11 March 2015, Vienna - Keynote speakers from the European Commission, European Parliament, Industry and Unions, will address economic and societal benefits of robotics, during the opening session of the 5th European Robotics Forum (ERF2015). ERF2015 is the largest robotics networking event in Europe, and will attract 500 participants from the European robotics community: industrialists, researchers, investors, politicians and media.
Robotics is a pivotal technology that is permeating rapidly into almost all areas of industry: from agricultural, transport and mining machinery, underwater and aerial inspection of constructions, to rescue and firefighting, or medical support for doctors and patients.
“Supporting the EU's ambitions for growth and employment, research and innovation under Horizon2020 is a key element of the Digital Agenda for Europe. One of the key drivers for Europe's growth and competitiveness is robotics. Europe's robotics industry is highly successful, accounting for about a quarter of the global production in industrial robotics and a 50% market share in professional service robotics”, says Zoran Stančič, Deputy Director-General in the European Commission.
Programme and “Meet the Press” at the Opening Session of ERF 2015:
11 March 2015, Aula der Wissenschaften, Wollzeile 27A, 1010 Wien
10.30 Welcome Notes
Bernd Liepert, President euRobotics AISBL
Alexander Pogány, Information and Industrial Technologies, Austrian Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology
Zoran Stančič, Deputy Director-General in the European Commission, DG CONNECT
11.10 Robots or Jobs? Panel Discussion
Mady Delvaux-Stehres, MEP, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee
Jörg Hofmann, Member of Supervisory Board of Daimler AG and Vice Chairman of the German Metalworkers’ Union (IG Metall)
Maarten Goos, KU Leuven, Research Centre of Monetary and Information Economics, Leuven
Bernd Liepert, President euRobotics AISBL and CTO of KUKA AG
Zoran Stančič, Deputy Director-General in the European Commission, DG CONNECT
12.30 Lunch for Speakers and Press
Background information
About ERF 2015
After its start in San Sebastian in 2010, this annual event has quickly become the most influential meeting of the European robotics scene. With ERF 2015, this prestigious event is for the first time in Austria.
It will take place between on 11-13 March 2015, at the “Aula der Wissenschaften” and host more than 30 community-driven workshops with topics covering the newest developments and trends within robotics. ERF 2015 is organised by euRobotics with local support from Prof. Markus Vincze of the Automation and Control Institute at Technical University of Vienna (TU Wien).
About SPARC
To secure the benefits of this development for Europe, the European Commission engaged into a Public-Private partnership with the European robotics community, represented by a non-profit association, euRobotics AISBL, founded in September 2012. The partnership of euRobotics with the European Commission was branded SPARC at its inauguration in June 2014. With the current Juncker-Initiative for growth and employment, robotics has become a central pillar of the Digital Agenda.
About euRobotics AISBL
euRobotics aisbl (Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif) is a Brussels based international non-profit association for all stakeholders in European robotics. euRobotics builds upon the success of the European Robotics Technology Platform (EUROP) and the academic network ofEURON, leading towards the establishment of only one sustainable organisation for the European robotics community as a whole.
One of the association’s main missions is to collaborate with the European Commission (EC) to develop and implement a strategy and a roadmap for research, technological development and innovation in robotics, in view of the launch of the next framework program Horizon 2020. Towards this end, euRobotics aisbl was formed to engage from the private side in a contractual Public-Private Partnership with the European Union as the public side.