Earlier this spring, the largest robotics event in Europe – The European Robotics Forum 2023 (ERF23) – was held in Odense, Denmark. As one of the most influential gatherings of the robotics community in Europe, the event brought together researchers, engineers, managers, entrepreneurs, businesspeople, and public funding officers to explore the latest trends and themes in the field of robotics. With more than 1100 registered participants and 65 sponsors and exhibitors, this was'the largest ERF in recorded history – on all parameters', say the organizers. During the four-day forum, RI4EU robotics DIHs network, together with agROBOfood and Rima Network, hosted a booth at the event, where they showcased a range of robotics initiatives. These also included TRINITY Robotics DIHs, agROBOfood, DIH-HERO, and DIH² robotics networks.

The Inspection and Maintenance (I&M) Industry represents a large economic activity spanning across multiple sectors such as energy, oil & gas, water supply, transport, civil engineering, and infrastructure. RIMA project aims at bringing together Digital Innovation Hubs and Facilitators operating under a common network that allow them to join forces and competences in promoting I&M robotics in Europe. The BIS Research projects' analysis of the Inspection and Maintenance Robot Industry forecasts that the I&M market will grow at a significant CAGR of 12.73% on the basis of value from 2020 to 2025. In 2019, Europe dominated the 40% of the global inspection and maintenance robot market (BIS322A, Mar 2020). Although the European Union hosts most of the I&M robotics offer – being France, Germany, and Spain (and U.K. until 2021 Brexit) the leading manufacturing countries, there is still a bottleneck connecting this offer to the market and high potential applications.