Hands-On Experience with Humanoid Robots: How Can They Be Successfully Integrated into Practice?

On November 3, at Science Park Kassel, it became clear just how quickly technological visions can turn into concrete applications. About 120 guests from industry, small and medium-sized businesses, and startups in the region accepted the invitation to attend an event on the topic of “Humanoid Robots and Innovative Automation for Industry and Beyond.”

The event was opened by Kai Lorenz Wittrock from Wirtschaftsförderung Region Kassel. Matthias Nölke, Head of Economic Affairs for the City of Kassel, delivered a welcome address to the guests. Alexander E. Katzung, representing NorthHessenAccelerate e.V., served as the program moderator.

Following a keynote presentation by Jochen Krause (B. Braun Group) on smart manufacturing and physical AI, Gerrit Knispel, Ph.D. (Agile Robots SE), Alexandre Saldes Barbera (PAL Robotics), and Sven Lange (NEURA Robotics) provided insights into their technologies and specific applications. “Mobile humanoid robots are continuing to gain importance in industry: With Physical AI, manual processes that were previously considered impossible to automate for economic or technological reasons can now be automated,” according to Agile Robots.

In the “Marketplace” in the lobby, companies, researchers, and vendors engaged in direct dialogue. Prof. Dr. Ludger Schmidt’s Human-Machine Systems Engineering department demonstrated an intralogistics application featuring a humanoid robot and a functionally designed autonomous mobile robot, as well as an assembly workstation with a cobot. Using smart glasses and VR training, guests were able to experience firsthand how assistive systems support work.

We thank everyone involved for participating. The momentum has been set. Let’s carry it forward into the Kassel region and beyond!