session II

Fraunhofer IPA ISW University of StuttgartMaritim: Köln / Bonn / Hamburg

Questions to be answered

Poster Pitches of papers in the field of robotics.

Description

See below

Organisation of the WS

4 Minutes per Pitch + 30 Seconds for switching, i.e., 4.5 Minutes per Pitch. There are 3.5 minutes buffer, e.g., to deal with technical issues.

  1. DARKO-Nav: Hierarchical Risk- and Context-aware Robot Navigation in Complex Intralogistic Environments
  2. Anticipatory Regulation for Service Robotics Safety
  3. Simple Estimation Algorithm for Laser Tracker Localization in Industrial Robot Calibration
  4. Specification and Execution of Robotic Acceptance Tests for Object Sorting
  5. Robotic Activities in Harsh Environments: Summary of 2024 Interventions at CERN
  6. Evaluation of a Haptic-Actuated Glove for Remote Human-Robot Interaction (HRI): A Proof of Concept
  7. Heterogeneous multi-robot systems Cooperative Exploration of Unknown Environment
  8. Leveraging Synthetic Training Data for Object Detection to Enhance Autonomous Depalletizing Systems
  9. Recovering dense metric depth in indoor scenes from monocular depth foundation models and 2D LiDARs
  10. A Low-Cost, Multi-Modal Grasping Point Estimation System for Shop Floor Applications
  11. Modular Multi-View AI-Based 3D Human Pose Estimation Edge Computing Architecture
  12. Defining High-Risk AI Systems: Understanding the complexity of the AIA definitions
  13. Reinforcement Learning for Legged Robots: Truncated Quantile Critics with Path Following Tracking
  14. Autonomous robotized detachment of wiring connectors<
  15. Efficient 6D Object Pose Estimation for Robotic Grasping using Lightweight Neural Network Architectures
  16. Improving Off-Road LiDAR Semantic Segmentation with Spatial Context and Auxiliary Tasks
  17. Robotic Perception of Underwater Plastic Bottles for Augmented Telepresence

Intended outcome

To update the community about recent developments

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • Fraunhofer IPA
  • ISW University of Stuttgart
Wed 14:00 - 15:20
Scientific track

WS#9 Additive Manufacturing in Robotics

Mathias Brandstötter (ADMiRE Research Center, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences), Jyrki Latokartano (Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, RoboLabTampere, Tampere University)Room 11-13

Questions to be answered

  1. How can additive manufacturing revolutionize robotics, e.g. with high-performance and functional components?
  2. What are the advantages of robot-assisted additive manufacturing in achieving novel applications across industries?
  3. How can this workshop support the creation of consortia for EU-funded projects and foster the establishment of a euRobotics Topic Group?

Description

The integration of cutting-edge technologies has propelled us into a new era where the development of functional components is not only feasible but transformative. These components play pivotal roles in advancing the capabilities of robotics, highlighting the synergy between robotics and additive manufacturing (AM) as a mutually enriching partnership.

This workshop convenes experts from diverse fields of additive manufacturing and robotics to explore recent innovations, future opportunities, and challenges. Through collaborative discussions, participants will address key gaps and identify actionable solutions to advance the integration of these technologies.

Main topics:

  • AM for Robotics: Focusing on advancements in creating robotic components through AM (e.g., in flexible, adaptable designs suited for soft robotics but also for a lot of other applications requiring high material performance.)
  • AM with Robotics: Examining the use of robotics to assist in additive manufacturing processes (with insights into increased efficiency, complex geometries, and scalable production.)

By combining knowledge from these diverse domains, the workshop aims to push the boundaries of what’s possible in robotics and additive manufacturing, fostering innovation and collaboration across Europe and beyond.

Organisation of the WS

The session is designed to foster active participation and collaboration through the following format:

  1. Keynote Presentations (30 minutes): Renowned experts will share insights into advancements in both "AM for Robotics" and "AM with Robotics," focusing on current projects, challenges, and future trends.
  2. Interactive Group Discussions (40 minutes): Attendees will be divided into thematic groups, each addressing one of the workshop’s core questions. Facilitators will guide discussions to encourage knowledge exchange and outline pathways for collaborative innovation.
  3. Plenary Session (10 minutes): Group findings will be presented to the entire audience, fostering a collective understanding and ensuring all participants benefit from the discussions. Outcomes will be documented to serve as a foundation for future initiatives.

Intended outcome

Outcome of the WS:

  1. Establish clear goals for forming consortia targeting EU funding opportunities.
  2. Lay the groundwork for creating a euRobotics Topic Group on AM in robotics, enabling sustained discussions and collaborations.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Speakers: Experts in robotic AM applications from academia, industry, and research centers

Erik Paessler, CEAD
Sigrid Brell-Cokcan, RWTH Aachen University
Oliver Refle, Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA)

  • Moderator: Mathias Brandstötter, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

TG Industrial Robotics

Projects involved

We provide an insight into numerous European projects that deal with additive manufacturing.

Further information

Organisers

  • Mathias Brandstötter (ADMiRE Research Center, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences),
  • Jyrki Latokartano (Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, RoboLabTampere, Tampere University)
Wed 14:00 - 15:20
Additive manufacturing, Agile production, Horizon Europe, Innovation, Projects, Soft robotics

16:00 - 17:20 Sessions Afternoon Day 2 -slot 2

WS#1 Navigating Uncertainty in the European Regulation of AI. Understanding when your AI System is High-Risk, and why it does matter!

Prof. Dr. Andrea Bertolini (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna), Dr. Federica Fedorczyk (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna), Dr. Marta Mariolina Mollicone (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna), Guilherme Migliora (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)Silchersaal

Questions to be answered

In this workshop, we will demonstrate the challenges posed by the AI Act, particularly the complexity and lack of clarity in its definitions, with a focus on high-risk AI systems. For instance, reading Article 6 of the AI Act does not immediately clarify how to classify a system as high-risk. Yet, correctly qualifying an AI system is crucial as it determines the specific legal obligations that developers, providers, and deployers must meet to operate lawfully in the European market. Indeed, developers, providers, and deployers of AI systems currently face significant uncertainty in identifying the applicable legal regime for their systems and, consequently, the obligations required to avoid liability and legal sanctions.

Therefore, we will explain the actual content of Article 6 and illustrate the intricacies of its formulation, and this explanation is essential for both engineers and lawyers.

Description

This workshop will provide attendees with an in-depth exploration of the regulatory framework established by the AI Act (AIA), offering both an overview and a critical perspective on its implications for the regulation of AI systems.

The regulatory framework: an overview of the AI Act

  • A general introduction to the AIA, highlighting its structure and objectives;
  • Examination of how the AIA represents a shift in the regulation of AI systems, placing it in a broader context of European regulatory practices.

Focus on Article 6 and the definition of High-Risk AI Systems (h-AIS)

  • Critical Overview of Annex III:
  • Detailed analysis of the high-risk categories outlined in Annex III, identifying key criteria and addressing critical challenges and ambiguities in their application;
  • Article 6, §1 and Applicable European Product Safety Regulations:
  • Explanation of how Article 6, §1 connects high-risk AI system identification to existing European product safety regulations;
  • Discussion of the extreme complexity of the regulatory framework referenced by Article 6, §1, and its implications for stakeholders;
  • Examination of the role of third-party conformity assessments.

Case Study: Unintended Consequences of Article 6, §1 AIA

  • A concrete example illustrating the potential unintended consequences that could arise from the application of Article 6, §1;
  • Analysis of how these challenges might impact developers, providers, and deployers of AI systems intending to operate in the European market.

Organisation of the WS

A panel will be set up to present the critical European regulation. Each speaker will talk for 10/15 minutes and time for Q&A will be granted.

The WS will be split in two half:

- In the first half there will be a in-depth presentation of the AI Act norms taken into account and their inconsistencies;

- In the second half there will be a roundtable and Q&A.

Intended outcome

After the workshop, participants will have a clear and comprehensive understanding of Article 6 of the AI Act. They will understand the complexities and practical implications of the references to Annex III and Annex I, including how to classify their products as high-risk AI systems and the specific criteria outlined therein. Furthermore, they will understand the critical role that third-party conformity assessments play in determining whether a system falls into the high-risk category.

Attendees will also leave with a deeper awareness of the broader implications of these provisions for those developing, providing or deploying AI systems intended for the European market. This includes understanding the legal obligations they must comply with to ensure their products meet regulatory requirements and can be lawfully operated in the EU. By the end of the session, participants will be better equipped to navigate the regulatory landscape for high-risk AI systems and to confidently address the challenges posed by the AI Act.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Andrea Bertolini
  • Federica Fedorczyk
  • Marta Mariolina Mollicone
  • Guilherme Migliora
  • Stefano Aterno
  • Lena Lörcher

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

LSE – Legal Subtopic group

Projects involved

SWAG - ARISE

Further information

http://www.eura.santannapisa.it

Organisers

  • Prof. Dr. Andrea Bertolini (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna), andrea.bertolini@santannapisa.it
  • Dr. Federica Fedorczyk (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna), federica.fedorczyk@santannapisa.it
  • Dr. Marta Mariolina Mollicone (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna), marta.mollicone@santannapisa.it
  • Guilherme Migliora (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna) guilherme.migliora@santannapisa.it
Wed 16:00 - 17:20
AI, Legislation, Regulation

WS#20 Advancements in agricultural robotics and orchard automation

Dario Mengoli (University of Bologna), Alba Perez Gracia (CDEI-UPC), David Caballero Flores (Centre de Disseny d'Equips Industrials), Lluis Bonet Ortuño . Sarah Terreri (PAL Robotics)Room 20

Questions to be answered

  • What are the recent advancements in the orchard automation?
  • Which is the future of autonomous vehicles and agricultural robotics?
  • What are the improvements of mobile or distributed sensors for monitoring crops?

