When artificial intelligence understands and shapes the real world

© Konradin

Humanoid robots are just a very visible, but by no means the only example of embodied AI applications. © Fraunhofer IPA/Photo: Rainer Bez

At the AI Congress, Fraunhofer IPA presents a printer for additive manufacturing that, thanks to embodied AI technologies, can respond to deviations and learn from them. © Fraunhofer IPA/Photo: Rainer Bez

Artificial Intelligence leaves the digital world and becomes an active part of machines, robots, and production systems. How companies can successfully utilize this technology will be demonstrated at the 7th AI Congress on November 18, 2026, in Stuttgart. The early bird rate is available until October 7, 2026.

Artificial Intelligence has made impressive progress in recent years. However, the next stage of industrial AI goes far beyond the primarily data-processing approaches seen so far: it combines digital intelligence with the physical world. Embodied AI refers to systems that perceive their environment, learn from experiences, and act independently based on that knowledge. This concept of Embodied AI extends beyond the term Physical AI, which mainly describes the physical interaction of intelligent systems with their environment.

This opens up a new path for industrial companies toward more flexible, productive, and resilient production systems, offering significant advantages in global competition: "Embodied AI is, in my view, the greatest and possibly last opportunity for German machinery manufacturing to maintain and expand its technological leadership," says Prof. Marco Huber. He is Scientific Director at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Automation IPA, co-designed the AI Congress with Werner Kraus, Head of Automation and Robotics Research, and will open the congress with a keynote speech. Investing today builds a lead that will be difficult for latecomers to catch up with. "The question is not whether Embodied AI will transform industrial production, but who will lead this transformation."

What potentials this development offers and how companies can benefit from it are demonstrated by Fraunhofer IPA, as a scientific cooperation partner, together with the Konradin Media Group at the 7th AI Congress "Embodied AI as a Key to Industry" on November 18, 2026, in the new Building V for "Personalized Production" in Stuttgart-Vaihingen. The Ministry of Economy, Craftsmanship, and Tourism of Baden-Württemberg has taken patronage of the congress. A video greeting from Minister Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut will open the event.

From Embedded Systems to Embodied AI

While generative AI today mainly creates and analyzes digital content, Embodied AI takes a decisive step further. The technology combines perception, world modeling, learning, and physical action into a comprehensive system. AI thus becomes an integral part of machines, robots, and plants. It processes not only information but actively interacts with its environment and continuously develops its capabilities through experiences.

This approach holds great strategic importance for industry. Manufacturing companies face the challenge of mastering increasingly complex processes, managing rising variant diversity, and simultaneously ensuring productivity and quality. Traditional automation concepts are increasingly reaching their limits. Embodied AI creates new possibilities by enabling machines to independently perceive situations, understand contexts, and adapt their behavior flexibly to changing conditions. As a result, production systems become more robust, autonomous, and efficient.

Fraunhofer IPA is actively advancing this development and has already developed a first demonstrator for additive manufacturing. Developments around AI-based and humanoid robotics also illustrate Embodied AI systems. As a bridge between research and industrial application, the institute is also investigating how Embodied AI concepts can be utilized in robotics, production, and mechanical engineering. The goal is to combine Germany's traditional strengths as an industrial location with the opportunities of modern AI technologies and to support companies in building competitive, intelligent production systems.

AI Congress Shows the Current State in Companies

Against this background, the 7th AI Congress focuses on current developments at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and production, which are expected to experience significant growth: According to MarketsandMarkets, the market volume for Embodied AI is projected to rise from $4.44 billion in 2025 to $23.06 billion in 2030, representing an average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39 percent.

At the AI Congress, experts from industry and research will demonstrate through concrete application cases how intelligent systems combine perception, decision-making, and physical action. The focus will include questions such as how robots can learn from experiences over extended periods, how Embodied AI can be integrated into existing production and IT landscapes, and how agent-based manufacturing processes that learn from real production results can be developed. Discussions will also address the role of embodied intelligence in the next generation of industrial AI systems.

Laboratory Tour Demonstrates Embodied AI Fundamentals for Future Applications

During a tour of Fraunhofer IPA's laboratories, congress participants can learn about the technological foundations of Embodied AI applications. For example, there is a printer for additive manufacturing. In this application, filaments made from recycled material are used. These filaments are not homogeneous. The process had to be manually adjusted continuously to produce a consistent print. Embodied AI automates this by reacting to deviations during the printing process and adjusting process parameters in real-time. This improves quality while reducing material consumption.

Another exhibit features various humanoid robots in action. "We have several models with their own kinematics and different capabilities," explains Werner Kraus. "Guests will see the robots live and in action and learn about application development using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Open questions such as safety, reliability, and economic efficiency will also be addressed." Further demonstrators are in planning.

Knowledge Transfer for the Industry’s AI of Tomorrow

The congress is aimed at decision-makers, specialists, and managers from industry and production, innovation managers, as well as developers and engineers who want to identify concrete applications for AI and actively shape their company's digital transformation. In addition to technical lectures, the event offers numerous opportunities for exchange and a guided tour through Fraunhofer IPA's research laboratories.

With its initiative on Embodied AI and its involvement in this year's AI Congress, Fraunhofer IPA provides a platform for knowledge transfer between research and industry. The goal is to prepare companies early for the next evolutionary stage of Artificial Intelligence and to show ways to translate the potentials of learning, acting systems into tangible industrial competitive advantages. Because one thing is clear: the future of industrial AI will not only be digital. It will actively shape the real world.