Robotics Institute Germany becomes central hub for AI-based robotics in Germany

TU Dresden is one of Germany's top locations for robotics and a full partner of the new Robotics Institute Germany (RIG). Starting July 1, the institute will be funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for four years. Under the consortium leadership of TU Munich, ten universities, six non-university institutions, and 19 associated partners are dedicated to strengthening the international visibility of German robotics, promoting talent and the transfer of research results. The RIG will continue to promote the visibility of Dresden and Saxony as a a prime location for robotics.

By establishing a strong network, the RIG aims to develop a forward-looking concept for AI-based robotics and respond to the international trend of investment in this branch of research. The starting conditions are promising: Germany's robotics researchers are among the international leaders in AI-based robotics and contribute significantly to the global robotics landscape. The same holds true for TU Dresden and its research within the Cluster of Excellence CeTI (Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop) on robot-assisted surgery or human-machine interaction in the new robot bar.

TUD's robotics expertise for Germany

Prof. Frank Fitzek (Deutsche Telekom Chair of Communication Networks) and Prof. Stefanie Speidel (Chair of Translational Surgical Oncology) from the associated National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden (NCT/UCC) are involved in the consortium on the part of TUD. Within the RIG, they are developing innovative school modules on robotics as well as student research and incubator programs to attract robotics talent at an early stage and promote this talent within the RIG. Upper secondary school courses in robotics and AI are followed by programs for Bachelor's, Master's and doctoral students. Moreover, Fitzek and Speidel will establish a cluster for medical robotics at the RIG, representing a key technology for specific challenges in Germany.

"Over many years, TUD has developed into a leading location for robotics and artificial intelligence," says TUD Rector Prof. Ursula Staudinger. "The Excellence Strategy and the brightest minds in electrical and information technology sciences, robotics and AI research have contributed significantly to establishing TUD as a lighthouse in Silicon Saxony. Though our membership in the Robotics Institute Germany, we foster innovative cutting-edge research for applications that have transformative potential far beyond our city and beyond Saxony."

Robotics "Made in Germany"

Intelligent robotics solutions are not only transforming our economy, they can also reshape our lives. They influence healthcare, education, mobility solutions as well as the environmental sector. Using robotics, the RIG aims to follow up on innovations in the chemical, pharmaceutical and automotive industries, which have established Germany as an industrial nation and ensured prosperity for decades. Germany has the potential to play a pioneering role in embodied AI, explains RIG coordinator Prof. Angela Schoellig from consortium lead TU Munich: "Intelligent robots could become the next big export hit 'Made in Germany'." RIG spokesperson Prof. Tamim Asfour from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) adds: "We will establish the RIG as an institute that is recognized in Germany and is unique on an international level, shaping cutting-edge research, education and innovation in AI-based robotics and aligning it with Germany's needs."

More on the RIG:

The RIG will receive EUR 20 million in funding from the BMBF from July 1, 2024 to June 31, 2028. The partners are jointly pursuing a strategic approach that bundles their existing potential. To this end, the RIG has five goals: Making research competitive on a global scale, sharing infrastructure and resources; promoting talent and offering training for robotics, making robotics research comparable through benchmarking and competitions, and simplifying the transfer of research results to industry. In addition to TU Munich and the KIT, the consortium includes the University of Bonn, TU Berlin, TU Darmstadt, the University of Bremen, the University of Stuttgart, RWTH Aachen University, TU Dresden and TU Nuremberg. It also comprises the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, three Fraunhofer Institutes (IPA, IOSB and IML) and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) as well as 19 associated partners.

Contact at TU Dresden

TU Dresden Press Office

Tel.: +49 351 – 463 32398

Email: pressestelle@tu-dresden.de

Additional contacts

Prof. Angela Schoellig (RIG Coordinator)

Chair of Safety, Performance and Reliability for Learning Systems  and Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI)

Technical University of Munich (TUM)

angela.schoellig@tum.de

Prof. Tamim Asfour (RIG-Spokesperson)

Institute for Anthropomatics and Robotics (IAR)

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

tamim.asfour@kit.edu