Description

Robotics and automation are steadily gaining prominence across various industries, and one of the sectors poised to reap significant benefits from these technological advancements is agriculture. These innovations have the potential to revolutionize farming practices by enhancing efficiency, productivity, and the overall quality of crops.

The goal of this workshop is to explore and discuss the role of robotics in the future orchard and vineyards. Robots can be used to gather information on plant health, but could also play a role in interacting with plants and performing intervention tasks. In particular, technology, with a strong emphasis on automation, plays a pivotal role in offering a cost-effective complement to human labor.

Organisation of the WS

First half with short presentation from panelists, then leave time for discussion with the audience.

Intended outcome

The workshop aims to encompass the latest advancements and practical applications in robotics, mechanization, and smart horticulture. We invite research focused on technologies that enhance the precision of crop production methods. Our specific emphasis lies in technologies for crop monitoring and intervention, manage irrigation, nutrient application, crop protection, canopy management, and load control.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Dario Mengoli, University of Bologna, dario.mengoli2@unibo.it
  • Lluis Bonet Ortuño, Centre de Disseny d'Equips Industrials,lluis.bonet.ortuno@upc.edu.
  • Sarah Terreri, PAL Robotics, sarah.terreri@pal-robotics.com
  • Andrea Gasparri, UNIROMA3, coordinator of the EU project CANOPIES

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Agricultural Robots

Projects involved

Agritech National Research Center and received funding from the European Union Next-Generation EU (PIANO NAZIONALE DI RIPRESA E RESILIENZA (PNRR)

SYMBIOSYST (https://www.symbiosyst.eu/)
ROSAQUA

CANOPIES https://www.canopies-project.eu/

Further information

Organisers

  • Dario Mengoli (University of Bologna), dario.mengoli2@unibo.it
  • Alba Perez Gracia (CDEI-UPC), alba.perez.gracia@upc.edu
  • David Caballero Flores (Centre de Disseny d'Equips Industrials), david.caballero.flores@upc.edu
  • Lluis Bonet Ortuño lluis.bonet.ortuno@upc.edu.
  • Sarah Terreri (PAL Robotics) sarah.terreri@pal-robotics.com
Wed 16:00 - 17:20
Agri, Agriculture, Autonomy, Navigation

WS#3 Autonomy levels framework for pathway to autonomous mobile machines

Juha Röning (University of Oulu), Antti Siren (Fima), Johannes Hyrynen (VTT)Room 22-24

Questions to be answered

The workshop will introduce a new framework for autonomy levels for heavy mobile machines. No similar framework exists which is meant to wide use (white paper is under work). The framework is complementary in its nature: The framework can be applied in many kinds of machines.

The objectives and impact of the workshop is to introduce a framework of levels of autonomy that enables us to understand how to utilize autonomous solutions efficiently and sustainably in various applications and environments. The framework includes a spectrum of machines from basic automation to full autonomy including individual components, machines as well as entire systems and processes. We believe that common language and definitions to autonomy levels to support collaboration between many parties (OEM companies, SMEs, Research, regulation and standardisation parties).

Description

The objectives and impact of the workshop is to introduce a framework of levels of autonomy that enables us to understand how to utilize autonomous solutions efficiently and sustainably in various applications and environments. The framework includes a spectrum of machines from basic automation to full autonomy including individual components, machines as well as entire systems and processes. A common language and definitions to autonomy levels will support collaboration between many parties (OEM companies, SMEs, Research, regulation and standardization parties). The framework helps to define the roles of co-working human operated and autonomous machines and to optimize this collaboration on work sites.

The benefits of establishing a framework for autonomy will be further discussed and evaluated. The benefits can be:

● A well-structured framework speeds up the development and deployment of autonomous systems.

● Cross-Industrial collaboration - By establishing a common language and standards, the potential for collaboration is enabled across diverse industries.

● Defining system requirements - Grasping the specific needs of machines, whether they operate solo or as part of a larger ensemble, ensures they perform optimally and cohesively, driving forward the future of autonomy.

● Supporting the development of safe, efficient, and cost-effective autonomous technologies.

● Offering methodology to evaluate the business value of investments in fully or partly autonomous systems.

The workshop will further discuss how the framework can be utilized in practice and how it can help to achieve the ultimate vision and define a pathway to a future where autonomous systems across all domains operate seamlessly and efficiently without human intervention.

Organisation of the WS

00-10 min
Juha Röning, Professor, University of Oulu
Introduction to the workshop

10- 25 min
Johannes Hyrynen, (Research manager, Transport technologies), VTT Technical Research Center of Finland
Autonomy levels framework
Introduction to the autonomy levels framework will address the topic in perspective of mobile machine operations and fleet process management. It will present new dimensions and elements to be considered when the level of autonomy is evaluated.

25-40 min
Joni Niskala, Excecutive Vice President, Sumirai Technologies
Human assistant autonomy – easy and scalable way to adapt automation in heavy machinery
How a human assisted autonomy approach is helping traditional operations to achieve an easier path for productive adaptation of automation and how easy it is to scale from that point.

40-55min
Kalle Määttä, Chief Engineer Automation & Digital Twins, Normet Oy
Towards autonomous underground explosive charging

Imagine a future where underground explosive charging is fully automated, enhancing both safety and efficiency. This presentation explores the cutting-edge advancements driving us towards autonomous solutions in this critical field

55-60 min
George Nikolakopoulos, Professor Robotics and Automation, Luleå University of Technology
Field Robotics topic group initiative

60 – 80 min Interactive workshop session on four topics (Open café)
Questions in Open café interactive discussion (preliminary)

· Are the dimensions of the autonomy levels relevant – is something missing

· Feedback of the framework

· Main contribution of the current framework has been safety – how about other factors

· How can you see utilizing the framework in your applications

· White paper preparation and validation for autonomy levels in heavy mobile robotics

· New topic group initiative “Field Robotics” for heavy mobile robotics

Intended outcome

· White paper preparation and validation for autonomy levels in heavy mobile robotics

· New topic group initiative “Field Robotics” for heavy mobile robotics

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Juha Röning, Professor, University of Oulu. Professor of Embedded System at the University of Oulu and Visiting Professor of Tianjin University of Technology, P. R. China. He is principal investigator of the Biomimetics and Intelligent Systems Group (BISG). From 1985 to 1986 he was a visiting research scientist in the Center for Robotic Research at the University of Cincinnati via Asla/Fullbright scholarship. From1986 to1989 he held a Young Researcher Position in the Finnish Academy. In 2000 he was nominated as Fellow of SPIE. He has three patents and has published more than 400 papers in the areas of computer vision, robotics, intelligent signal analysis, and software security. He is currently serving as a Board of Director for euRobotics aisbl (Vice-President Research) and Adra (Robotics Research Vice-President).

Joni Niskala, Executive Vice President, Sumirai Technologies. Seasoned professional with over 15 years of versatile experience in seamlessly blending business acumen with engineering expertise, specializing in automation & wireless communications technology. Adept at spearheading global operations within the ever-evolving landscapes of the mining and industrial sectors. Known for orchestrating complex projects from concept to successful execution, while prioritizing operational efficiency and budgetary objectives. Recognized for a visionary approach that seamlessly integrates cutting-edge technologies into traditional frameworks, driving organizations towards sustainable growth and innovation.

Sumirai is an integrator of smart technology especially for mining and industrial purposes. Our tech savvy team is focused on delivering solutions that meet highly complex customer demands both now and tomorrow. We design and deliver resilient and reliable technology that is built for purpose - and your success. We are an integrator of communications network and machinery automation solutions for industrial, construction and mining purposes in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Our Automation & Control solutions address the lack of skilled operators, lower operational expenses and improve the safety, comfort and productivity of operators by removing them from the machine. Our Wireless Communication solutions ensure mission critical connectivity, the highest cybersecurity and stable wireless networks even in the most challenging circumstances

Johannes Hyrynen, Reseach Manager, Transport technologies has more than 15 years of experience in various leading positions of both transport and mechanical engineering related research at VTT. The topics have covered for example automated driving, new power solutions for vehicles, marine technologies and smart machines. He currently works as a Lead for Low carbon and smart machines topical area and is responsible for developing and managing the portfolio of projects in the topic. The work also includes building national and international cooperation partnerships and networks in the area, as well as developing business impact and RDI projects with key partners.

VTT Technical Research Center of Finland is a visionary research, development and innovation partner and one of the leading research organisations in Europe. More than 2,300 professionals work to develop systemic and technological solutions that can bring about fundamental transformation. VTT is organised around three main areas: Carbon neutral solutions, Sustainable products and materials, and Digital technologies. VTT is impact-driven and takes advantage of its wide multi-technological knowledge base to strengthen industrial competitiveness.

Kalle Määttä, Chief Engineer of Automation at Normet, with over 15 years of experience in technology development and innovation, he focuses on strategic advancements in robotics, automation, and digitalization for mobile underground machinery. His interests include automated boom control projects and advanced robotics. Kalle leads Normet’s automation development team and coordinates related projects, contributing to innovations like SmartSpray® and Charmec Revo®. Previously, he was a Senior Research Scientist specializing in Industrial IoT, Machine Automation, and Digital Twins.

