Leading the Way in Robotics with AI: ‘German Confidence’ at the Second German Robotics Conference

Images of dancing and boxing robots from China have made an impression worldwide. But Germany, too, aims to be at the forefront of robotics. It is evident how this can be achieved: through a joint effort and a clear plan – the High-Tech Agenda Germany and the AI Robotics Booster. This was stated by Federal Minister for Technology Dorothee Bär at the second “German Robotics Conference” on 12 March in Cologne.

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A strong sign from Berlin

With the High-Tech Agenda Germany (HTAD), the Federal Government is delivering not just a concept, but concrete measures: the AI Robotics Booster strengthens Germany’s position in a variety of ways. You can find more information on this via the short link https://robotik-forschung.de (German only). The Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) will thus implement a flagship measure of the HTAD. Robotics is a central field of application within the key technology of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI-based robots are set to become the drivers of innovation and value creation of tomorrow. These include, amongst others:

• Surgery: Precise, AI-controlled instruments assist doctors during complex procedures.

• Care: Assistance robots help with repositioning and making beds for elderly people – a gain for overworked carers.

• Logistics & infrastructure: Drones deliver parcels and monitor critical infrastructure.

• Agriculture: Targeted, automated crop protection significantly reduces pesticide use or even makes it completely unnecessary.

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Robotics Conference and RoboCup

For the second time, representatives from politics, science, industry and start-ups gathered at the ‘German Robotics Conference’. The Robotics Institute Germany (RIG), funded by the BMFTR, hosted the conference.

The shared goal of the robotics community is to strengthen the links between research, innovation and technology transfer, to network cutting-edge research and to foster talent. A vision that the HTAD also pursues. The accompanying exhibition impressively demonstrated the diverse ways in which robots are developed and deployed today.

The Minister opened the concurrently held RoboCup GermanOpen 2026 in her capacity as patron. There, young teams from schools and junior research groups compete with self-built robots in various disciplines. Bär described the participants’ commitment as a clear sign that the new generation of German robotics is already in the starting blocks.

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