The annual whirlwind of activity known as ERF is over for another year, although ERF is never ‘over’. As the British say about an activity that never stops, ERF is ‘like painting the Forth Bridge’ . Work is already well under way on next year’s ERF in Birmingham and the location of ERF 2028 has already been announced (Athens), while bids are being considered for 2029. Meanwhile, we are immensely grateful to the small army of contributors and collaborators (and maybe even conspirators!) who made ERF 2026 in Stavanger. None more so than Co-Chairs Gabor Sziebig and Nabil Belbachir. Working with euRobotics, SINTEF, NORCE and the City of Stavanger, the logistics team from AIM, sponsors, exhibitors and many other supporters, Gabor and Nabil spearheaded the delivery of ERF 2026.
Much of the lasting value of ERF comes from the workshops which are the fundamental building blocks of the whole event. Since ERF, euRobotics Secretary General Reinhard Lafrenz has been busy gathering materials from the various workshop leaders so that these are available as an archive for euRobotics Members. You can search the ERF 2026 workshop archive by workshop title (listed numerically from WS01-WS68).
You can also enjoy a flavour of the overall experience in Stavanger by looking through the ERF 2026 picture gallery
On behalf of them both, we’ve given the last word to Gabor, who summed up his reaction at the end of the event: “ERF 2026 is a wrap — and I’m energized, proud, and grateful. With 1,000+ participants and five days packed with curiosity, collaboration, and great conversations, I can confidently say: we delivered what we planned and hoped for. A huge thank you to my co-chair Ahmed Nabil Belbachir — together we were unstoppable. In his pre‑ERF interview, Steve Doswell asked me what success would look like. My answer: if there were no comments about location, catering, or services at the Feedback Session. We didn’t compromise on any of these — and it paid off.” Read Gabor’s comments in full