Normet is an innovative, fast growing technology company. We are underground experts driven by continuous improvement and care for environment. We offer complete technical solutions increasing our customers’ profitability through improved safety, cost savings and shortened process cycle. Normet has a broad offering for underground mining and tunnelling: equipment, construction chemicals, rock reinforcement products and services. Since 1962 we have developed our offerings to include a complete portfolio of mining and tunnelling solutions for the entire process chain, including processes such as concrete spraying, underground logistics, explosives charging, scaling, lifting, and installation works.

Today, we keep an eye on the future with digitalisation, extended reality, and automation technologies to improve the overall efficiency and sustainability of underground operations.

Headquartered in Finland, we employ over 1,800 dedicated professionals in more than 50 locations in 30 countries around the world, committing to long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships that create value in our industry and society as a whole.

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Heavy Machine TG is to be established; fits to several current TGs

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Juha Röning (University of Oulu), Juha.Roning@oulu.fi
  • Antti Siren (Fima), antti.siren@fima.fi
  • Johannes Hyrynen (VTT) johannes.hyrynen@vtt.fi
Wed 16:00 - 17:20
Cloud, Collaborative Robots, Communication, Regulation

WS#44 Circularity in Robotics: Design and use-cases

Michel Joop van der Schoor (euRobotics TG Sustainability), Brigita Jurisic (International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory), Dr. Esmaeil Najafi (Saxion University of Applied Sciences, Associate Professor), Oswald Bratuc (PROFACTOR GmbH), Dr. Gabriele Marchello (Italian Institute of Technology), Sharath Akkaladevi (PROFACTOR GmbH), Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics), Simon Schläger (RWTH Aachen), Mehmet Önal (Hidropar Motion Control Technologies Center (HKTM)), Anastasia Garbi (European Dynamics Luxembourg SA), Amit Kumar Pandey (Rovial Space)Room 11-13

Questions to be answered

  • What challenges and opportunities arise with the introduction of robots in circular supply chains, and how can it advance circularity goals?
  • How can design methods like Life Cycle Engineering (LCE) and stakeholder involvement help determine if using robots is necessary and guide ways to reduce the environmental and social impact of robots or the overall manufacturing process?
  • What is the economic benefit of adding robots into circular economy design scenarios?

Description

This workshop will explore the role of different stakeholders for robotic applications in advancing circular economy goals, with a focus on sustainable design practices and life cycle engineering. Through various case studies, participants will gain insights into the design and implementation of robotic systems that prioritize sustainability, covering topics such as early-stage life cycle engineering (LCE), stakeholder engagement, and circular supply chain formation. The workshop will highlight practical use cases, including recycling of end-of-life ships, remanufacturing, and e waste processing, showcasing how robotic technologies can reduce negative social and environmental impact while creating economic value. Attendees will engage in interactive group work, discussing challenges and developing solutions to enhance the circularity of robotic applications.

Organisation of the WS

  1. Sustainability & Circular Economy: Challenges, Needs & Requirements from CE Industry (10min)
  2. Life Cycle Engineering & Sustainable Robotic Design for Circularity (10min)
  3. Round-Tables: Use-Cases for Circular Design & LCE (40min)

UC1: Battery Manufacturing

UC2. Ship Recycling

UC3: Wood recycling

  1. Panel Discussion or presentation with questions/feedback on UC Roundtable Results (20min)

Intended outcome

Participants of the workshop will:

  • get input from audience on LCE & Circularity
  • get an idea of the importance of design and its power to support sustainability goals
  • work collaboratively on a specific use case gaining insights into the value of diverse stakeholder engagement in sustainable robot design.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Dr. Esmaeil Najafi, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands, Associate Professor (Case study: Metal recycling with machine vision)
  • Evren Samur, Hidropar Motion Control Technologies Center (HKTM), Türkiye
  • Mehmet Önal, Hidropar Motion Control Technologies Center (HKTM), Türkiye

Moderators:

  • Michel Joop, van der Schoor, EU Robotics TG Sustainability, micheljoop@gmail.com
  • Oswald Bratu, PROFACTOR GmbH, oswald.bratu@profactor.at
  • Brigita Jurisic, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, brigita.jurisic@inl.int

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Innovation Network: EDIH Ai5production (http://www.ai5production.at)

Topic Group: TG on Sustainability, TG Socially Intelligent Robots and Societal Applications

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Michel Joop van der Schoor (euRobotics TG Sustainability), micheljoop@gmail.com
  • Brigita Jurisic (International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory), brigita.jurisic@inl.int
  • Dr. Esmaeil Najafi (Saxion University of Applied Sciences, Associate Professor), e.najafi@saxion.nl
  • Oswald Bratuc (PROFACTOR GmbH), oswald.bratu@profactor.at
  • Dr. Gabriele Marchello (Italian Institute of Technology), gabriele.marchello@iit.it
  • Sharath Akkaladevi (PROFACTOR GmbH), Sharath.Akkaladevi@profactor.at
  • Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics), fk@blue-ocean-robotics.com
  • Simon Schläger (RWTH Aachen), Schlaeger@igmr.rwth-aachen.de
  • Mehmet Önal (Hidropar Motion Control Technologies Center (HKTM)), mehmet.onal@ikc.edu.tr
  • Anastasia Garbi (European Dynamics Luxembourg SA), anastasia.garbi@eurodyn.com
  • Amit Kumar Pandey (Rovial Space) amit@rovial.space
Wed 16:00 - 17:20
Circular economy, Industry, Sustainability

WS#55 CS4R - Cybersecurity for Robotic

Endika Gil Uriarte (Alias Robotics), Victor Mayoral Vilches (Alias Robotics) Unai Ayucar Carbajo Paul Zabalegui Landa.Room 25-27

Questions to be answered

Cybersecurity for robotics is a topic that is gaining major relevance for manufacturers, SIs and asset owners due to the advent of EU cybersecurity regulation. The session will provide practical cases where robot cybersecurity is fostered in different settings and provide insights on how to keep up with existing regulatory landscape.

Description

Cybersecurity for robotics is a topic that is gaining major relevance for manufacturers, SIs and asset owners due to the advent of EU cybersecurity regulation. The session will provide practical cases where robot cybersecurity is fostered in different settings and provide insights on how to keep up with existing regulatory landscape.

Organisation of the WS

WS will host a series on talks on robot cybersecurity

  • Cybersecurity regulation landscape for robots (Teresa De Las Heras, remote)
  • Practical case: EU funded EIC accelerator. Autonomous cybersecurity testing on robotic system as a method to comply with EU regulation (Victor Mayoral, Alias Robotics)
  • Practical case: Improving industrial robot cyber resiliency EU funded Resilmesh (Brian Lee, TUS)
  • Practical case: Centralized monitoring of robot cybersecurity

Intended outcome

How to keep robots secure and compliant in line with EU cybersecurity standards and regulation. The attendees will learn about security regulation applicable to robots and existing enabling technologies and procedures.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Endika Gil-Uriarte, Victor Mayoral Vilches, Paul Zabalegui Landa, Unai Ayucar Carbajo

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Projects involved

  • EU co-funded EIC accelerator HORIZON-EIC-2023-ACCELERATOR-01 (GA 101161136)
  • EU co-funded RESILMESH (https://resilmesh.eu/)

Further information

Organisers

  • Endika Gil Uriarte (Alias Robotics), endika@aliasrobotics.com
  • Victor Mayoral Vilches (Alias Robotics)
  • Unai Ayucar Carbajo
  • Paul Zabalegui Landa.
Wed 16:00 - 17:20
Cybersecurity, Industry, Medical robots, Safety

WS#60 Bioinspired Robotics for Bridging Natural and Artificial Intelligence

Prof. Dr. Florian Röhrbein (Neurorobotics, Chemnitz University of Technology), Dr. Pablo Lanillos (Neuro AI and Robotics Group, Spanish National Research Council), Dr. Iñaki Fernández (Industrial and Digital Systems, Fundación CARTIF), Dr. Marvin Wright (Strathclyde University), Prof. Dr. Poramate Manoonpong (Vidyasirimedhi Institute VISTEC, Thailand & SDU, Denmark),Room 14-16

Questions to be answered

  • What are current trends at the intersection of neuroscience, embodied AI and robotics?
  • What is the industry's perspective and how can we reduce existing gaps to academia?

Description

This workshop explores how bioinspired approaches can help to solve current society challenges, provide new solutions and open new markets. Experts from academia and industry will present their perspective and discuss with the audience. Topics presented will include:

  • Insect-inspired Perception and Navigation
  • On-line Adaptation as Challenge in AI Large Models for Robotics
  • Green AI via Neuromorphic Computing
  • From Sim to Real: Automated Acquisition of Robot Behaviors

A panel and moderated discussion involves the audience and will address questions such as how to benefit from current push on GenAI and large Foundation Models to bridge physical/hardware and brain/software parts through bioinspiration. We will talk about the European start-up landscape in bio-inspired robotics and also help identify potential funding schemes relevant for the area of the topic group.

