FZI-Led URBAN Consortium Selected for the Second Phase of the Robo-Hub Competition
Research Focus: Robotics
Seven consortia were selected today at the Tage der Technologien event, hosted by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, as candidates for the so-called “Robo-Hubs.” These innovation labs for AI-based robotics are among the flagship initiatives of the High-Tech Agenda Germany. In keeping with our foundation’s mission, these labs are intended to serve as practical bridges between science and industry, accelerating the transfer of research into practical applications and also acting as incubators for startups and spin-offs.
Robo-Hub Urban Robotics selected for the second phase of the competition
Our proposal for a Robo-Hub Urban Robotics (URBAN), in collaboration with our Karlsruhe-based partners—the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Fraunhofer IOSB, and Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences—aims to focus on service robotics for urban environments. The Robo-Hub Urban Robotics seeks to make AI-based robotics safe, usable, and economically scalable. This would create Germany’s first permanently operated real-world lab here in Karlsruhe, where robotic solutions for urban environments are developed, tested, certified, and brought to market. Building on eight years of operational and regulatory experience from the Test Area Autonomous Driving Baden-Württemberg, the hub will serve as a central one-stop shop for SMEs, startups, municipalities, operators, and researchers. During the concept phase, our consortium will combine research, system integration, technology transfer, and real-world lab operations. Forty-seven companies, including 24 SMEs, as well as 12 additional municipalities and operators, have already clearly expressed their commitment to participating in the subsequent implementation phase.
The six other candidates are focusing on construction (RWTH Aachen, Fraunhofer Society (IPT, IWU, IML), Ruhr University Bochum), logistics (Fraunhofer IML, TU Dortmund, University of Bonn), maritime robotics (DFKI, Fraunhofer IFAM, DLR (MI, MS), University of Bremen), agriculture (University of Osnabrück, DFKI, Agrotech Valley Forum), production and logistics (Fraunhofer IPA, University of Stuttgart, Arena2036, KIT), and healthcare and production (Technical University of Munich, DLR, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Technical University of Nuremberg).
Each consortium will now receive 500,000 euros and nine months to submit an implementation plan, from which the three final robo-hubs will then be selected and funded with a total of 47.5 million euros. With this funding from the federal government, the state, and the private sector, we will jointly build the hub and establish it as a sustainable innovation and technology transfer platform in the long term. Joint research and testing in urban environments will create an internationally visible innovation advantage for Germany and accelerate the transfer of advanced mobile robotics—from autonomous lawn mowing robots to humanoid walking robots—into urban practice.
This is how we accelerate the transition from “technology push” to “market pull” and strengthen AI-based robotics “Made in Germany.”
We’re ready to go! 🦾
