Robotics is rapidly advancing and becoming a cornerstone of modern societies—yet its environmental footprint and societal integration are still underexplored. This workshop brings robotics and sustainability together and asks: What kinds of robots are we producing—and how are we producing them?

Circular Robotics applies circular economy thinking, lifecycle approaches, and sustainable design principles to help robotics evolve within planetary boundaries.

Key information

  • Date & Time:  1. Juni 2026 – 14:00-17:30 CET

  • Format: Half-day workshop

  • Conference: ICRA 2026

  • Location & room: VIECON / Messe Wien, Messeplatz 1, 1020 Vienna

 

About the workshop

Robotics often supports sustainability elsewhere (e.g., renewable energy, recycling, precision agriculture). However, the sustainability of robotics itself—from material extraction and supply chains to manufacturing, operation, and end-of-life—still lacks established frameworks and visibility in mainstream robotics venues.

This workshop connects robotics researchers with environmental and social scientists, policymakers, and industry stakeholders to explore circularity in robotics as a practical pathway toward accountable and measurable impact.

Topics & guiding questions

  • Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) and environmental accounting for robotic systems

  • Circular economy practices: reuse, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing, recycling

  • Sustainable design: modularity, repairability, design-for-disassembly

  • Material flows, supply chains, and responsible sourcing

  • Standards, governance, and environmental accountability in robotics

  • Aligning robotics innovation with long-term societal and ecological priorities

Format & structure

Part 1 – Expert insights & dialogue

  • Keynotes by internationally renowned speakers

  • Panel discussion across regions, disciplines, and career stages

  • Audience Q&A

Part 2 – Initiatives & action

  • 5-minute pitches from selected sustainability initiatives worldwide

  • Interactive roadmapping session to identify shared challenges, synergies, and next steps

 

Tentative schedule

14:00 – 14:10 Welcome, goals, and agenda

14:10 – 14:30 Keynote 1: Building Sustainable Supply Chains in Robotics: Learning from the Electronics Sector — a. Prof. Dr. André Martinuzzi (Vienna University of Economics and Business, AT)

14:30 – 15:00 Keynote 2: Robots as endangered species — Prof. José Halloy (Université Paris Cité, FR)

15:00 – 15:30 Panel discussion

15:30 – 16:00 Coffee break & networking
Poster Presentation

    • Smart Robots Unlocking Hard-to-Reach Materials, Dr Nabil Shaukat, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
    • Robotic disassembly of EOL products / Auomated EoL Triage, Yongjing Wang, University of Birmingham, UK
    • Robotic cell for unscrewing, Pedro Dias, INESC TEC, Portugal
    • Forrest: Bio-Inspired Design for Energy-Efficient, Long-Duration Humanoid Locomotion, Pilar Gil, RoboTUM, Germany

16:00 – 16:35 Short pitches (5 min each)
Pitch Presentation

    • Towards Design-for-Robotics: Disassemblability-Driven Non-Destructive Disassembly of Home Appliances, Takuya Kiyokawa, The University of Osaka, Japan
    • Circular Robotics through Design-for-Robotic-Disassembly and AI-Enhanced Perception, Claudio Roberto Gaz, Kingston University London, United Kingdom
    • PEPR O2R Material, Architecture and Embodied Intelligence, Quentin Peyron, Inria/Defrost, France
    • LABUST initiatives in sustainability of robots and robots for sustainability, Fausto Ferreira, University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, Croatia
    • SHEREC: Safe, Healthy and Environmental Ship Recycling, Evren Samur, Bogazici University / HKTM, Turkiye
    • Robotics eco label roboticsecolabel.com, Vanderborght bral, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and imec, Belgium
    • IEEE U-RAS course on Sustainability Robotics, Barbara Mazzolai, Italian Institute of Technology, Italy

16:35 – 17:30 Collaborative roadmap: shared actions & next steps

Confirmed speakers & panelists

  • a. Prof. Dr. André Martinuzzi — Institute for Managing Sustainability, WU Vienna

  • Prof. José Halloy — Université Paris Cité

  • Asst. Prof. Corina Barbalata — Louisiana State University

  • Asst. Prof. Malika Meghjani — Singapore University of Technology and Design

  • Assoc. Prof. Ludovic Righetti — New York University

 

Call for initiatives: Pitch your sustainability work

We welcome sustainability-focused initiatives, projects, and working groups worldwide to apply for a 5-minute pitch slot. Applications will be reviewed by the organizing committee to ensure a high-quality and diverse set of perspectives.

  • Submissions (Important Dates)

    •  Will be open on the 16th of February 2026

    • Close on the 16th of March 2026

    • Results will be announced on the 23rd of March 2026

    • Workshop is on the  1st of June 2026 – 14:00-17:30 CET

 

Why attend?

  • Learn from cross-disciplinary keynotes and panel perspectives

  • Connect with global sustainability-focused robotics initiatives

  • Contribute to a shared roadmap for circular and responsible robotics

  • Build collaborations that continue beyond ICRA

 

Organizers

Dr. Patrick Courtney (King’s College London) · Asst. Prof. Fausto Ferreira (University of Zagreb / MARBLE) · Sharath Chandra Akkaladevi (PROFACTOR, Primary Contact) · Franziska Kirstein (Three Robotics) · Dr. Adrien Escande (Inria) · Assoc. Prof. Ludovic Righetti (NYU) · Dr. Carl Maria Mörch (FARI/ULB) · Prof. Luisa Damiano (IULM) · Dr. Shirley A. Elprama (imec-SMIT/VUB) · Dr. Ilaria Alfieri (IULM)

Contact

Primary contact: Sharath Chandra Akkaladevi — sharath.akkaladevi@nullprofactor.at