![\"Prof.](\"https:\/\/hrw-fablab.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/grafik-2.png\")
As the founder and director of the HRW FabLab, as well as a professor of computer engineering at HRW, I regularly ask myself: What should we focus on? What are the next emerging technologies? How can we actively shape their development? How can we involve students, researchers, startups, companies, and others? How can we learn together\u2014with enthusiasm, but also through critical reflection?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take a look where we started<\/strong> 2013: Launch of intelligent robotics at the HRW FabLab Pepper as a photo prop, a social robot and for laboratory instruction<\/strong> From BOTS2Learn to Morph3DBot4KI<\/strong> For more information: https:\/\/morph3dbot.de\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I started at University of Applied Sciences Ruhr West in 2010 and purchased three 3D printers, a laser cutter and a PCB milling machine as our basic equipment, people laughed at me, saying that these \u201ctoys\u201d would never catch on. Today, with our team of 30 employees, we can proudly look back on a 1,000-square-meter innovation space that is likely among the top 10 largest FabLabs in the world (a quick note: there are now around 2,500 FabLabs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>We began exploring human-robot interaction with Baxter from Rething Robotics, one of the world\u2019s first co-working robots. As a student assistant at the FabLab, Lana (on the left in the photo) was still a student in the Human-Technology Interaction program; in the near future, she will complete her Ph.D. in the field of competence development for artificial intelligence (see also :Sattelmaier, L., & Pawlowski, J. (2025). Be AIware! an AI competency model for K-12 education. Social Sciences & Humanities Open<\/em>, 12<\/em>, 101838.<\/a>) It\u2019s especially rewarding to follow these success stories from the FabLab into the students\u2019 professional careers, and above all, to see how their technical skills have developed over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hrw-fablab.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/image.jpeg\")
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Anyone who has attended our Open Night knows Pepper. He\u2019s usually the one who gives us the lab safety briefing, explains where the fire extinguishers are located, points out the emergency exits, and much more.
Some of you may also be familiar with the games for people with dementia that have been installed here. Our former colleague Caro, a rehabilitation educator, developed these as part of her bachelor\u2019s thesis, but Pepper is most popular as a photo model (pictured here with Yonggi, on the far left, a colleague from Chungbuk National University in South Korea).<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Pepper](\"https:\/\/hrw-fablab.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-1.jpeg\")
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Around 2018 a core group within the team began building robot systems for educational use because the commercially available systems were unsuitable in many respects. The project is now gaining momentum rapidly; we are currently awaiting 10,000 cubes (injection-molded) and, with new project funding, are moving forward with enthusiasm into further development (Morph3DBot4KI \u2013 a modular robotics system for the playful teaching of digital and AI skills) and implementation in secondary schools (grades 7\u201312).<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Morph3DBot,](\"https:\/\/hrw-fablab.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-2-1024x768.jpeg\")
Examples of AI & robotics startups<\/h2>\n\n\n\n