Organisation of the WS

  • 16:00 - 16:05 Welcome & Ice-breaking Event (5 Min)
  • 16:05 - 16:10 Update about Topic Group activities (5 Min)
  • 16:10 - 16:55 Interactive Presentations (45 Min)
  • 16:55 - 17:15 Panel (20 Min)
  • 17:15 - 17:20 Conclusion & next steps (5 Min)

Intended outcome

  • Understand the state-of-the-art of biorobots and identify new opportunities
  • Networking in brain-inspired AI and biorobotics between academia and industry

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Prof. Dr. Florian Röhrbein, TU Chemnitz, Germany
  • Dr. Pablo Lanillos, Spanish National Research Council, Spain
  • Dr. Iñaki Fernández, Fundación CARTIF, Spain
  • Achim Fischer, Head of Development at FESTO, Germany
  • Prof. Kaspar Althoefer, Queen Mary University of London, U.K.
  • Prof. Richard Duro, University of Coruña, Spain
  • Prof. Stéphane Doncieux, Sorbonne University, France
  • Mike Mangan, VP of Research at OPTERAN, Edinburgh, U.K.
  • Dr Liang Li, MPI Animal Behaviour, Germany
  • Prof. Dr. Yulia Sandamirskaya, ZHAW, Switzerland

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

TG bio-inspired robotics

Projects involved

Pathfinder Awareness Inside EIC project METATOOL

Further information

Organisers

  • Prof. Dr. Florian Röhrbein (Neurorobotics, Chemnitz University of Technology), florian.roehrbein@informatik.tu-chemnitz.de
  • Dr. Pablo Lanillos (Neuro AI and Robotics Group, Spanish National Research Council), p.lanillos@csic.es
  • Dr. Iñaki Fernández (Industrial and Digital Systems, Fundación CARTIF), inafer@cartif.es
  • Dr. Marvin Wright (Strathclyde University), marvin.wright@strath.ac.uk
  • Prof. Dr. Poramate Manoonpong (Vidyasirimedhi Institute VISTEC, Thailand & SDU, Denmark), poma@mmmi.sdu.dk
Wed 16:00 - 17:20
Bio-inspired Robotics, Embodied Intelligence, Neurorobotics

18:00 - 18:45 Award Ceremony

WS#90 Late-Breaking-results Poster Session

Frauhofer-IPA and partners

Questions to be answered

tbd

Description

tbd

Organisation of the WS

tbd

Intended outcome

To update the community about recent developments

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • tbd

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • Frauhofer-IPA and partners
Wed 18:00 - 18:45
Scientific track

20:00 - 23:30 Evening Day 2 - Banquet

No workshops in this session.

Thursday 27 Mar 2025

08:30 - 09:50 Sessions Morning Day 3 -slot 1

WS#16 TeleRobotics 360: Exploring Innovations from Healthcare to Industry

Dr. Eng. Antonio Di Tecco (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies), http://www.ditecco.it/ Alessandro Genua (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies), Karol Janik (Manufacturing Technology Centre Ltd)Room 25-27

Questions to be answered

This workshop provides an overview of recent advances in telerobotics across healthcare and industrial applications, addressing:

  1. How is AI enhancing autonomy and control in telerobotic systems?
  2. What are the main technical challenges (e.g., latency, haptics, safety) in large-scale deployment?
  3. How can telerobotics be leveraged in manufacturing, logistics, and hazardous environments?
  4. What ethical concerns arise in medical telerobotics (e.g., data security, patient privacy)?
  5. What infrastructure advancements (e.g., 5G/6G) are necessary for real-time remote operations?
  6. What skills and training are needed for professionals working with AI-driven telerobotics?

By attending this workshop, the participant will:

  1. Learn from leading experts.
  2. Engage with cutting-edge innovations AI-enhanced robotic systems, and industrial applications that are revolutionizing the way we interact with technology and reshape industries.
  3. Gain practical insights into overcoming the technical challenges of telerobotics, such as latency, real-time control, and infrastructure needs, directly from the experts solving these issues.
  4. Be part of discussions on the ethical and legal implications of telerobotics, from patient privacy in remote surgeries to accountability and security in industrial contexts.
  5. Discover cross-sector opportunities and future trends in telerobotics, helping you understand how these technologies will impact healthcare and industry in the coming decade.
  6. Gain experience in telerobotics through a live and practical exhibition where they observe and interact with teleoperation activities in real-time, showcasing the technology’s capabilities in healthcare and industrial settings.

Beyond theoretical discussion, this workshop offers actionable insights and real-world applications from healthcare and industrial robotics experts. Moreover, the practical demonstration gives you a hands-on understanding of how telerobotic systems function in real-world scenarios. If you are looking to understand the full spectrum of telerobotic innovation and its potential, this is the workshop you cannot afford to miss.

Description

This workshop aims to provide a comprehensive, multidisciplinary perspective on telerobotics, spanning applications from healthcare to industrial tasks. Historically, many have questioned whether robots will fully replace humans in the workplace. However, introducing teleoperated robots offers a different solution: why must robots completely replace humans when they can collaborate with them instead? Rather than replacing human workers, robots can share tasks in a cooperative environment—through human-robot interaction using collaborative robots (cobots)—or operate remotely in the case of teleoperated robotics.

With insights from renowned speakers and panelists, the workshop will delve into the latest medical and industrial telerobotics breakthroughs. Following a brief introduction by the organizers, the first invited speaker will explore the current role of teleoperated robots in healthcare. This session will discuss how these robots assist doctors today, highlighting the benefits of remote surgery, as well as the challenges in achieving precision and meeting the stringent requirements of medical applications. The focus will also be on industrial applications, examining how Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) transform telerobotics in manufacturing and beyond. As AI and ML have become increasingly integrated into our daily lives, the workshop will discuss their growing influence on industrial telerobotics and how these technologies shape the future of automation and collaboration in diverse sectors.

Organisation of the WS

Duration: 80 minutes

  1. Introduction (10 min)
  • Welcome by moderators, workshop objectives, and speaker introductions.
  1. Speaker Presentations (40 min – 6-7 min each)
  • Prof. Alin Albu-Schäffer – Human-Robot Interaction in Telerobotics
  • Prof. Sven Behnke – AI-Driven Telerobotics for Autonomy and Perception
  • Dr. Abdeldjallil Naceri – Telerobotics for Senior Healthcare: Enhancing Remote Assistance and Rehabilitation through Safe Human-Robot Interaction
  • M.Sc. Stephan Andreas Schwarz – Safety and Usability in Telemanipulated Human-Robot Interactions
  • Dr. Francesco Porcini – Wearable Haptics & Exoskeletons for Remote Interaction
  • Dr. Mario Selvaggio – Leveraging autonomy in robot teleoperation
  1. Interactive Discussion (30 min)
  • Q&A with audience and expert panel
  • Addressing key challenges and future directions
  1. Conclusion (5 min)
  • Summary of key insights, closing remarks, and networking invitation

The proposed speeches' titles are only based on their biography. We are waiting for the official titles.

Participants will have an active role throughout the workshop. They will be called upon to:

  • Listen carefully to the speakers' presentations, taking notes and formulating questions.
  • Interact with other participants and speakers during the break and Q&A session.
  • Explore the latest frontiers of telerobotics, discovering new applications and technologies.
  • Connect with researchers and industry experts and expand their network of contacts.

Intended outcome

Attendees will gain:

  • A comprehensive understanding of the latest innovations in telerobotics.
  • Insights into technical challenges and solutions in AI-driven teleoperation.
  • Awareness of ethical, legal, and infrastructural concerns in medical and industrial applications.
  • Opportunities for networking and potential collaborations.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Speakers & Panelist :

  • Prof. Alin Albu-Schäffer from Technische Universität München and DLR
  • Prof. Sven Behnke from Universität Bonn
  • Dr. Abdeldjallil Naceri , from Technische Universität München (MIRMI Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence)
  • Dr. Porcini Francesco, from School of Advanced Studies Sant’Anna Pisa (Institute of Mechanical Intelligence)
  • Dr. Mario Selvaggio, from PRISMA Lab Naples
  • M. Sc. Stephan Andreas Schwarz, from Technische Universität Chemnitz

Moderators: People who lead the discussion and ensure that the event runs smoothly and effectively:

  • Dr. Eng. Antonio Di Tecco, PhD, M.B.A., Post-Doc at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies
  • Alessandro Genua, PhD Student at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies
  • Karol Janik, Technology Manager at Manufacturing Technology Centre Ltd

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

  • Topics group:
  • Tele Eco Sound
  • Human-Machine, Human-Computer, and Human-Robot Interaction
  • Medical and Industrial Requirements (Technicals and Ethics)
  • Robotic Control Issues
  • Mechanics and Mechanical Architecture
  • Computer Science and AI for Healthcare and Industrial Applications

Projects involved

Further information

Research centers links:

  • Institute of Mechanical Intelligence, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies:

http://www.santannapisa.it/it/istituto/intelligenza-meccanica

Organisers

  • Dr. Eng. Antonio Di Tecco (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies), http://www.ditecco.it/
  • Alessandro Genua (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies),
  • Karol Janik (Manufacturing Technology Centre Ltd)
Thu 08:30 - 09:50
AI, Autonomous Systems, Digital twins, Haptics, Industry, Medical robots, Teleoperation, Telerobotics

WS#21 Adoption of robotics in agriculture: challenges and opportunities for sustainable development

Room 20

Questions to be answered

  • What are the key technological, economic, and social barriers preventing the widespread adoption of robotics in agriculture?
  • How can agricultural robotic products scale up the market?
  • How can robotics enhance new farming models and support sustainable agricultural practices?
  • How can the integration of AI and Robotics foster the agroecological transition while maintaining economic feasibility?
  • What role do government policies and industry stakeholders play in facilitating the deployment of robotics in agriculture?

