Agenda
... will be finalized by mid of January
Keynotes, Panel and Pitching Sessions
- 08:00 - 08:30
- Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne AG
Welcome Coffee and Check-in
Start the day with a networking coffee and check-in.
- 08:30 - 08:35
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
Speaker
tbd
Welcome address by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation
- 08:35 - 08:40
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
Speaker
tbd
Welcome address by the Bern Economic Development Agency
- 08:40 - 08:50
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
Speaker
Dr. Dominic Gorecky
Chair IHF, Head of Swiss Smart Factory and President of Swiss Cobotics Competence Center
Dr. Hakan Girgin
Co-Chair IHF, Innovation Director at Swiss Cobotics Competence Center
Dr. Anca Rusu
Co-Chair IHF, Executive Director, Swiss Robotics Association (SRA)
Opening Remarks by the Chairpersons of IHF
- 08:50 - 09:20
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
- #Keynote #Industry
Speaker
Dr. Moritz Bächer
Lab Director of Disney Research Imagineering, Zürich
Opening Keynote #1
"Learning to Perform: Bringing Disney’s Robotic Characters to Life with Deep Reinforcement Learning"
- 09:20 - 09:40
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
- #Keynote #Industry
Speaker
Ryan Finnigan
Senior Vice President, Humanoid.ai
Opening Keynote #2
"Pioneering Humanoid Robotics" (working title)
- 09:40 - 09:50
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
- #Keynote
Speaker
Lukas M. Ziegler
Venture Partner at First Momentum Ventures; Lecturer, Business School, Warsaw University of Technology; Robotics & AI Consultant / Evangelist
Setting-the-Stage
"Humanoids at the Crossroads: Breakthrough or Breakdown?"
Lukas M. Ziegler sets the stage with a global status quo of humanoid robotics, highlighting the latest technological, commercial, and ecosystem developments from around the world. The session frames where humanoids stand today and why the next few years will be decisive for the field.
- 09:50 - 10:20
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
- #Panel Session
Moderator
Lukas M. Ziegler
Venture Partner at First Momentum Ventures; Lecturer, Business School, Warsaw University of Technology; Robotics & AI Consultant / Evangelist
Participants
Ryan Finnigan
Senior Vice President, Humanoid.ai
Yanlin Wang
Sales Director Europe, Agibot
TBA
Humanoid Company #3
Panel Session #1
“From Crossroads to Action: Turning Humanoid Potential into Impact”
Building on the opening perspective, this panel explores what must happen next to unlock the real potential of humanoid robots. Industry leaders discuss key enablers, from technology and business models to deployment and partnerships, needed to move from promise to real-world impact.
- 10:20 - 10:50
- Foyer & Auditorium
Coffee Break & Live Demos
- 10:50 - 11:20
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
- #Keynote #Academic
Speaker
Prof. Dr. Tamim Asfour
Spokesperson, Robotics Institute Germany (RIG), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute for Anthropomatics and Robotics (IAR), High Performance Humanoid Technologies (H2T)
Academic Keynote #1
"TBA"
- 11:20 - 12:30
- Auditorium
- #Pitching Session
Moderator
Dr.-Ing. Dominic Gorecky
Head of Swiss Smart Factory and President of Swiss Cobotics Competence Center
Participants
Yuichiro Kawasumi
Chief Engineer, Kawada Robotics
Shawn Cowdrey
Innovation Manager (Robotics & AI Engineering), Wandelbots
Vo Gia Loc
Founder and CEO of Apicoo Robotics Design Expert at VinDynamics
Edwin Yap
Founder, Mr. Robot
Yijing Wang
Lead of International Collaboration, Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (SAIRI)
Benjamin Regener
Principal & Founder, NuclearIQ Solutions (DEEP Robotics Partner)
Pitching Session with Insights from Industrial and Academic Leaders
Join us for an engaging pitching session featuring up to 8 presentations, each lasting 5 minutes + 2 minutes Q&A, from leading figures in both industry and academia. This session will provide a unique opportunity to gain insights into the latest innovations, research breakthroughs, practical applications and critical reflections in the field of humanoid robotics.
