This year, robotics enthusiasts (users, PLC manufacturers, organizations, startups, and universities) once again gathered at the ‘Get Together for Robotics’ conference to discuss the latest developments in the industry. Around 170 participants, including many decision-makers, accepted the invitation to Erlangen (Germany) in November, both online and offline. This means that ‘Get Together for Robotics’ has grown once again and established itself as the leading robotics event for experts and decision-makers in the industry. In addition to trends and exciting innovations in robotics, the two-day networking event also focused on the future role of AI in robot applications. It became clear that, in the future, collaboration across company boundaries will be more necessary than ever. This requires a new mindset, but also a greater willingness to take risks. This is particularly important considering the current challenges in the market.

The ‘Get Together for Robotics’ was organized by PI (PROFIBUS & PROFINET International), which has been promoting the standardization of technologies across company boundaries for many years. A few years ago, PI was also entrusted with the development, expansion, and maintenance of the SRCI (Standard Robot Command Interface) data and command interface standard. The data interface is a milestone on the road to faster and easier cross-manufacturer integration of robots into production. There were also numerous presentations on this topic at the event.

Exciting discussions about the future of industrial automation
This year, two high-profile roundtable discussions once again provided interesting insights into the future of robotics and how it can be implemented more quickly and easily.

“Women in Robotics: Leading, Engineering, and Shaping the Future.”
On the first day, Roberta Tanzariello, Platform Lead Robotics and Digital Tools at Rockwell Automation, Susanne Nördinger, Head of Ecosystem Success EMEA at Universal Robots, Kateryna Portmann, Co-Lead Swiss Chapter at Women in Robotics Switzerland, and Dr. Ing Caren Dripke, Head of Robotics Department at Lorch Schweißtechnik GmbH, discussed the topic “Women in Robotics: Leading, Engineering, and Shaping the Future.” They began by exploring the question of why so few women still choose to enter the robotics industry. Other key topics of discussion included how to bring robotics technologies to market more easily, how regulatory and ethical considerations will impact the entire robotics ecosystem in the coming years, and how robotics companies can promote greater cross-industry collaboration to drive innovation.

"Next-Gen Innovators: Redefining Industrial AI & Robotics"
On the second day, Alexander Mayr, Chief of Staff at Neura Robotics GmbH, Paul Maroldt, co-founder and Head of Robot Engineering at RobCo GmbH, Stephan Hotz, Chief Product & Technology Officer at Wandelbots GmbH, and Jens Kotlarski, CEO and founder of voraus robotik GmbH, discussed the opportunities offered by AI and its future role, e.g., whether AI can really increase the speed of automation and robotics. There were also valuable insights for young companies, such as the challenges a start-up has to face today.