Brussels, 30 November 2015 – The European Robotics Week 2015 (ERW2015) has again broken all records and counted around 750 events in 31 countries. The pan-European events celebrate Europe as a leader in Robotics technology development, and have allowed citizens to explore the impact on the way we work, live, and learn both now and in the future. This year’s event was attended by 30,000 people, and in just five years it has attracted over 200,000 participants of all ages, continually inspiring students to pursue careers in robotics and other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math-related fields.

“The European Robotics Week is an opportunity for all regions, both genders, and all age-groups to radiate excitement about robots. ERW extends also into entrepreneurship and start-ups, by emphasizing creativity and advocates for increased funding for robotics technology research and development. The European Society needs to be involved in the process of inventions and turning to robots; this is a political necessity”, explained Uwe Haass, Acting Secretary General of euRobotics, the main organiser of ERW2015.

Major Debate on Robots and Society, Bristol, UK
This year, the heart of the European Robotics Week was a series of events in Bristol UK organised by euRobotics AISBL and the Bristol Robotics Laboratory. The highlight was a debate with leading European and UK experts on “Robots and Society”. The debate was opened by Mady Delvaux – Member of the European Parliament, Uwe Haass – euRobotics, Chris Melhuish – Bristol Robotics Laboratory, and Amanda Deeks – South Gloucestershire Council.
See a report of the debate by RoboHub: www.robohub.org/major-debate-on-robots-society-sets-scene-for-erw2015-european-robotics-week/

All videos of the events in Bristol will be available shortly on the euRobotics YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/euRobotics
The Bristol audience then joined a full-day workshop on translating the latest research in robotics to market, and a buildathon where kids helped build 100 robots to “treat cancer”.
Country highlights
• A consultation on biorobotics focusing on the cooperation between man and robot took place at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia. The consultation was to announce the European Robotics Forum 2016 that would take place in Ljubljana on 21-23 March 2016.
• The R2T2 robotic space rescue mission allowed over 100 kids in 6 countries to operate a robot in scenarios akin to the movie “The Martian”.
• In Spain alone, there were almost 200 events, welcoming the public into research laboratories and discussing the opportunities and dilemmas for artificial intelligence.
• All over Finland, in cooperation with Code Week, various events have been looking into engaging and fun ways to learn and teach coding and robotics.www.roboticsweek.eu
• Many regions of France have organised a wide variety of events around building start-ups in robotics, creative coding labs, open days, competitions and conferences.
• Over 50 events have been organised in Germany with organisations such as KUKA, Schunk, Open Roberta, Hands on Technology opening their doors to the public.
A full list of activities can be found here www.roboticsweek.eu

Additional Information
Website: www.roboticsweek.eu
European events: www.eu-robotics.net/robotics-week/events-2015/index.html
Media inquiries: media@roboticsweek.eu

Contact: Philip Piatkiewicz – philip.piatkiewicz (at) eu-robotics.net

Social Media:
Hashtag #ERW2015
Twitter: twitter.com/eu_Robotics
Facebook: www.facebook.com/euRobotics
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/eurobotics-aisbl
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/EuropeanRoboticsWeek
Tweet: Around 750 events explore Robots & Society during the European Robotics Week #ERW2015. Find an event near you: http://goo.gl/URPHSQ

Media Material:

Logo: upload//logo_euRobotic_week.png

Posters: index.php?idcatart=4028&client=1&lang=1
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Outreach image: http://robohub.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/nanoparticle_robots-1024×583.jpg
Credit: None needed
Possible caption: “Kids will build 100 robots to learn about nanomedicine”.
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Robot lab image: www.eu-robotics.net/cms/upload/euRobotics_Week/BRL3.png
Credit: Bristol Robotics Laboratory
Possible caption: “Research labs around Europe open their doors to the public”.

For national coordinators
Please spread the word by forwarding this press release to your local media, and adding a short description about your regional events. You can translate and tailor your press release in order to give it a local touch. We also welcome any pictures, blog posts, and videos during the week. Simply send them to media@roboticsweek.eu by email, or tweet them using the hashtag #ERW2015. We’ll make sure it gets posted on social media and on Robohub.org

About euRobotics
euRobotics is a non-profit organisation based in Brussels with the objective to make robotics beneficial for Europe’s economy and society. With more than 250 member organisations, euRobotics also provides the European Robotics Community with a legal entity to engage in a public/private partnership with the European Commission, named SPARC. SPARC is the largest civilian-funded robotics innovation programme in the world, which aims to strategically position European robotics, thereby securing major benefits for the European economy and society at large.