Contribution to the Digital Cities Challenge

The Digital Cities Challenge (DCC), a European Commission initiative, comprises a network of 40 cities. The support offered aimed to speed up the digital transformation and industrial modernisation of cities to enable them to take full advantage of digital and advanced technologies.

The emergence of advanced technologies, such as robotics, new sensing and communication technologies, open data, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), provides cities with substantial opportunities to unlock the potential of the data economy, support companies in their efforts towards digital transformation, and facilitate collaboration in city ecosystems centred around citizens.

Roboconsult was asked to assess the strategy of the city of Pori (Finland) for strengthening its function as a regional hub of robotics and AI. In 2014 the robotics cluster “Robocoast” was established and since 2017 it has had DIH status. The aim was to strengthen the DIH status of the cluster and link artificial intelligence more strongly to this entity. Its mission is to increase the industrial competitiveness by providing modernisation services and RDI support for SMEs. Central to this objective are innovations with robotics and AI. Uwe Haass contributed to the final report with a section on robotics and AI.

Jan. - July 2019

The final report of the DCC project can be downloaded here:

--> Download report

New Technologies and Regional Policy – Towards the next cohesion policy framework.

The European Cohesion Policy and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), one of the five Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) of the EU, are a pillar of supporting regional development in Europe. In view of the forthcoming MFF, the discussion has started if the way these programmes have been handled should be modified, to increase effectiveness and efficiency to combat regional disparities. This report issued by the European Parliament's STOA is an excellent collection of what experts think about strategies for regional development. The report includes an excellent summary of policy options and a long list of references. 

The only shortcoming I found is that the paper does not include aspects of “social innovation”, i.e. the “culture” of community building, democratic institutions, and participatory transformation strategies. The problem is that “innovation from above” may create fears among the population – and often populistic responses. Innovation is supported best if the community is involved in the processes.

July 2018

New Technologies and Regional Policy – Towards the next cohesion policy framework

STOA Report (European Parliament) PE614.546

--> Download Study

--> Download Briefing

Innovation with Robotics in Regional Clusters - Theory and Practice

This was presented during the European Robotics Forum 2018 in Tampere. Starting with the general consensus that the gap between economically developed and less developed regions is still acute, I argue that a European strategy for regional development with, and for, robotics has been discussed for more than 8 years, based on a few successful clusters in regions and member states, without any noticeable spillover into other regions. 

My argument is that in order to be successful, a cluster is part of a regional strategy which includes "social innovation" - which is more than "open innovation". The most important element is trust between stakeholders and between stakeholders and the population. If there is no trust, new technologies are likely seen with fear, often leading to strengthening of populist movements.

15 March 2018

Innovation with Robotics in Regional Clusters - Theory and Practice

--> Download PDF version

Robots and Labour Markets: Impact on the Future of the Human Workforce

I was invited to the DHL robotics day to speak about current thoeries as to how robots will influence employment and jobs. I did some research on current studies and found that the "Oxford study" (Michael Osborne and Carl Benedigt Frey (2016) was the most comprehensive, and likely most convincing. They anticipate that most of the losses due to AI and robotics are not on the shop floor, but in offices, in routine activities.

Their arguments to combat the potential social conflicts are also convincing: education and training, entrepreneurship, research in topics which generate employment, to name only a few.

7 April 2016

Presentation

--> Download PDF version

Practical suggestions for creating a robotics cluster

The European Commission started the DEI (Digitizing European Industry) initiative which included support for developments of regional clusters, later called “Digital Innovation Hubs). My interest was to identify development strategies (with robotics) for regions which do not enjoy the prosperity and employment rates of the affluent parts of Europe.

For the European Robotics Forum 2016 in Ljubljana I had organised a session on Robotics in the Western Balkans. This gave me the incentive to develop a 11-Point-Plan for setting up a robotics cluster (Digital Innovation Hub).

24 March 2016

Collection of 11 Points for setting up a strategy for a DIH in robotics

--> Download PDF version

Robotics in Europe: Strategic Research Agenda, and European Robotics Roadmap

During my assignment as Secretary General of euRobotics AISBL, the European robotics association in Brussels, I enjoyed working with the Topic Groups of the Association to establish a European Strategic Research Agenda for Robotics and a European Roadmap for Robotics. 

The Roadmap document contains business potential and technological challenges for all robot applications, from manufacturing to agriculture, inspection and maintenance, health and caretaking, civil applications etc and is the most complete encyclopedia of robotics.

Both documents are extremely useful, not only for identifying a European strategy, but as a basis for all public and private organisations interested in investing in robotics and related technologies, and preparing a roadmap for a company, a research institute, or a regional entity, such as clusters and Digital Innovation Hubs. 

2015

--> Download the SRA 
(ca. 100 pages)

--> Download the Roadmap 
(ca. 330 Pages)

--> and refer to the website of euRobotics.

What is innovation? Can we measure innovation? How can regions become "innovative"?

The potential for regions to become innovative has become a political target around the year 2000 with national and regional "cluster strategies". But can we influence innovation, and how? My studies in innovation started in Brussels when I heard speeches of politicians requesting "more innovations". At the same time, European cohesion policy came up with "smart specialisation" of regions. At euRobotics, the idea of regional clusters became part of the robotics strategy.

This presentation was held first in European Robotics Week 2014 in Toulouse, at a workshop of comparing regional policies for innovating with robotics. This topic was "standard" in all subseqent European Robotics Weeks and European Robotics Fora.

24 Nov 2014

"Wake up, Regions"

--> Download PDF version

Welcome

Service

About

Contact and Legal Notice