While ERF 2026 was still under way in Stavanger, the team behind the 2028 edition was already making its pitch. Athens will host the European Robotics Forum in 2028, with the University of Patras leading the organisation. The central theme — Europe at a Crossroads, Empowered by Robotics — is designed to speak directly to the economic pressures currently facing European industry.

The European Robotics Forum 2026 in Stavanger brought together companies, universities, and organizations from across the global robotics community. Among the exhibitors was the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society represented by Jim Ostrowski. We caught up with him to find out what the organization is announcing and where it sees the field heading.

Fusion Processing has secured government-backed funding through the CAM Pathfinder programme to conduct a feasibility study on the deployment of autonomous vehicles for airside staff transport at UK airports. The study will examine how a single control centre could manage a mixed fleet of SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicles, replacing existing manually operated cars, minibuses and buses that typically function as separate systems. Airports across the UK are being invited to participate in the programme.

 Economies worldwide are prioritising the integration of factory robots, as automation becomes a critical tool for boosting productivity. In the global automation race, the Western European countries reached a record 267 robots per 10,000 employees in the manufacturing industry 2024 – ahead of North America with 204 units and Asia with 131 units. This is according to the World Robotics 2025 report, presented by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).

While the dust had barely settled on ERF 2026 in Stavanger, Norway, euRobotics was already setting its sights on next year’s edition, and the destination is a fitting one. The European Robotics Forum 2027 will be held in Birmingham, UK, and we caught up with Karol Janik from the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) to find out why Britain’s second city is the perfect host.

As the European Robotics Forum 2026 drew to a close in Stavanger, Rocking Robots talked to chairperson and NORCE Research Director Nabil Belbachir about this event that placed geopolitics, industrial sovereignty, and the future of European manufacturing squarely at the heart of the robotics conversation.

At the European Robotics Forum 2026 in Stavanger, Norway, Chinese robotics company HighTorque Robotics presented its compact, fully open-source humanoid robot alongside a considered strategy for where the company is positioning itself in a rapidly developing market.

At the European Robotics Forum 2026 in Stavanger, Bernd Liepert handed over the presidency of euRobotics to Francesco Ferro, CEO of PAL Robotics. Rocking Robots spoke with both on the lessons of the past decade and the direction for the next.

The European Robotics Forum (ERF) 2026 officially opened on Monday in Stavanger, Norway. More than 80 exhibitors and hundreds of participants from the international robotics community have gathered this week in the Norwegian energy capital for three days of workshops, plenary sessions, hackathons and networking opportunities.

At the European Robotics Forum 2026 in Stavanger, day one made clear that robotics in Europe is no longer just about innovation alone. Alongside industrial applications and the growing integration of AI, a broader theme is taking shape: resilience. With war, geopolitics and dual-use technology casting a shadow over the sector, speakers from industry, academia and government are calling for a stronger and more strategically independent European robotics ecosystem.