- 12:30 - 13:30
- Foyer & Auditorium
Name
Designation
Name
Designation
Lunch Break and Live Demos
- 13:30 – 14:00
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
- #Keynote #Academia
Speaker
Prof. Dr. Yulia Sandamirskaya
Head of Research Center "Cognitive computing in Life Sciences" at Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ICLS/ZHAW)
Academic Keynote #2
"Igniting a New Era: AI or Cognitive Systems for Humanoid Robots"
- 14:00 - 15:00
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
Moderator
Prof. Dr. David Romero
Full Professor, Tecnológico de Monterrey University
Participants
Prof. Dr. Sarah Dégallier Rochat
Professor, Berner Fachhochschule BFH
Katrin Yuan
CEO, Swiss Future Institute
Dr. Xavier Comtesse
Innovation Strategist, Futurist and Thought Leader *Digital Transformation*
Prof. Dr. Jianwei Zhang
Founding Director, Institute of Technical Aspects of Multimodal Systems, University of Hamburg
Panel Session #2
“Humans vs. Humanoids? Rethinking Industry, Work and Collaboration”
umanoid robots are entering industrial workplaces, raising fundamental questions about the future of work. This panel explores how humanoids will reshape industry, human roles, and collaboration. Are they tools, teammates or competitors – and how can industry integrate them in a human-centric way?
- 15:00 - 15:30
- Foyer & Auditorium
Coffee Break & Live Demos
- 15:30 - 16:30
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
- Startup Pitch Arena
Moderator
Dr. Dominic Gorecky
Head of Swiss Smart Factory & President of the Swiss Cobotics Competence Center
Participants
Benoit Berkoukchi
Founder, Bleu Robotics
TBA
Start-ups apply now
Startup Pitch Arena
"Breakthroughs & Bold Visions in Humanoid Robotics"
Step into a high-energy pitch arena where visionary startups and innovators compete for attention, traction, and future investment. Up to six cutting-edge teams will pitch their solutions in 5-minute lightning rounds, followed by 2 minutes of rapid-fire Q&A from the audience.
This session shines a spotlight on emerging startups, disruptive technologies and bold ideas shaping the next era of humanoid robotics. Whether you’re scouting innovation, looking for collaboration opportunities or aiming to understand where the market is heading, this is your chance to experience the forefront of robotics entrepreneurship.
Special highlight: Selected teams will have the opportunity to pitch directly in front of attending venture capitalists and corporate innovation leaders, opening doors for potential partnerships, pilots, and investment discussions.
- 16:30 - 16:45
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
Speakers
Dr. Dominic Gorecky
Chair IHF, Head of Swiss Smart Factory and President of Swiss Cobotics Competence Center
Dr. Hakan Girgin
Co-Chair IHF, Innovation Director at Swiss Cobotics Competence Center
Dr. Anca Rusu
Co-Chair IHF, Executive Director, Swiss Robotics Association (SRA)
Closing Remarks and Day 2 Outlook by the Chairpersons of IHF
Recap of the day’s discussions and a preview of the next day’s workshops.
- 16:45 - 18:00
- Swiss Smart Factory (SSF) and Swiss Cobotics Competence Center (S3C)
Live Demonstrations and Networking
Showcasing cutting-edge robotic technologies and their applications in the exhibition area.
- 18:00 - 21:00
- Foyer & Swiss Smart Factory Hall
Evening Reception & Humanoid Innovation Award
Join us for a delightful dinner reception, offering a perfect opportunity for informal networking over drinks and a meal.
Keynotes, Pitches, Panels and Workshops
Participants of Day 2 will be issued a certificate
- 08:30 - 09:00
- Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne AG
Welcome Coffee and Check-in
Start the day with a networking coffee and check-in.
