March 2017

Digital disruptions in the forefront at the 2nd European Robotics Summit

Participants of the 2nd European robotics Summit gathered at the historical Eberbach Monastery in Eltville, Germany, on 7-8 March 2017. They consisted of the Key-players of the European robotics industry and experts in machine intelligence and innovation platforms for new business models.

Like the first European Robotics Summit in 2015, this one-and-a-half day interactive and intense working meeting aims to interconnect, inform, involve, and inspire the robotics decision-makers to come up with strategies for future success. The summit, organized by EUnited Robotics, generally focuses on the latest megatrends with a big impact on industry. This time the focus was on digital disruptions - new opportunities for robotics.

The impact of digital disruptions on industry was presented in three folds: New business models in the digital era; Machine intelligence – shift from deterministic systems to machine learning and reasoning; and Human robot collaboration - a reality check of the status quo.

Walter Zulauf, Chairman of EUnited Robotics and Director of Technology at Güdel, said "We intentionally chose certain topics for the summit that are not typically discussed by the robotics industry but are nevertheless extremely significant. As the European industry becomes more and more digitized, which is a clear goal of the European Commission, we must be knowledgeable and prepared.  The summit provided us with the unique opportunity to not only have a candid discussion on currently important topics like human-robot collaboration, but also gain insight into topics that might soon have a great impact on our sector."

Experts and keynote speakers who significantly contributed to the event were:

- Christian Gülpen, Head of Digitisation / Industry 4.0 and head of industry cooperation at RWTH Aachen University Technology and Innovation Management Group
- Prof. Stephan Reimelt, President and CEO of GE Germany and Austria
- Prof. Dr. Patrick van der Smagt, Director of AI Research, data lab, Volkswagen Group
- Chris Boos, founder and CEO of Arago GmbH
- Christian Thurau, CEO, Twenty Billion Neurons
- Mark Becke, Competence Center Robotics Europe, Continental AG

The 850-year-old monastery at Eberbach, carefully chosen to inspire and reflect new thoughts, was again hosting this unique event.  Opportunities for networking included an evening event with wine tasting tour, a joint lunch, and workshops in small groups.


Presentations are available for download for participants only.