Description

The adoption of robotics in agriculture holds significant promise for addressing many of the challenges faced by modern farming, such as labor shortages, the need for increased productivity, and the demand for more sustainable farming practices as required by the EU Farm2Fork program.

Agricultural robotics, including autonomous tractors and drones, smart implements, and precision farming tools, can revolutionize how crops are managed, harvested, and processed, leading to greater efficiency and reduced environmental impact. By enabling precision farming practices, robotics optimizes resource use, such as water, fertilizers, and pesticides, thereby minimizing chemical runoff, preserving soil health, and promoting biodiversity. Moreover, agricultural robotics supports sustainable methods like no-till farming and agroforestry by automating complex tasks and labor-intensive activities, making sustainable practices economically viable for farmers.

However, several barriers still impede the widespread integration of robotics into agricultural systems and consequently their massive adoption. Technological limitations, such as the need for robots to operate in complex, unpredictable outdoor environments, represent a key challenge. Nevertheless, socio-economical factors, such as the high initial cost of robotics systems and the lack of specialized skills among farm operators, play an active role in slowing down adoption rates. Furthermore, taking new products to market requires proper certification and validation procedures not yet fully in place for agricultural robots.

The workshop topics include, but are not limited to:

  • The validation needs for getting agricultural robotics products on the market, including agronomic validation
  • The current EU funded services for validating solutions in the Agrifood domain (i.e. AgrifoodTEF services)
  • The implications of AI Act and the new Machine Regulation towards agricultural machinery
  • Standardisation / Certification in Agricultural Robotics (i.e. Sandboxes)

Organisation of the WS

The workshop aims to stimulate a multifaceted discussion among different actors in the process of agricultural robots market adoption with a first half of the workshop aimed at contextualizing the different perspectives and a second part open from discussion.

The agenda of the workshop is expected to be

Short intro from the organizers: 5 min

Presentations:

  • AgrifoodTEF Services by Raffaele Giaffreda 10 min
  • Agroecological perspectives by Ouiddad Labbani-I. 10 min
  • Association of farmers/agronomists by (to be identified) 10 min
  • Investors / market perspective by (to be identified) 10 min
  • Moderated questions/debate with the audience 45 min

For the sake of increasing interaction among the speakers and the audience, participants will be allowed to cast questions and comments via Mentimeter during the first part and a selection on these will be addressed and discussed in the form of an open forum in the second.

The discussions are expected to cover topics about technology readiness, economic (in)convenience of agricultural robots in comparison to human labor, (un)friendliness of current products, robustness and adaptability of products on the market to different cultivars and growing conditions, among other relevant issues.

Intended outcome

The WS questions the adoption and market integration of advanced robotics-powered agricultural systems aligned with sustainable development goals. It intends to create an ecosystem where research and development efforts are aligned with the practical needs of farmers, identify fundamental issues and key challenges, and establish lines of thought to tackle these questions from multiple perspectives: agronomy/scientific/innovation/end-user/market- oriented.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Organizers:

  • Labbani-Igbida Ouiddad, XLIM research institute, University of Limoges (France) - ouiddad.labbani-igbida@unilim.fr
  • Eric Pernot, Aquitaine Robotics (France) - Eric.Pernot@aquitaine-robotics.fr
  • Matteo Matteucci, Politecnico di Milano (Italy) - matteo.matteucci@polimi.it
  • Raffaele Giaffreda, Fondazione Bruno Kessler (Italy) - raffaele.giaffreda@fbk.eu

Moderators:

  • Erik Pekkeriet, Programme Manager Vision + Robotics, Wageningen University & Research, erik.pekkeriet@wur.nl

Speakers:

  • Raffaele Giaffreda, Fondazione Bruno Kessler (Italy) - rgiaffreda@fbk.eu
  • Labbani-Igbida Ouiddad, XLIM research institute, University of Limoges (France) - ouiddad.labbani-igbida@unilim.fr
  • … to be completed

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

TG on Agricultural Robots: https://eu-robotics.net/agriculture-topic-group/

Projects involved

Further information

  • Labbani-Igbida Ouiddad (University of Limoges), ouiddad.labbani-igbida@unilim.fr
  • Eric Pernot (Aquitaine Robotics), Eric.Pernot@aquitaine-robotics.fr
  • Matteo Matteucci (Politecnico di Milano), matteo.matteucci@polimi.it
  • Raffaele Giaffreda (Fondazione Bruno Kessler) rgiaffreda@fbk.eu

Organisers

Thu 08:30 - 09:50
Agriculture, Sustainability

WS#26 Innovation structures and networks

Agata Suwala (Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC))Room 11-13

Questions to be answered

This should explain to an attendee why they should come to your workshop rather than the other ones on at the same time

  • What are the challenges of technology transfer?
  • Role of Innovation structures and networks?
  • How can the challenge of technology transfer be addressed?

Description

Organisation of the WS

MTC suggestion - panel session with audience involvement to discuss - How can we address technology transfer challenges to enable commercialisation of technologies to increase automation adoption? - we would like to get a better understanding of the challenges and also success stories - what does and what doesn’t work.

Intended outcome

We don’t expect a long list of outcomes or a set of presentation slides - we want one or two results that attendees will say afterwards “We did X at ERF2025”.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Agata Suwala (Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC)) agata.suwala@the-mtc.org
Thu 08:30 - 09:50
Business, Innovation

WS#33 Application of robotics in efficient and sustainable construction and deconstruction

Antonio Alonso-Cepeda (Innovation Manager at ACCIONA Construction), Dr. Jason Rambach (Team Leader Spatial Sensing and Machine Perception, DFKI), Dr. Dimitrios Giakoumis (Principal Researcher in Service Robotics, CERTH-ITI), Prof. Alba Perez Gracia (Principal Researcher and director at CDEI-UPC), David Caballero Flores (Researcher and Project Manager at CDEI-UPC)Room 14-16

Questions to be answered

This workshop will explore the role of robotics in advancing sustainable construction and deconstruction practices. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from the latest innovations in construction automation, digital twin technology, and material identification within the circular economy framework. The session will be structured around real-world case studies and shared experiences to foster collaborative insights and a roadmap for future developments.

  • Current State of construction robotics and cluster projects
  • Biggest challenges and achievements from the piloting phase of BEEYONDERS, HumanTech and RobetArme
  • Full automation vs. Human-robot collaboration in construction
  • How the AI advances are influencing Construction robotics

Description

Key topics:

  • Challenges in construction (introduction)
  • Advancements in construction automation
  • Application of AI in road construction and maintenance
  • Digital twin technology for deconstruction
  • Robotics in material identification
  • Sharing of experiences and case studies
  • Synergies among workshop participants

Contributions from BEEYONDERS:

  1. Current state of the project (5 mins)
  2. Results from the Building Construction pilot (TBD): Final outcomes and user evaluation results from real construction environment deployment (10 mins)

Contributions from HumanTech:

  1. Current state of the project (5 mins)
  2. Pilot V (Robotic Mastic Application): Final outcomes and user evaluation results from real construction environment deployment (10 mins)

Contributions from RobetArme:

  1. Current state of the project (5 mins)
  2. Results from the first RobetArme shotcreting testbed deployment (10 mins)

Organisation of the WS

The workshop will be structured into interactive sessions combining expert presentations, case studies, and group discussions. The schedule includes:

  1. Industry Insights and Project Overview: Brief presentations by industry experts and stakeholders (5 minutes each) to provide an overview of trends, challenges, and innovative projects in the construction and deconstruction sector.
  2. Thematic and Technical Sessions: Focused presentations (10 minutes each) addressing specific challenges and showcasing project results.
  3. Guided Discussion: A moderated session with industry leaders and researchers to explore audience questions, emerging trends, and collaboration opportunities (20 minutes).
  4. Wrap-up and Actionable Takeaways: A closing session summarizing key insights, establishing a roadmap for future actions, and encouraging networking among participants.

Intended outcome

  • List of priorities to automate the construction sector: Definition of key technologies for automation to address current challenges, along with the maturity level of each – a prioritized work list.
  • Roadmap of priorities and key objectives: A strategic plan to advance robotics in construction/deconstruction. A list of manual operations carried out by the road sectors which is needed to be conducted automatically via AI.
  • Increase participation in Construction Topic group and Tech4Construction cluster.
  • Increase awareness on the current state of play in Construction Robotics research and respective real pilot testing outcomes

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Antonio Alonso-Cepeda (ACCIONA) – coordinator of Project BEEYONDERS (speaker-panelist)
  • BEEYONDERS Building pilot (it can be from Fira Construction (Oskari Kruth - TBD), CATEC (Marco A. Montes-Grova – TBD) or STAM (Cristina Naso-Rapis - TBD))
  • Dr. Jason Rambach (DFKI) – coordinator of Project HumanTech (speaker-panelist)
  • HumanTech Pilot V representative (can be Irati Rasines Garcia (Tecnalia) TBC) (speaker-panelist)
  • Dimitrios Giakoumis (CERTH) – coordinator of Project Robetarme
  • Prof. Alba Perez Gracia / David caballero Flores from CDEI-UPC presenting DISCOVER Project
  • Other people from Topic Group Construction: Prof. Christian Schlette (SDU) and/or Prof. Sigrid Brell-Cokcan (RWTH Aachen)

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Projects involved

DISCOVER - Digital twin, autonomous, Intelligent and Synchronous system for Continuous identification, Optimization and Value Extraction of Resources from the end-of-use built environment

