2026 IEEE International Conference: robotics shaping the future of human-machine collaboration

On 1-5 June the world’s top researchers and industry leaders will gather in Vienna to share ideas, exchange knowledge, and advance the field of robotics during the 2026 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2026). This is the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society’s flagship conference. The event will include plenary and keynote sessions, contributed paper sessions, workshops and tutorial sessions, forums, expo and exhibitions from corporate partners, robot competitions and numerous social events.

Several projects funded under Horizon Europe - Digital will be participating in the event:

• The SPEAR project harnesses the power of evolutionary computing and deep policy learning, utilising cutting-edge perception technology. This enables the automated generation of a new class of aerial robots with unique morphologies and superior navigation performance, tailored to their environment and mission.
• JARVIS is committed to advancing human-robot collaboration in a user-centric manner. The project aims to develop a reusable set of tools that enable AI driven multimodal means of interaction: involving interfaces for physical and remote information exchange, robot control and programming; providing social skills to a plethora of robotic platforms to achieve seamless user-centric interaction that extends human ability for complex tasks; demonstrating scalability of application and ability to achieve economies at scale.
• FORTIS focuses on providing a complete Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) solution that includes multi-modal communication and multi-aspect interaction. The goal is to develop a human-centric solution that addresses the needs of both the human workforce and the robots, allowing them to work together efficiently and safely. This solution can help to mitigate the negative effects of an aging workforce on employment, working conditions, and welfare in the EU. The project will conduct three main pilots in the sectors of construction, infrastructure services, and manufacturing, providing a total of 5 use cases.
• PALPABLE aspires to develop a next-generation palpation tool for identifying and visualising tissue abnormalities in minimally invasive surgeries (MIS). The system combines advanced optical sensing, soft robotics, and artificial intelligence to bring back the surgeon’s sense of touch, and enable tissue characterisation based on depth, size and stiffness. At the heart of the technology is a flexible probe equipped with multiple sensing modalities. Purpose-built visualisation software processes the sensor data in real-time, creating intuitive stiffness maps that help surgeons identify tumors and other tissue anomalies.
• IBot4CRMs is developing integrated smart robotic systems to maximise the recovery and recycling of critical raw materials from urban waste. The project will build and validate scalable, integrated digital tools that make use of artificial intelligence in a human-centered collaborative approach. By harnessing urban mining to supplement external sources, the project will strengthen Europe’s resilience and competitiveness in securing CRMs such as neodymium (for magnets), copper, gold, and silver.
• MAGICIAN is an EU co-funded project. It seeks to develop robotic solutions which will identify and repair aesthetic defects in manufacturing products autonomously to improve safety conditions for human operators and make production processes more efficient. MAGICIAN follows a human-centred approach allowing for a sustainable transition towards human-robot collaboration in manufacturing based on trust and safety.