RimA Summer School "Towards Walking Robots in Domestic Environments": Public Talks

KIT InformatiKOM I, Atrium (Building 50.19), Adenauerring 12, 76131 Karlsruhe

August 4 to 6, 2026

Prof. Dr. Sven Behnke (University of Bonn), Dr. Philip Arm (Flexion Robotics AG, Zurich), TT-Prof. Dr. Barbara Bruno (KIT)

13:00 to 14:30

From August 4 to 6, 2026, three internationally renowned robotics researchers will give talks at KIT as part of the RimA Summer School "Towards Walking Robots in Domestic Environments", each from 13:00 to 14:30 in the Atrium of KIT InformatiKOM I (Building 50.19, Adenauerring 12, 76131 Karlsruhe). The talks are open to the broader robotics community in Karlsruhe. The summer school is supported by the KIT Center Information Systems Technologies (KCIST) and the Robotics Institute Germany (RIG) and is jointly organized by the Machine Intelligence and Robotics Lab (MaiRo Lab) at KIT and the FZI Robotics Lab.

Tuesday, August 4, 2026 | 13:00 – 14:30

Structured Perception, Planning, and Learning for Cognitive Service Robots

Prof. Dr. Sven Behnke
University of Bonn, Germany

Abstract

Autonomous service robots must robustly perceive complex environments, reason about dynamic situations, and perform increasingly sophisticated navigation, manipulation, and interaction tasks. They must cope with many sources of variability and non-stationarity. Fortunately, environments and robot-environment interactions exhibit structure which can be incorporated as inductive bias. I will report on methods for learning structured representations and for using structured models for efficient perception and planning. Learning is bootstrapped from human expert demonstrations and the robots optimize their behavior autonomously in simulated and real environments. The utility of leveraging structure to cope with the real-world complexity is demonstrated in the rich domain of domestic service tasks. By learning cognition in a bottom-up way, the next generation of service robots will systematically generalize their knowledge to novel situations and monitor themselves to avoid risks and mitigate errors.

Bio

Sven Behnke is a full professor for Autonomous Intelligent Systems, heading the Computer Science Institute VI – Intelligent Systems and Robotics at the University of Bonn, Germany. He directs the research area Embodied AI in the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, is Fellow of the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS), and board member of the Robotics Institute Germany (RIG). His research focuses on cognitive robotics, computer vision, and machine learning. His team NimbRo has won numerous robot competitions (RoboCup Humanoid Soccer, RoboCup@Home, MBZIRC, ANA Avatar XPRIZE).

Wednesday, August 5, 2026 | 13:00 – 14:30

Legged Robots – From Quadrupeds in Space to Humanoids in Industry

Dr. Philip Arm
Flexion Robotics AG, Zurich, Switzerland

Abstract

Legged robots are rapidly transitioning from research prototypes to real-world applications. This talk follows this journey through the lens of robotics research, starting with quadrupedal robots developed for planetary exploration and extending to today's humanoid systems for industrial environments. It presents recent advances in reinforcement learning for locomotion across different gravity levels, dynamic jumping, and versatile loco-manipulation using the robot's legs for manipulation. Drawing on experiences from planetary analogue missions and current work at Flexion Robotics, the talk also touches on how modern AI approaches can enable walking robots for space exploration, which are now shaping the next generation of autonomous humanoid robots for industrial applications.

Bio

Philip Arm is a Robotics Engineer at Flexion Robotics AG, where he develops next-generation humanoid robotic systems for industrial applications. Prior to joining Flexion Robotics, he was a Research Assistant at the Robotic Systems Lab (ETH Zurich), where his research focused on autonomous legged robots for planetary exploration. His work combined reinforcement learning, locomotion, manipulation, and autonomous mission execution for challenging environments.

Thursday, August 6, 2026 | 13:00 – 14:30

Walking Among Us: Socially-aware Navigation for Everyday Robots

TT-Prof. Dr. Barbara Bruno
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany

Abstract

Robots operating in public and domestic environments must navigate not only safely but also in socially acceptable ways. This talk first motivates why socially-aware navigation is important, then discusses findings and methods that enable robots to anticipate human behaviour, respect social conventions, and interact naturally with people in shared spaces. In conclusion, the presentation highlights research approaches for socially-aware navigation and human-robot interaction for everyday robotic applications.

Bio

Barbara Bruno is a Tenure-Track Professor at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Her research focuses on human-robot interaction and socially assistive robotics. She develops autonomous robotic systems capable of interacting naturally with humans and operating safely in dynamic, human-centric environments, bridging robotics, artificial intelligence, and human sciences.