Further information

Organisers

  • Antonio Alonso-Cepeda (Innovation Manager at ACCIONA Construction), antonio.alonso.cepeda@acciona.com
  • Dr. Jason Rambach (Team Leader Spatial Sensing and Machine Perception, DFKI), Jason.Rambach@dfki.de
  • Dr. Dimitrios Giakoumis (Principal Researcher in Service Robotics, CERTH-ITI), dgiakoum@iti.gr
  • Prof. Alba Perez Gracia (Principal Researcher and director at CDEI-UPC), alba.perez.gracia@upc.edu
  • David Caballero Flores (Researcher and Project Manager at CDEI-UPC) david.caballero.flores@upc.edu
Thu 08:30 - 09:50
Artificial Intelligence, Circular economy, Construction, Digital twins

WS#41 Towards next generation robotics: Generative AI use cases, challenges and opportunities

Andrea Orlandini (CNR-ISTC), Aksel A. Transeth (SINTEF), Magí Dalmau-Moreno (EURECAT)Silchersaal

Questions to be answered

  1. What are the promising, near-term use cases for Generative AI, possibly in combination with other AI models, in robotics across sectors such as inspection, maintenance, assistive robotics, and manufacturing?
  2. What are the latest research findings, opportunities, risks, and challenges with Generative AI in robotics?
  3. In which areas should Europe lead in the field of Generative AI for robotics, and why?
  4. Given the hype around LLMs and Generative AI, what is the realistic potential for impact, and should the focus on these technologies be balanced with other AI advancements?

Description

This workshop aims to provide a foundational understanding of the transformative potential of Generative AI (GenAI) in robotics by exploring current and emerging opportunities, practical applications, and challenges. With both academic and industrial perspectives, we’ll examine high-impact use cases across sectors such as inspection and maintenance, assistive robotics, and manufacturing, where GenAI is already proving valuable. Attendees will gain insight into the latest advancements in robotic capabilities powered by GenAI and complementary AI models, including foundation models for grasping, LLM-based code generation, and mission planning that combines LLMs with classical AI techniques. Discussions will also address the specific risks and challenges posed by GenAI in robotics, from data privacy to hardware constraints, to better understand the limitations of these technologies.

Through practical insights from key research projects, including TRIFFID, JARVIS, and PEER, this workshop will guide stakeholders on how GenAI is shaping the European robotics landscape. The session outcomes will be particularly valuable to end-users, suppliers, and researchers, providing them with insights into near- and medium-term high-value industry use cases and actionable strategies for cost-effective, safe, and efficient GenAI implementations in robotics. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of both the potential and the obstacles associated with GenAI in robotics, including open software and hardware development challenges. A summary report will capture the key discussions and insights, contributing to broader strategic efforts in ADRA, euRobotics, and related networks.

Organisation of the WS

Presentations/Statements (50 minutes)

  • Series of 7-8 minute talks by speakers addressing the main questions of the workshop and presenting insights from real-world GenAI use cases in robotics.
  • Additional speakers to address key themes in GenAI for robotics, including representation from industry and academia.

Plenary Discussion (30 minutes)

  • Moderated plenary session, with active participation from all workshop attendees.
  • Use of online tools like Slido for live polling and audience input on key questions.

Main outcomes and reasons to attend for stakeholders categorized as end-users (E), suppliers (S) and researchers (R):

  • Insights into near- and medium term high-value industry use cases to steer research, development and innovation efforts (S, R).
  • Clear understanding of what opportunities GenAI & robotics can create in terms of innovations to achieve cost reduction, HSE and efficiency in use cases and new products (E,S), and what are the challenges and risks.
  • Issues limiting a faster uptake and advance of GenAI in Robotics, identifying what are the open challenges, both in software and hardware development.

We will produce a summary of the workshop and share presentations in the cases possible. The inputs from the workshop could be used as inputs to other documents, e.g., strategy work in ADRA and euRobotics, and efforts in other organizations and networks.

Intended outcome

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  1. Bruno Siciliano, Uni Naples, Italy Talk about Challenges in GenAI for Robotics from euRobin project (along the interview reported here https://www.scuoladirobotica.it/en/bruno-siciliano-generative-ai-and-robotics/)
  2. Ahmed K. Mohammed, SINTEF, From Surface to Depth: Generating Synthetic Underwater Images with Stable diffusion for perception for robotic underwater intervention. From the SAFESub project: https://www.sintef.no/en/projects/2023/safesub_en/
  3. Marco Roveri, Uni Trento, Italy. Formal methods combined with GenAI for task planning.
  4. Sotiris Makris, LMS Patras University, Greece. Talk about Generative AI in Manufacturing.
  5. Svein Ivar Sagatun, Equinor, LLM and Autonomous robots: Potential use-cases in the energy industry.
  6. Silvia Izquierdo, Eurecat, (M)LLM reasoning for robots in open worlds.
  7. Nima Enayati, ABB, LLMs to control large robots.

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Inspection and maintenance euRobotics topic group,

RIMA Alliance (euRobotics Innovation Network)

TG on Artificial Intelligence and Cognition in Robotics (euRobotics Topic Group)

Also collaboration with the ADRA topic group on I&M.

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Andrea Orlandini (CNR-ISTC), andrea.orlandini@istc.cnr.it
  • Aksel A. Transeth (SINTEF), aksel.a.transeth@sintef.no
  • Magí Dalmau-Moreno (EURECAT) magi.dalmau@eurecat.org
Thu 08:30 - 09:50
Challenges, Data, Generative AI, Industry, Planning, Use-cases

WS#61 Democratizing safe human-robot collaborations on industrial shop floors

Roland Behrens (Fraunhofer IFF), Theo Jacobs (Fraunhofer IPA), Clara Fischer (JOANNEUM RESEARCH ROBOTICS), Cecilia Scoccia (Università Politecnica delle Marche, ilabs), Robin Kirschner (TU München) robin-Room 22-24

Questions to be answered

  • How can intelligent tools support rapid and simple implementation of safe human-robot collaboration?
  • How can AI, such as ChatGPT, be integrated into tools for supporting and guiding users with limited safety expertise?
  • Why is it essential to consider worker-specific characteristics (such as age, gender, and disabilities) in ensuring the safety of human-robot collaboration in industrial settings?
  • How can user-specific needs be considered in the safe design of human-robot collaboration on the industrial shop floor with the help of digital risk assessment tools?

Description

The democratization of safe human-robot collaboration involves efficiently and simply designing risk assessment processes while considering the diverse needs of various user groups. The following points will be discussed in this workshop:

  • Robotics for everyone: Addressing worker’s diversity in the safe design of Human-Robot-Collaboration (age, gender, disabilities)
  • Upcoming challenges of robot safety: Need for fast reconfigurability, easy adaptation to new tasks, adaptable or automated CE
  • Potential solution: Use of intelligent software tools that guide users through risk assessment and risk reduction, automatically identify optimal safety parameters, facilitate a dynamic electronic CE certification, and also provide methods for evaluating safety functions that include AI
  • Explore currently existing approaches and tools and discuss future potential; identify requirements for further development of such tools from end-user perspective
  • Robotics for inclusion ·Diversity in Robot Safety: Integrating gender and diversity aspects in current safety requirements and design guidelines for HRC
  • Hazards in human-robot collaborations: studies on new injury thresholds, key learnings on the diversity of injury severity
  • Robotic solutions for worker support: relieve overstraining, prevent work-related illnesses, and compensate for age-related changes or disabilities, exoskeletons in production
  • Semi-automatic and user-oriented safety: how existing tools can be further developed to meet the diversity in industrial shop floors

Organisation of the WS

The WS is organized as follows:

WS Introduction - 5-10 mins

  • What is the WS about and how is it organized?
  • Who are the speakers
  • What are the goals?

3 pitch presentations - 30 min total (8 min + 2 min questions each)

  • Topic 1: Making Risk Assessment Simple and Fast with Intelligent Software Tools (Theo Jacobs, Fraunhofer IPA)
  • Motivation: Maintaining safety fast, simple, and prospectively autonomous in changing applications
  • Tools for the planning stage: CARA, Digital Risk Assessment
  • Tools for safety at runtime: Digital Safety Validation, Robo-Dashcam
  • Topic 2: Addressing Worker’s Diversity in the Safe Design of Human-Robot-Collaboration (Clara Fischer, Joanneum Research Robotics)
  • Biomechanical limits according to ISO 15066-1 with differentiation between different groups of people
  • Effect of body size in collisions collision scenarios
  • An adaptive workplace
  • Topic 3: Practical Applicability of Considering Diversity in Safe Human-Robot Collaboration through Digital Risk Assessment (Roland Behrens, Fraunhofer IFF)
  • Concept of a holistic, digital safety
  • Extension of the risk assessment process to consider the individual user

Interactive part - 30 min

  • Attendees will be divided in 3 break out sessions (related to the pitch presentations)
  • Each group elaborates on one of the three topics presented using the Start-Stop-Continue method

Final summary - 20-25 min

  • The outcomes of the breakout sessions will be shared and discussed with all participants

Intended outcome

  • Get feedback from the market
  • Dissemination (state of the art, ongoing research and feedback received in the WS)
  • Awareness (Risks, Safety, users needs, diversity, acceptance)
  • Build project consortiums / new contacts for consortiums

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Roland Behrens (Fraunhofer IFF) - Germany
  • Theo Jacobs (Fraunhofer IPA) - Germany
  • Clara Fischer (JOANNEUM RESEARCH ROBOTICS) - Austria
  • Cecilia Scoccia (Università Politecnica delle Marche, ilabs) - Italy
  • Rasmus Adler (Fraunhofer IESE) – Germany

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

TG safety

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Roland Behrens (Fraunhofer IFF), roland.behrens@iff.fraunhofer.de
  • Theo Jacobs (Fraunhofer IPA), theo.jacobs@ipa.fraunhofer.de
  • Clara Fischer (JOANNEUM RESEARCH ROBOTICS), clara.fischer@joanneum.at
  • Cecilia Scoccia (Università Politecnica delle Marche, ilabs), c.scoccia@staff.univpm.it
  • Robin Kirschner (TU München) robin-jeanne.kirschner@tum.de
Thu 08:30 - 09:50
Collaboration, Industry, Safety

10:00 - 10:30 Keynote Day 3

WS#83 ERF 2025 Keynote 3

euRobotics Frauhofer-IPA and partnersHegelsaal

Questions to be answered

tbd

Description

tbd

Organisation of the WS

tbd

Intended outcome

tbd

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Keynote Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut (Minister of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism of the State of Baden-Württemberg)
  • David Reger (CEO Neura Robotics)

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • euRobotics
  • Frauhofer-IPA and partners
Thu 10:00 - 10:30
Keynote, Keynotes and Plenaries

10:30 - 11:10 Coffee Break

No workshops in this session.

