ERF2025 Videos
25.03.2025 Keynote Joerg Burzer – Mercedes Benz
Transformation in Production: Pioneering technologies for sustainable automotive production of the future.
At Mercedes-Benz, pioneering spirit is embedded in the company’s DNA, not just in all products but also in all manufacturing processes. The continuous efforts in automotive production focus on quality, efficiency, and innovation. In the keynote, Dr. Joerg Burzer will outline how Mercedes-Benz is exploring new frontiers as it actively shapes the future of work, mobility, and production through digitalization and robotics. Central to its approach is the human element: leveraging artificial intelligence to support daily tasks and optimizing the strengths of both humans and machines. Dr. Burzer will answer the questions, how Mercedes-Benz enhances productivity through data, automation, and key performance indicators, by embracing digitalization and cutting-edge technologies. How does AI-driven optimization help modular design to allow scalable processes? Data democratization and robots, AI, and digital tools support the company’s employees making production processes more efficient and simplified. The result: streamlined operations that save time, costs, and energy, while empowering employees to innovate and achieve greater efficiency productivity, safety and quality.
26.03.2025 Keynote Dieter Fox – Nvidia
Where is RobotGPT?
The last years have seen astonishing progress in the capabilities of generative AI techniques, particularly in the areas of language and visual understanding and image and video generation. Key to the success of these models are the use of image and text data sets of unprecedented scale along with models that are able to digest such large datasets. We are now seeing the first examples of leveraging such models to equip robots with open-world visual understanding and reasoning capabilities. Unfortunately, however, we have not achieved the RobotGPT moment; these models still struggle with reasoning about geometry and physical interactions in the real world, resulting in brittle performance on seemingly simple tasks such as manipulating objects in the open world. A crucial reason for this problem is the lack of data suitable to train powerful, general models for robot decision making and control. In this talk, I will discuss approaches to generating large datasets for training robot manipulation capabilities, with a focus on the role simulation can play in this context. I will show some of our prior work, where we demonstrated that manipulation skills trained in simulation can be transferred successfully to the real world, including contact-rich industrial assembly tasks.
26.03.2025 Keynote Dr. Jochen Weyrauch – Dürr
A Closer Look at Robotic Application in the Painting Industry
Dürr designs and realizes turnkey painting and assembly systems, producing high-quality machines and robots for the automotive industry. Special painting robots enable efficient, sustainable production with minimal media use and downtime. Dürr’s innovations have led to 100% application efficiency, allowing for overspray-free painting of decorative elements. While painting robots remain niche, they significantly enhance sustainable production. Through the EU-funded RoX project, Dürr is advancing AI in painting automation. Success requires curious, courageous individuals working collaboratively with trust and respect. Dürr’s vision aims to blend economic efficiency with sustainability for future generations.
27.03.2025 Keynotes: Ministry of Economy Baden-Württemberg, European Commission, Neura Robotics
- DR. NICOLE HOFFMEISTER-KRAUT (Minister of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism of the State of Baden-Wüttemberg)
- LUCILLA SIOLI (AI Office at EC)
- DAVID REGER (Neura Robotics)