Brussels, 20 November - Industrial and walking robots, humanoids, Mars rovers, and many more could be seen last weekend in Poznan, the capital of the Wielkopolska region in Poland. The European Robotics Week 2019 features over 1,400 events taking place in 41 countries, and a Central event with the theme Robotics and AI Odyssey, which was hosted this year in Poznan.
Meeting of representatives of the European robotics industry
Credits: Visual Outcasts
Poznan is the very first city in Poland to host the Central event of the European Robotics Week. In the previous years it was held in Augsburg, Brussels and Amsterdam. On 14-16 November, representatives of the most important companies and institutions in the robotics industry met in the Poznan.
On Thursday, the official opening ceremony was attended by: Uwe Haass, former Secretary General of euRobotics and the originator of the European Robotics Week, Andrei Bunis (European Commission), Teofil Jesionowski (Poznan University of Technology), Krzysztof Kurowski (Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center), Łukasz Wilczyński (European Space Foundation), as well as Marina Bill (Robotics and Discrete Automation Business, ABB – Platinum sponsor of the event).
"The mythological Talos, a mechanical giant designated by the gods as the guardian of Crete, is the oldest example of a fully autonomous robot. Its purpose points out to the direction in which the development of robotics should go. Robots can help people and even elevate their capabilities to a higher level, for example in rescue work or as care takers for the elderly and for persons with disabilities”, said Łukasz Wilczyński, President of the European Space Foundation.
Robots at your fingertips – a zone of shows and workshops
Credits: Visual Outcasts
Over the following two days (15-16 November) schools, organized groups and the general public visited the event. Open to all, the exhibition, workshops and lectures attracted hundreds of visitors. The YuMi robot from ABB, which competed with the visitors in making cubic blocks on time, attracted a lot of interest. Younger enthusiasts of science could design their own robot, then build it and set it in motion using an advanced LEGO set. Slightly older participants took part in Arduino's workshops on building and programming simple electronic circuits. The visitors were also attracted by the four-legged ANYmal robot used in the H2020 THING project, which aims to perform inspection tasks in difficult conditions, such as mines and underground canals, by an autonomous walking robot.
"In the exhibitors' zone one could see the leaders of the robotics market, like ABB. Right next to them, the scientific circles and the student team IMPULS from Kielce, this year's winners of two of the most important Martian robot competitions, European Rover Challenge (ERC) and University Rover Challenge (URC). The European Robotics Week aims to inspire technological education among students of all ages and to highlight the importance of robotics in various areas. I think that the rich programme of attractions that we have prepared perfectly fulfilled both tasks" - adds Krzysztof Walas from the Poznań University of Technology, the coordinator of the event.
Parallel to the exhibition zone, lectures and discussion panels were held. The international discussions on the participation of women in the new technologies, European best practices of using robotics in schools and on perspectives of robotics in Central and Eastern Europe, attracted great interest of the audience. The public could learn, among others, “How a Robot Perceives the World”, "Robots can also fly”, “Mars Rovers”, “Autonomous Cars – technologies behind”, by attending these lectures in Polish.
#ERW2019 Central event pictures gallery (Credits: Visual Outcasts)
Platinum Sponsor
Additional Information
Website: www.robotics-week.eu
European events: old.eu-robotics.net/robotics_week/events/
Social Media
Hashtag #ERW2019
Twitter: twitter.com/eu_Robotics twitter.com/SPARCrobotics
Facebook: www.facebook.com/euRobotics www.facebook.com/SPARCrobotics
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/eurobotics-aisbl
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/euRobotics
Photo credit: @SPECS_lab
Tweet: Over 1000 events expected during European Robotics Week 2019 #ERW2019. Find an event near you: https://goo.gl/jrGQyh
Contact: media@roboticsweek.eu
Background of the European Robotics Week
ERW was conceived with the desire of the European Robotics community to bring robotics research and development closer to the public and to build the future Robotics Society. Many more than 550,000 people across Europe have been part of ERW since its first edition in 2011. The European Robotics Week is organised under SPARC, the public-private partnership for robotics between euRobotics and the European Commission.
European Robotics Week 2019 (ERW2019) will take place around Europe on 14-24 November 2019.
For national coordinators and local events organisers
National coordinators actively promote the Week in their country among robotics organizations, research institutes/universities and encourage them to open their doors, and sponsor or organise various robotics events for the public.
Check your country page! euRobotics has an extended page on the website to promote the national coordinators and show gratitude for their involvement. We encourage national coordinators to send their own pictures, organisation's logo, and description of their local activities or a quote.
Register your event! Registration is easy. Make sure to pick a topic, describe your event and it will be accessible from the brand new heated map of events.
Spread the word! Forward this press release to your local media and add a short description about your regional events. You can translate and tailor your press release to give it a local touch.
We also welcome any pictures, blog posts, and videos during the week. Simply send them to media@roboticsweek.eu by email or tweet them using the hashtag #ERW2019. We’ll make sure it gets posted on social media and on our website.
About euRobotics and SPARC
SPARC is the public-private partnership between the European Commission and euRobotics to maintain and extend Europe’s leadership in civilian robotics. Its aim is to strategically position European robotics in the world, thereby securing major benefits for Europe’s economy and society at large.
SPARC leads the driving strategy behind the largest civilian robotics research and innovation programme in the world, with €700 million in funding from the European Commission from 2014 to 2020 and triple that from European industry, to yield a total investment of €2.8 billion. SPARC will stimulate a more vibrant and effective robotics community that collaborates in development and commercial exploitation in all regions.
euRobotics is a non-profit organisation based in Brussels with more than 250 members, representing the Robotics community in Europe.