- 09:00 - 09:10
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
Speakers
Dr. Hakan Girgin
Innovation Manager at Swiss Cobotics Competence Center
Dr. Anca Rusu
Executive Director, Swiss Robotics Association (SRA)
Dr. Sylvain Calinon
Senior Researcher at Idiap Research Institute
Introduction by the Co-Chair of IHF
- 09:10 – 09:30
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
- Industrial Keynote
Speaker
Dr. André Scholz
Lead "Autonomous Factory” at Digital Industries – Factory Automation, Siemens AG
Industrial Keynote #1
"Integrating Humanoids and Physical AI in Industrial Operations"
- 09:30 – 10:30
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
- Panel Session
Moderator
Dr. Milan Kumar
CIO, ZF Commercial Vehicles (CVS), TEDx Speaker, Global CIO & CDO Awards Winner, CIO Series Author, Forbes Tech Council
Participants
Dr. Lukasz Ostrowski
Development Manager and Head of Embodied AI & Robotics, SAP Research & Innovation
Dr. André Scholz
Lead “Autonomous Factory” at Digital Industries – Factory Automation, Siemens AG
Urs Gehrig
Managing Director Business Development, Lighthouse Consulting AS
Dr. Baptiste Busch
CEO & Co-Founder, AICA
Marc Moal
Global Head of Contract Manufacturing, Nestlé Nespresso
Panel Session #3
"Industrial Use-cases for Humanoids"
This panel explores real-world industrial use cases for humanoid robots and embodied AI across manufacturing and operations. Industry leaders from automation, consulting, AI, enterprise software and global manufacturing will share insights on where humanoids deliver value today, the technological and organizational challenges involved, and what it takes to scale from pilot projects to factory-floor deployment. The discussion will highlight practical lessons, future outlooks, and the role of humanoids in the evolution toward autonomous and intelligent factories.
- 10:30 - 11:00
- Foyer
Coffee Break
- 11:00 - 12:00 - Workshop A
- S3C
- #Technical Workshop
Instructor
Dr. Sylvain Calinon
Senior Researcher, Idiap Research Institute
Workshop A – Technical Workshop
"Hands-on Programming Humanoid Robots"
- 11:00 - 12:00 - Workshop B
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
- #Ideation Workshop
Instructor
Dr. Anca Rusu
Executive Director, Swiss Robotics Association (SRA)
Dr. Reik Leiterer
Booster Manager, Innovation Booster Artificial Intelligence
Workshop B – Ideation Workshop
"Interactive Design-Thinking Ideation Lab"
- 11:00 - 12:00 - Workshop C
- Foyer
- #Exploratory Foresight Workshop
Instructor
Prof. Dr. Sarah Dégallier Rochat
Professor, Berner Fachhochschule BFH
Workshop C – Exploratory Foresight Workshop
“Future of (Human) Work”
- 12:00 - 13:30
- Foyer
Lunch Break
- 13:30 - 14:30
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
- #Keynotes – Panel Discussion – Q&A
Moderator
Dr. Anca Rusu
Executive Director, Swiss Robotics Association (SRA)
Participants
tbd
Prof. Dr. Yulia Sandamirskaya
Head of a Research Center "Cognitive computing in Life Sciences" at ICLS/ZHAW
Dr. Sébastien Dalibard
Hardware Chief Technology Officer at Aldebaran
Prof. Dr. Robert Katzschmann
Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering
Keynotes – Panel Discussion – Q&A
"Service Robotics Challenges"
- 14:30 - 15:00
- Foyer
Coffee Break
- 15:00 - 16:00 - Workshop A
- S3C
- #Technical Workshop
Instructor
Dr. Sylvain Calinon
Senior Researcher, Idiap Research Institute
Workshop A – Technical Workshop
"Hands-on Programming Humanoid Robots"
- 15:00 - 16:00 - Workshop B
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
- #Ideation Workshop
Instructor
Dr. Anca Rusu
Executive Director, Swiss Robotics Association (SRA)
Workshop B – Ideation Workshop
"Interactive Design-Thinking Ideation Lab"
- 15:00 - 16:00 - Workshop C
- Foyer
- #Exploratory Foresight Workshop
Instructor
Prof. Dr. Sarah Dégallier Rochat
Professor, Berner Fachhochschule BFH
Workshop C – Exploratory Foresight Workshop
“Future of (Human) Work”
- 16:00 - 16:15
- Swiss Smart Factory Hall
Speaker
Dr. Dominic Gorecky
Chair IHF, Head of Swiss Smart Factory and President of Swiss Cobotics Competence Center
Dr. Hakan Girgin
Co-Chair IHF, Innovation Director at Swiss Cobotics Competence Center
Dr. Anca Rusu
Co-Chair IHF, Executive Director, Swiss Robotics Association (SRA)
Closing Remarks by the Chairpersons of IHF
Recap of the day’s discussions.
- 16:15 – 17:30
- Swiss Smart Factory (SSF) and Swiss Cobotics Competence Center (S3C)
Networking and Farewell Reception
A closing session for participants to network, exchange ideas, and discuss potential collaborations, accompanied by refreshments.