Organizers
- Bram Vanderborght, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and imec
- Barbara Mazzolai, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
Moderators and Speakers
Session 1 – Green Design (moderator: Bram Vanderborght)
- Bram Vanderborght, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and imec
- Ludovic Righetti, New York University
- Balakrishnan Shankar, Amrita University’s
- Sharath Chandra Akkaladevi, Profactor GmbH
Session 2 – Real-World Impact (moderator: Aude Billard)
- Barbara Mazzolai, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
- Cecilia Laschi, National University of Singapore
- Mirko Kovac, EPFL and Empa
- Stefana Parascho, EPFL
Description:
The growing environmental impact of technological development, together with increasing resource scarcity and energy demands, makes sustainable design in robotics both necessary and urgent. As robots become more widespread across industries, natural environments, and everyday life, their lifecycle—from material extraction to manufacturing, operation, and disposal—raises critical concerns. Tackling these issues is essential to ensure that the advancements of robotics aligns with global sustainability goals. To this end, two complementary perspectives must be integrated: sustainable design, which reduces environmental impact through recyclable or biodegradable materials, energy-efficient systems, and greener production processes; and robotic solutions for sustainability challenges, where robots contribute to environmental, social, and economic domains such as ecosystem monitoring, disaster response, and precision agriculture. This dual approach underscores the role of robotics not only as a technological field but also as a key enabler of sustainable development.
This panel offers a platform to explore current trends for sustainability in robotics, bringing together academic research and applications. It will highlight ongoing initiatives and strategies aimed at advancing more sustainable practices, including circular design principles, energy optimization, responsible resource use and transparent lifecycle assessment methods. The discussion will also look ahead to future perspectives, identifying emerging trends, open challenges, and opportunities for innovation toward measurable and comparable sustainability performance in robotics.