11:10 - 12:30 Sessions Morning Day 3 -slot 2

WS#12 AI in Robot Safety: Methods, Tools, Requirements, and Standardization

Magnus Albert (SICK AG), Saeed Abdolshah (KUKA GmbH), José Saenz (Fraunhofer IFF), Björn Matthias (ABB), Debora Clever (ABB & TU Darmstadt), Michael Rathmair (Joanneum Research), Paolo Barattini (Standardisation TG), Roland Behrens (Fraunhofer IFF), Patrick Courtney (Laboratory Robotics TG), Volker Schmirgel (KUKA GmbH)Room 25-27

Questions to be answered

This workshop offers a unique opportunity to explore the cutting-edge intersection of AI, safety and robotics, a critical and rapidly evolving area. We will dive deep into the challenges and solutions around integrating AI methods into safety functions, providing not only a review of foundational concepts but also discussion on applying AI to safety systems. This workshop is ideal for professionals looking to stay ahead in implementing AI-driven safety in robotics, providing insights into both the current landscape and future developments in safety standardization.

In addition, this workshop brings a unique opportunity to learn from the experience of experts in the automotive industry, a pioneer in applying AI to safety-critical systems. Attendees will hear firsthand about best practices and real-world challenges in the use of AI for safety, with insights directly applicable to robotics. Beyond expert presentations, participants will also engage in a dynamic, interactive panel discussion and network with fellow professionals, fostering collaboration and shared learning in this fast-growing field.

Description

The workshop will start with a brief introduction followed by presentations from three experts who will discuss different aspects of AI and safety, sharing their insights and experiences. These talks will cover key topics to enhance understanding of AI in robotic safety, and essential terminology such as safety, adaptive behavior, pre-emptive behavior, and artificial intelligence. The presentations will also include an overview of safety fundamentals, focusing on the key pillars of safety functions—hardware, software, and potentially data as an additional element for AI-driven methods. Topics such as simulation, AI safety, and AI applications in the automotive industry—and the lessons robotics can draw from them—will also be covered.

Following the talks, a panel discussion will explore critical questions on how AI techniques can integrate with existing safety frameworks and what new features are necessary for AI's successful incorporation into safety practices. The discussion will also touch on the Safety of the Intended Functionality (SOTIF) and functional safety, highlighting the distinction between functional deficiencies and system malfunctions in robotics. Though initially developed in the automotive industry, these concepts could be highly valuable for robotic systems with AI integration. Additional points of focus include the requirements for high-quality datasets, methods to assess their reliability, and the lifecycle of data-driven models used in safety functions. Verification and Validation of these models will be a key topic, along with discussions on how data-driven approaches could shape the future of robotic safety.

Organisation of the WS

We will bring together experts from the fields of robotics, AI, and safety to foster discussions on specific topics, addressing the challenges within each area and using the experience from various disciplines for AI in robot safety. The session will feature three brief talks (each for 15 minutes) from experts in safety, AI, and the automotive industry. The automotive sector, being a pioneer in the adoption of AI for its applications, offers insights that could be particularly valuable and interesting for the robotics community. In addition, a panel discussion/fishbowl discussion will be organized to actively engage attendees, providing them with the opportunity to contribute to the conversation, share insights, and interact with experts (45 minutes). This format will encourage meaningful dialogue, allowing participants to discuss the topics in-depth and exchange perspectives across various disciplines.

.

Intended outcome

  • Gain experience from different fields to be applied in robotics
  • Form a network and strengthen TG safety, TG industrial robotics, TG Standardisation and TG Laboratory Robotics connections for future discussions and events
  • Plan writing a white paper starting with harmonizing AI vocabulary

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Moderators: Saeed Abdolshah, José Saenz

Speakers:

  • Prof. Simon Burton, University of York

Title: AI Safety: What can robotics learn from automotive industry

  • Dr. Magnus Albert, SICK AG

Title: Future of Robotics: Simulation & aspects of AI Safety

  • Dr. Björn Matthias, ABB

Title: Data-driven methods challenges for safety

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

TGs: Safety, Standardisation, Industrial Robotics, Laboratory Robotics

Projects involved

NA

Further information

One paper from each of speakers

Organisers

  • Magnus Albert (SICK AG), magnus.albert@sick.de
  • Saeed Abdolshah (KUKA GmbH), saeed.abdolshah@kuka.com
  • José Saenz (Fraunhofer IFF), jose.saenz@iff.fraunhofer.de
  • Björn Matthias (ABB), bjoern.matthias@de.abb.com
  • Debora Clever (ABB & TU Darmstadt), debora.clever@de.abb.com
  • Michael Rathmair (Joanneum Research), michael.rathmair@joanneum.at
  • Paolo Barattini (Standardisation TG), paolo.barattini@yahoo.it
  • Roland Behrens (Fraunhofer IFF), roland.behrens@iff.fraunhofer.de
  • Patrick Courtney (Laboratory Robotics TG), patrick.courtney@tec-connection.com
  • Volker Schmirgel (KUKA GmbH) volker.schmirgel@kuka.com
Thu 11:10 - 12:30
Artificial Intelligence, Data, Safety, Standardisation, Virtualisation

WS#18 Applications for Humanoid Robots in Europe

Ramez Awad (Fraunhofer IPA), Matthias Reichenbach (Mercedes-Benz AG), Francesco Ferro (PAL Robotics)Room 11-13

Questions to be answered

  • What are the potential applications of humanoid robots across various industries?
  • What experiences and lessons have been learned from the first field trials, particularly regarding early prototypes in laboratories and production environments?
  • What current capabilities do humanoid robots possess, and how can they be demonstrated?
  • What challenges must be addressed for the widespread adoption of humanoid robots?
  • What are the specific needs to implement humanoid robots effectively?

Description

Join us for an insightful workshop that explores the exciting potential applications of humanoid robots across various industries. We will showcase their current capabilities and engage in a discussion about the challenges that must be overcome for successful widespread implementation.

Key topics include:

  • Overview of potential applications for humanoid robots
  • Demonstration of existing capabilities
  • Challenges and barriers to widespread adoption
  • Insights into the needs of system integrators for effective implementation
  • Experiences and lessons learned from initial field trials
  • Examination of potential applications and challenges associated with early prototypes in laboratory settings and production environments

This workshop aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of both the opportunities and obstacles in the realm of humanoid robotics. Through alignment with its partner workshop “The New Frontiers of Advanced Humanoid and Legged Robots”, the two workshops will cover both the technological and application/market aspects of humanoid robots.

Organisation of the WS

11:10-11:55: Three presentation from field trials:

  • Working title: Cooperation on Humanoid Robots with Mercedes-Benz & Apptronik: Potential, Challenges and Applications
  • by Mercedes Benz AG & Apptronik
  • Working title: Introduction of Next Generation Robotics @ BMW Group Production
  • by BMW AG
  • Working title: N.N.
  • by NEURA Robotics GmbH

11:55-12:30: Moderated Discussion Panel, incl. Questions from Audience

Intended outcome

  • Insights into potential applications for humanoid robots and the challenges still to overcome.
  • A realistic timeline for widespread adaptation

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Presenters

  • Stephen Travers (Mercedes-Benz AG, Head of Digitalization & Production System)
  • Parker Conroy (Apptronik, Director of Product)
  • Michael Ströbel (BMW Group, Vice President Digitalization & Process Management, Logistics and Shopfloor)
  • David Reger (NEURA Robotics GmbH, CEO)

Moderator

  • Neura humanoid robot (4NE-1)

Discussion Panel

  • Stephen Travers (Mercedes-Benz AG, Head of Digitalization & Production System)
  • Parker Conroy (Apptronik, Director of Product)
  • Michael Ströbel (BMW Group, Vice President Digitalization & Process Management, Logistics and Shopfloor)
  • David Reger (NEURA Robotics GmbH, CEO)
  • Francesco Ferro (PAL Robotics, CEO)

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Ramez Awad (Fraunhofer IPA),
  • Matthias Reichenbach (Mercedes-Benz AG),
  • Francesco Ferro (PAL Robotics)
Thu 11:10 - 12:30
Challenges, Humanoids, Industry

WS#19 Skills development in small-scale robotics for Industry 5.0

Anne Delettre (Percipio Robotics), Maxence Leveziel (Percipio Robotics), Maxime Etievant (Percipio Robotics), Isabelle Faggianelli (Percipio Robotics), Quan Zhou (Aalto University)Room 14-16

Questions to be answered

  • This workshop aims to address various challenges related to miniaturized robotics, such as : How can miniaturized robotics be made accessible to end-users?
  • How can the links between academia and industry be strengthened to better prepare the next generation for the challenges of miniaturization?
  • What means should be deployed to ensure European sovereignty in terms of miniature robotics skills?

