From 25 to 27 March 2025, Stuttgart became the centre of the European robotics scene: The European Robotics Forum 2025 (ERF2025) brought leading experts, innovative companies and researchers from all over Europe together. Under the motto „Boosting the Synergies between Robotics and Ai for a stronger Europe“ the latest developments were presented and key future topics relating to robotics and artificial intelligence were discussed.
Trends like AI-driven Robotics, Human-Robot Collaboration,, Sim-to-Real Transfer, Sustainable Automation, Tactile Sensing and Autonomous Systems shaped the programme - and illustrated how rapidly technological progress is taking place in this field.
Our colleagues Clara Fischer, Mara Vukadinovic and Michael Rathmair were on site and actively contributed to the varied programme:
- Clara Fischer was involved in two high-calibre workshops on human-robot collaboration:
WS#48: Human-Robot Collaboration in Industry 5.0 – Navigating Acceptance, Inclusion, Safety, and Ethics
WS#61: Democratizing Safe Human-Robot Collaborations on Industrial Shop Floors
With her expertise, she emphasised the importance of acceptance, inclusion and safety in the networked production world of tomorrow.
- Michael Rathmair focussed on the safety-related challenges of modern robot systems and contributed his expertise in two sessions:
WS#12: AI in Robot Safety – Methods, Tools, Requirements, and Standardization
WS#13: Industrial Robotics Safety – Challenges, Methods, and Strategies
He showed how new standards and tools are needed to responsibly utilise the opportunities offered by AI in the field of robot safety.
- Mara Vukadinovic presented her current research in a poster session in which she compared rule-based and machine-learning-based methods for anomaly detection. Her conclusion: A hybrid approach that combines both worlds offers great potential for more precise and robust fault detection in real-life applications.
In addition to the expert contributions, the ERF2025 offered numerous opportunities for networking. The exchange with colleagues, potential project partners and new contacts facilitated a valuable dialogue about future collaborations.
Overall, the forum left a lasting impression - both in terms of the depth of content and the opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.
