This year’s European Robotics Forum in Stuttgart was exceptional, as many of us remember vividly and happily. A rich and talented cast of individuals and organisations can share in the credit for creating and delivering a week that will live long in the memory of the record numbers who attended. Among those organisations, Fraunhofer IPA played a prominent role, with Werner Kraus at the forefront. So we were interested to read what Karin Röhricht from the Fraunhofer Editorial Office had to say about it in a recent article for Fraunhofer IPA’s customer magazine. In fact Karin wrote a very good summary of this year’s ERF which, with her kind permission, we have lightly adapted for you here (We could have prepared our own, but Karin’s summary is excellent so, to use a familiar English expression, why reinvent the wheel?!).
“The German premiere of the European Robotics Forum (ERF) from March 25-27 2025 in Stuttgart’s Liederhalle was a success with over 1500 guests. It brought together experts from science, business, and politics and presented the latest advances and innovations in robotics and artificial intelligence.
The intensive collaboration between the local cooperation partners and the European robotics association euRobotics for the ERF provided significant impetus for strong robotics in the region and in Baden-Württemberg as well as at national and European level. The cooperation partners included Fraunhofer IPA with Werner Kraus as General Chair of the ERF, Fraunhofer IAO, Cyber Valley and the University of Stuttgart as well as the other partners City of Stuttgart, Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism.
Highlights of the event included
- Numerous keynotes and presentations by leading personalities covering topics such as AI integration, autonomous systems, and ethical considerations in robotics. In addition, Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Economic Affairs Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut presented a position paper on robotics in the state to the Director of the EU AI Office Lucilla Sioli.
- Participants had plenty of opportunities to network with like-minded people, share insights, and initiate potential collaborations.
- More than 55 workshops and several panel discussions offered hands-on experience and in-depth discussions on current challenges in robotics. Around 350 presentations were given in the workshops.
- The exhibition area, which was completely sold out with 75 exhibitors, presented the latest robotic technologies and solutions from various companies and research institutions, allowing visitors to experience innovations at first hand. Around a third of the exhibitors came directly from Baden-Württemberg.
- The preliminary programme on 24 March was also very successful: on this day, the exhibition was open to all interested parties free of charge. As part of the “Public Engagement” programme, there were workshops and a panel discussion in which interested parties with no prior knowledge of robotics were able to exchange ideas.
Anyone who was unable to attend the ERF themselves or would like to review their impressions will have multiple opportunities to do so thanks to the extensive media response: The European Robotics Forum 2025 website offers video and image material sorted by day. There was also coverage of the ERF on YouTube and on various television channels:
- in the “Morgenmagazin” of ARD and ZDF,
- in the “heute-Nachrichten” of ZDF,
- in the SWR-Landesschau and
- in the news on Regio TV (from minute 3:50).
euRobotics launched the European Robotics Forum 15 years ago. The next forum will take place from March 23 to 26, 2026 in Stavanger, Norway.”