Description

This workshop aims to provide a comprehensive, multidisciplinary perspective on miniaturized robotics, exploring the scientific advances and challenges involved in introducing miniaturized robotics into various applications.

With both academic and industrial perspectives, the topic of skills development in small-scale robotics for Industry 5.0, will be discussed to highlight the challenges and the role of different stakeholders in it.

Organisation of the WS

The workshop will consist of a round-table discussion, punctuated by a series of short presentations (5-7 minutes).

Intended outcome

As this workshop is designed to encourage exchanges between the various stakeholders involved in small-scale robotics, all interested parties are welcome to contribute their points of view and enrich/feed the discussion. In addition to sharing experiences and best practices, this workshop could be a first structuring action leading to partnerships such as a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action (MSCA).

Speakers, Panelists, etc

The discussion will be organized around several players with complementary profiles :

  • A player from the cutting-edge training sector will present his point of view on existing and future links between academia and industry,
  • An end-user will contribute its vision and industrial needs, particularly in terms of tools,
  • A supplier of manipulation technology (e.g. haptic feedback system, off-line development software) will bring its point of view as a facilitator,
  • A biomedical expert (e.g. surgeon) will discuss the integration of robotic systems in a sector that is sometimes reticent (TO BE CONFIRMED),
  • An expert in human-machine interaction will provide ideas for adapting and facilitating the acceptance of robotics by various user profiles,
  • A moderator will also ensure that the session runs smoothly.

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Miniaturised Robotics

Projects involved

None

Further information

Organisers

  • Anne Delettre (Percipio Robotics), anne.delettre@percipio-robotics.com
  • Maxence Leveziel (Percipio Robotics), maxence.leveziel@percipio-robotics.com
  • Maxime Etievant (Percipio Robotics), maxime.etievant@percipio-robotics.com
  • Isabelle Faggianelli (Percipio Robotics), isabelle.faggianelli@percipio-robotics.com
  • Quan Zhou (Aalto University) quan.zhou@aalto.fi
Thu 11:10 - 12:30
Digital twins, Haptics, Industry, Miniaturised

WS#29 Success stories from EU funded projects

Cécile Huet (European Commission), Cem Gulec (European Commission)Silchersaal

Questions to be answered

  1. Presentation of success stories from EU funded projects. What are the results and impact of these projects ?
  2. As a scientist, innovator or user, what can I exploit/re-use/learn from these projects?
  3. What are the ingredients that make a project successful?

Description

Discover success stories and impact from EU funded projects, how they contribute to advancement in robotics, and the benefit they can bring to the user industry and society.

Organisation of the WS

Five EU-funded projects have been selected to showcase their success stories in dynamic 10-minute presentations. Each project will share key achievements and lessons learned, from implementation to impact. Following the presentations, the speakers will form a panel to address questions from a moderator and the audience, fostering an interactive discussion on project execution, challenges, and the exploitation of results. To broaden the dialogue beyond the robotics community, some projects will also be accompanied by end-users, providing valuable insights from an application and adoption perspective.

Intended outcome

Attendees will leave with practical takeaways on what makes an EU-funded project successful. They will gain inspiration, best practices, and networking opportunities to enhance the impact of their own robotics initiatives.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • Cécile Huet (European Commission, DG for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Artificial Intelligence Office, Head of Unit Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics), cecile.huet@ec.europa.eu
  • Cem Gulec (European Commission, DG for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Artificial Intelligence Office, Policy and Programme officer at the Unit Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics) cem.gulec@ec.europa.eu

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Projects involved

Further information

Organisers

  • Cécile Huet (European Commission), cecile.huet@ec.europa.eu
  • Cem Gulec (European Commission) cem.gulec@ec.europa.eu
Thu 11:10 - 12:30
EU-funded projects / Success stories / Robotics innovation / Technology impact / Lessons learned / End-user perspectives / Project exploitation

WS#43 Data Spaces for the development of AI and robotic applications

Kosmas Tsiakas (CERTH-ITI), Dr. Dimitrios Giakoumis (CERTH-ITI), Ioannis Mariolis (CERTH-ITI), Simon Dalmolen (TNO), Maarten Kollenstart (TNO), Erik Cornelisse (TNO), Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics), Christian Egebjerg (Blue Ocean Robotics), Mauro Bellone (Taltech)Room 20

Questions to be answered

  • What are the most important applications for Data Spaces in Mobility, Industrial and Healthcare and which are the main technological challenges that need to be addressed in this scope?
  • What are the most important technological AI challenges that need to be overcome to promote Data Spaces usage within the three domains of PLIADES?
  • How can Data Spaces assist both AI technology developers, robot providers and end-users in real-world applications and what are the expected benefits?

Description

The aim of this workshop is to highlight the potential benefits of Data Spaces for the development of AI and robotic applications in the Mobility, Industrial and Healthcare domains, on the basis of R&D activities that are performed by the ongoing Horizon Europe PLIADES project. After a brief description of the project’s activities, key aspects within the topic of Data Space integration will be addressed, including the benefits and the challenges of using Data Spaces in the three domains, along with the technological challenges raised by AI. Along with end-users of these domains, technological developers and the workshop audience, the latest advances and market possibilities will be discussed.

Organisation of the WS

The workshop will comprise two parts. The first will include a series of speeches, focusing on recent research efforts funded by the EC, such as the PLIADES project, as well as speeches from the industry, focusing on the end-user view on Data Spaces for the Mobility, Industrial and Healthcare domains. The second, interactive part, will include a panel discussion, as well as feedback rounds with attendees, elaborating further on the key questions and aims of the workshop.

Part I

00 – 05 min: Workshop introduction and overview

05 – 20 min: Insights and introduction to Data Spaces; speaker: Matthijs Punter, TNO

05 – 20 min Q&A with Matthijs Punter, TNO on Data Spaces

25 – 32 min: Data Spaces for the Mobility, Healthcare and Industrial domain – the PLIADES project case; speaker: Dr. Dimitrios Giakoumis, CERTH-ITI (PLIADES project Coordinator)

32 – 40 min: Data Space Protocol in Energy, Smart Industry and Healthcare; speaker: Erik Cornelisse, TNO

40 – 47 min: Data Spaces for the development of robotics: the PLIADES architecture; speaker: Dr. Ioannis Mariolis, CERTH-ITI

47 – 55 min:

Opportunities and challenges for Data Spaces in AI applications from the end-user’s point of view, 2 speakers, 4–min speech each:

• Speaker from the Mobility domain - speaker: Mauro Bellone, Taltech

• Speaker from the Healthcare domain - speaker: Franziska Kirstein, Blue Ocean Robotics

Part II

55-75 min: Panel discussion with all speakers, moderated by Franziska Kirstein

75-80 min: Conclusions

Intended outcome

The aim of this workshop is to highlight the potential benefits of Data Spaces for the development of AI and robotic applications in the Mobility, Industrial and Healthcare domains. We aim at fruitful workshop discussions around this topic, sharing of success stories and use cases.

Speakers, Panelists, etc

Matthijs Punter, TNO

Dr. Dimitrios Giakoumis, CERTH-ITI

Erik Cornelisse, TNO

Dr. Ioannis Mariolis, CERTH-ITI

Mauro Bellone, Taltech

Franziska Kirstein, Blue Ocean Robotics

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

Projects involved

PLIADES (AI-Enabled Data Lifecycles Optimization and Data Spaces Integration for Increased Efficiency and Interoperability; funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101135988)

Further information

https://www.pliades-project.eu/

Organisers

  • Kosmas Tsiakas (CERTH-ITI), ktsiakas@iti.gr
  • Dr. Dimitrios Giakoumis (CERTH-ITI),
  • Ioannis Mariolis (CERTH-ITI),
  • Simon Dalmolen (TNO),
  • Maarten Kollenstart (TNO),
  • Erik Cornelisse (TNO),
  • Franziska Kirstein (Blue Ocean Robotics), fk@blue-ocean-robotics.com
  • Christian Egebjerg (Blue Ocean Robotics),
  • Mauro Bellone (Taltech) mauro.bellone@taltech.ee
Thu 11:10 - 12:30
AI, Data, Data Space, Healthcare, Industry, Mobility

12:30 - 14:00 Lunch Break

No workshops in this session.

12:40 - 13:10 Feedback Session

WS#84 ERF 2025 Feedback Session

euRobotics Frauhofer-IPA and partnersHegelsaal

Questions to be answered

What can be improved in future ERFs?

Description

tbd

Organisation of the WS

tbd

Intended outcome

To collect feedback on ERF 2025 in order to improve in future years

Speakers, Panelists, etc

  • euRobotics and Fraunhofer IPA people

Topic Groups and/or Innovation networks involved

none

Projects involved

none

Further information

Organisers

  • euRobotics
  • Frauhofer-IPA and partners
Feedback session, Keynotes and Plenaries

14:00 - 15:20 Sessions Afternoon Day 3 -slot 1