RomandicJulia Borras and Andrej Gams presented Romandic, DOM-net and Whitebook on RTM at Textile ETP’s DigitX Innovation Hub webinar. We are looking forward to increasing our collaboration to The European Technology Platform for the Future of Textiles and Clothing (Textile ETP)
During today’s visit to JSI (06/10/2026), the Minister of Demography, Family and Social Affairs Mateja Ribič visited also our department where we, amongst other things, demonstrated the work on flattening and folding as parts of deformable object manipulation by robots.
A workshop on the topic of the organization an help of project offices in order to support researchers was held in Portorož, Slovenia, between September 28th and 30th 2026, preceded by a project meeting. In two days of discussions and presentations partners from JSI, CSIC and KIT presented their project offices. We were joined by members of project HERON, which aims to create the first Robotics Center of Excellence (CoE) in Greece for advancing the science and technology of robotics in the AI era, coupled with industrial innovation. Members of their administration joined in our workshop to share experience, but also to gain experience from ROMANDIC institutions.
The participation of people from the project offices is what made this event special, as hands-on experience and organizational structures, ideas, gender aspect and outlooks were shared by the people really working in these fields. The advancement of AI also has an effect on project offices, that is why KIT kindly presented their developments in this field.
All the participants left the event with new, exciting ideas and with memorable impressions.
In the scope of AIDA4Edge, project ROMANDIC was presented in its second Twinning day, where several Twinning project participated.
The work in project ROMANDIC was presented at the evolucija.ai event, a central Slovenian event about AI as the motor of development, at Brdo castle, on September 11th, 2026.
A detailed description, presentations and videos from the event are available here.
The event “Closing the Automation Gap: Robotics for Textile Handling in Europe contributing to competitiveness” brought together European Commission representatives, textile-sector stakeholders, industry actors, robotics researchers, and European project coordinators to discuss how robotic manipulation of textiles and other deformable objects can move from research promise to industrial impact and what conditions/support is and can be set by the policy and decision makers. Across the presentations, the core message was consistent: Europe has strong scientific capacity and relevant policy momentum, but the field remains fragmented, under-deployed, and not yet sufficiently connected to the realities of textile production, recycling, logistics, and healthcare.
The event summary is available here.
The event agenda is available here.
Conclusions:
Together with SBRA and the CSIC’s brussles office, we are organizing the presentation of Whitebook on Robot manipulation of Textiles.
The event will bring together policymakers, researchers, technology developers, and industry leaders to explore how advanced robotics can help close the automation gap in textile manufacturing and recycling.
Registration for the event is open – and required to attend.
Closing the Automation Gap:
Robotics for Textile Handling in Europe contributing to competitiveness
Thursday I 18 June 2026 I 09:30 – 13:00
Consejo Superior De Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) Brussels Office
CSIC 7th Floor, Rue du Trône 62, 1050 Brussels
The Slovenian Business & Research Association (SBRA) is pleased to the official launch of the White Book on robotic textile manipulation, created within the ROMANDIC project, taking place on 18 June 2026 in Brussels. Under the theme “Closing the Automation Gap: Robotics for Textile Handling in Europe contributing to competitiveness”, this high-level in-person event will bring together policymakers, researchers, technology developers, and industry leaders to explore how advanced robotics can strengthen Europe’s textile industry and accelerate the transition toward sustainable and circular production models.
As Europe’s textile sector faces increasing pressure to innovate and remain globally competitive, robotics for textile handling is emerging as a key strategic enabler. The event will provide first-hand insights into the technical challenges of manipulating deformable materials, while presenting a shared European vision and roadmap for textile automation and recycling.
Participants will have the opportunity to:
We would be delighted to welcome you to this important discussion shaping the future of European manufacturing and the circular textile economy!
Discover the full programme here and register here to ensure your place at the event!
Slovenian Business & Research Association (SBRA)
More information here: https://www.sbra.be/en/content/closing-automation-gap
We participated in the organization of an IROS 2026 WS titled Deformable Objects Manipulation: Research Foundations, Reproducibility and Real-World Challenges.
Our proposal was accepted and the WS will take place at IROS 2026 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Submission of papers to the WS is open!
We participated in the organization of an RSS workshop on deformable objects titled Beyond Rigidity – Deformable and Articulated Robotic Object Manipulation Workshop. Our proposed WS was accepted.
Submissions of papers to the WS is open!
The event will take place on June 13th in the scope of RSS conference in Sydney, Australia.
On April 10th we held an online review meeting with an external reviewer and the project officer.
All project partners presented our work on the project from the past 17 months.