The Catalyst: Scaling AI-Powered Robotics for European Industry

While Europe has strong capabilities in AI and robotics, promising technologies still face significant barriers on the path to industrial deployment. The proposed AI & Robotics Catalyst aims to address this gap by shifting the focus from technology-push to market-pull.

Proposed by Adra and SPRINT Robotics and embedded in the EU’s Apply AI Strategy, the Catalyst is conceived as an end-user-driven European initiative connecting industry with technology providers, integrators, research and technology organisations (RTOs) and the wider innovation ecosystem. It would start with real deployment challenges identified by end-users, bring together the actors needed to address them and support testing, validation and integration in realistic environments. 

The broader ambition is to move promising AI-enabled robotics solutions more efficiently from development to dependable, scalable industrial deployment. The initiative is intended to identify real-world deployment gaps, prioritise high-value use cases and accelerate solutions from concept towards the market. 

The session will introduce the Catalyst to the wider European AI, data and robotics community and test the model against the practical experience of actors across the value chain.

Register here : https://tinyurl.com/Catalyst-EAIM

Programme

14:00–14:10 | Opening: Introducing the AI and Robotics Catalyst (Emanuela Girardi, Adra)
Presentation of the deployment challenge, the market-pull approach and the proposed route from end-user needs to testing, validation and adoption.

Panel moderated by Emanuela Girardi:

14:10–14:40 | Industry end-user perspectives (Laurent Duthoit, Renault and Jim Mainprice, BOSCH)
What prevents companies from deploying AI-enabled robotics today, and what would make the Catalyst valuable to industry?

14:40–14:50 | Technology provider/integrator perspective (Francesco Ferro, PAL Robotics)
What makes it difficult to turn promising AI-enabled robotics solutions into products that industry will adopt, and how could clearer end-user priorities help?

14:50–15:00 | RTO perspective (Dr Gema Antequera, CTAG)
What testing and validation would give end-users confidence to deploy these solutions, and how can RTOs help providers meet those requirements?

15:00–15:25 | Discussion and Q&A
Exchange with the audience on the conditions needed for uptake and concrete ways in which the Catalyst could add value.

15:25–15:30 | Recap and next steps
Invitation to engage with the Catalyst and, for relevant end-users, to join the founding workshop.