Hannover, Germany – 25 September 2025
As part of this year’s EMO Hannover 2025, Europe’s leading trade fair for production technology, two flagship EU-funded Horizon Projects, JARVIS and EARASHI, took centre stage with a joint Project Conference exploring the future of Artificial Intelligence and Human-Robot Interaction in manufacturing.
Held on-site at EMO Hannover but also livestreamed online, the event drew strong participation from industry leaders, researchers, and other experts, keen to understand how European innovation is shaping the next generation of smart factories, HRI and safety at work. The session was moderated by Vincenzo Belletti, Director of EU Public Affairs at CECIMO, who facilitated a dynamic discussion.
The conference opened with insightful presentations from Zoi Arkouli, Coordinator of the JARVIS project and Research Engineer at the University of Patras, and Isabelle Dor, Coordinator of the EARASHI project and Research Engineer at French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). Each of them presented the project, the consortia, the planned objectives and results, outlining the human-centric AI systems that enhance productivity while safeguarding worker well-being.
Following the introductions, a panel discussion brought together the project coordinators with Christian Boelling, Managing Director for Central Region at EIT Manufacturing, to explore how AI is transforming the European industrial landscape. Christian offered insights from an ecosystem and competitiveness perspective, emphasising how AI is already making a transformative impact in human-robot interaction and in the optimisation of energy consumption and usage across manufacturing environments. Addressing this challenge, the panel also dove into strategies for democratising AI adoption among SMEs, including the role of modular and scalable solutions, as well as EU-funded testbeds that reduce barriers to experimentation.
Focusing on the two projects, EARASHI’s work in developing tools that augment human capabilities and empower human workers, instead of replacing them, was highlighted. Emphasis was also put on the importance of enhancing workers’ skills through training as part of the industrial transformation. Moreover, from the JARVIS perspective, lessons were shared from its experience in testing AI-human collaboration on the factory floor: successful integration depends not just on technical performance, but on how intuitive and trustworthy the systems are for workers. Lastly, it was also pointed out that the growing need for hybrid skillsets that combine domain expertise with digital fluency is increasing.
To watch the full recording of the JARVIS and EARASHI Project Conference at EMO Hannover 2025, visit the official YouTube channel here! To stay updated on the progress, results, and upcoming events of both projects, follow EARASHI and JARVIS on their official social media channels!