Robotics Institute Germany (RIG): Top robotics locations pool their knowledge
In future, the RIG will be the central contact point for robotics in Germany. Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), 16 universities and non-university institutions will utilise synergies and jointly develop embodied intelligence.
Intelligent robotics solutions have an equal impact on healthcare, education, mobility and the environmental sector. The RIG aims to use robotics to follow on from innovations in the chemical, pharmaceutical and automotive industries, which have established Germany as an industrialised nation in the past. Robotics experts in Germany are already among the international leaders in AI-based robotics. The RIG aims to bundle the existing potential and utilise it synergistically.
The partners of RIG
In addition to TUM, eight other universities are involved: the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the University of Bonn, the Technical University of Berlin, the Technical University of Darmstadt, the University of Bremen, the University of Stuttgart, RWTH Aachen University, the Technical University of Dresden and the Technical University of Nuremberg. In addition, there are the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, three Fraunhofer Institutes (IPA, IOSB and IML) and the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) as well as 19 associated partners. Collaboration with other (also international) partners, for example from industry, is planned.
The five strategic goals of the Robotics Institute Germany
1. Making research globally competitive
The RIG aims to promote cooperation between robotics locations and establish research clusters for key technologies in Germany. It will generate world-class research for AI-based robotics in Germany with a clear focus on innovation. To this end, the RIG is tasked with addressing the specific challenges in Germany and driving progress with goal-oriented research.
2. Sharing infrastructure and resources
The RIG partners will utilize their infrastructure and resources for joint research. This includes physical and virtual laboratories as well as software and research data. Data and software will be shared in a dynamic, open ecosystem.
3. Promoting talent and offering training and education
The focus of the RIG talent program is to find and develop talent. This will include the development of an RIG curriculum for research-oriented teaching of AI-based robotics, a standardized introductory bachelor's course and new English-language master's programs as well as a RIG doctoral program for robotics. Efforts to attract talent will begin in schools, where RIG plans to create robotics and AI courses for upper secondary schools and support talented pupils.
4. Making robotics research comparable through benchmarking and competitions
RIG robotics benchmarks will be created in our own laboratories to allow standardized testing of such skills as object manipulation, navigation in difficult terrain or human-robot interactions. With these benchmarks, the RIG will set new standards for the evaluation of robotic systems in areas such as personal assistance, flexible production and logistics. In addition, competitions such as the Autonomous Racing Challenge, RoboCupHumanoid Soccer or RoboCupRescue for search and rescue robots will play an even greater role in the future and a special RIG challenge will be developed.
5. Simplifying the transfer of research outcomes for industry
To turn research into competitive products, research and industry must cooperate closely. The RIG innovation program aims to identify the technical needs of industry and increase the technology readiness level. The RIG wants to promote the start-up culture and motivate researchers in particular to develop new application fields for robotics. The decisive criteria: the number and size of new start-ups, the number of patents and the amount of direct funding from industry will be reviewed every year.
Preofile RIG
- Start: 1 July 2024
- Budget: 20 million euros
- Duration: July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2028
- Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
- Consortium leader: Technical University of Munich (TUM)
16 full partners:
TUM, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), University of Bonn, Technische Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Darmstadt, University of Bremen, University of Stuttgart, RWTH Aachen, Technische Universität Dresden, Technische Universität Nürnberg, German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA, Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB, Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML and the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI).
19 associated partners:
University of Augsburg, University of Bayreuth, University of Bielefeld, Braunschweig University of Technology, Chemnitz University of Technology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, University of Freiburg, University of Hamburg, Leibniz University Hannover, University of Heidelberg, Ilmenau University of Technology, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, University of Lübeck, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, University of Tübingen, Baiosphere, Cyber Valley GmbH, Hessian Centre for Artificial Intelligence, German Rescue Robotics Centre e.V.
Spokesperson function for the consortium:
Prof. Tamim Asfour from KIT as spokesperson
Prof. Angela Schoellig from TUM as co-spokesperson and coordinator
Prof. Sven Behnke from the University of Bonn as co-spokesperson
Prof. Oliver Brock from TU Berlin as co-spokesperson
Website:
www.robotics-institute-germany.de
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