About This Newsletter

Dear RWTH AI community,

This newsletter is meant to keep you informed on relevant activities around AI at the RWTH University. The newsletter also provides an excellent platform to showcase your success, share your results, and promote your events. We've had numerous contributions and suggestions, so keep up the good engagement. If you are missing something or have any other ideas how this newsletter could be even more interesting and useful to our AI community, please send an email to contact@ai.rwth-aachen.de

As usual, we would appreciate it if you could forward this information to your research groups, your students, and other interested parties. To receive the newsletter, please join the mailing list by sending an email with the subject “subscribe” to ai-center-interest-join@lists.rwth-aachen.de

We are looking forward to collaborating with you all on some exciting topics and hearing your feedback.

QUICK ACCESS

Announcements/News

Meet The Members

Project/Paper Of The Month

Events

Awards/Prizes/Recognitions

Open Calls

External Events

External Open Calls

Announcements/News

Aachen’s team competes in an international robotics competition

At RoboCup 2026 in Incheon, colorful blocks on shelves awaited robotic assembly. The Carologistics team competed despite technical issues, securing second place in one category and ranking fifth overall.

RoboCup, the world’s largest autonomous robotics competition, featured eight university teams in the new Smart Manufacturing League (SML). The league’s inaugural edition simulated a full factory workflow, from planning to transport to assembly, and served as the first practical test of its new rules. About the Team: Carologistics is an interdisciplinary team of students and researchers from RWTH Aachen University (Chair of Computer Science 6 – Machine Learning, Prof. Hector Geffner) and Aachen University of Applied Sciences (MASKOR Institute, headed by Prof. Alexander Ferrein). Since its RoboCup debut in 2012, the team has highlighted the strong partnership between Aachen’s universities. Carologistics claimed the world championship title in the Logistics League in 2022 and 2025 - the league that preceded today’s Smart Manufacturing League.

You can read more here.

Meet The Members

Astrid Rosenthal-von der Pütten

Area of Expertise:

Human-AI/Robot Interaction, Social Robotics

Ancillary activities:

Senior Associate Editor ACM Transaction on Human-Robot Interaction, Spokesperson RIG TC Situated Social Robotics

Hobbies:

Participates in and organizes “Das Schwarze Auge” Live-Action Role Playing events; sews costumes

Contact:

arvdp@itec.rwth-aachen.de

Project/Paper Of The Month

Events

Awards/Prizes/Recognitions

We didn’t receive any actual information on Awards/Prizes.

If you have any suggestions for the next newsletter, please contact the editorial team by email: contact@ai.rwth-aachen.de

Open Calls

AI Connect: Research Meets Industry 

This event will bring together around 50 young AI researchers and company representatives on November 26-27, 2026, at Burg Frankenberg in Aachen.
In collaboration with JUPITER AI Factory (JAIF), AI Grid and CAIRNE, participants will explore four real-world industry challenges and develop ideas for translating AI research into practical business solutions. The programme includes company presentations, interactive small-group workshops, idea pitches and networking.
The event will be held in English, and participation is free of charge. Places are limited and subject to pre-selection. Applications must be submitted by October 11, 2026.

Find out more about the company use cases and apply here.

External Events

External Open Calls

BMDS: Funding Guidelines "Digital Tech-to-Product"

The Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and State Modernisation has published the funding guidelines entitled ‘Digital Tech-to-Product – Developing sovereign and market-oriented innovations in digital technologies’.

The application process consists of two stages. The deadline for submitting project outlines is 11 October 2026.

You can find more information here.

DFG: Priority Programme “Combinatorial Synergies” (SPP 2458)

In 2023, the Senate of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) established the Priority Programme “Combinatorial Synergies” (SPP 2458).

The programme is designed to run for six years.  The present call invites proposals for the second three-year funding period.

Please submit your proposal to the DFG by 30 November 2026.

You can find more information here.

BMFTR: Förderaufruf „KI4Energy“ - Künstliche Intelligenz und Data Science als Schlüsseltechnologien für die Energie

Connecting Germany’s excellence in AI research with strengths in energy, hydrogen, and materials technologies unlocks significant innovation and value creation potential. Targeted promotion enhances Germany’s competitiveness as a research and economic hub, supports climate goals, and drives the transition to a sustainable, digital, and resilient energy future.

You can find more information here.

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