Humanoid Robots Summit Opens in Stuttgart

STUTTGART, Germany — The Humanoid Robots Summit Europe 2026 opened on Tuesday at the Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Liederhalle, bringing robotic executives, researchers and investors together for three days of discussions on humanoid robots.  

More than 1,000 participants, over 500 enterprises and 40-plus exhibitors are expected to attend this year. following a sold-out 2025 edition in Berlin. Speakers include Jürgen Müller, chief executive of Robert Bosch Robotics GmbH; Michael Gienger, chief scientist at Honda Research Institute Europe; André Scholz, who heads Siemens' Autonomous Factory innovation unit; Werner Kraus, head of robotics research at Fraunhofer IPA; and Francesco Ferro, chief executive of PAL Robotics. Unitree is listed as the summit's lead sponsor.   

Session topics listed on the event's schedule include European Union regulatory frameworks for humanoid robots, what organizers describe as a "mass production era" for the industry, and panel discussions on venture capital investment in European humanoid robotics. Other sessions address applications in elder care and manufacturing, including a program from Arçelik-LG on deploying humanoid robots in factory settings.   

On the summit's third day, organizers plan site visits to Fraunhofer IPA and the ARENA2036 research campus.    

The conference is taking place while investment in human robot business booms across the world, though business use of robots has not yet seen substantial adoption. 85% of global humanoid robot shipments last year, an industry record, were accounted for by China, and a recent forecast from Morgan Stanley estimates that the industry that the global market, including support service and hardware, will exceed $5 Trillion by 2050 with possibly 1 billion humanoid robots being utilized. The bank reports that widespread usage will likely continue to be at a lower rate until 2035.