The IFR’s 11 ladies who will form robotics in 2026. | Supply: IFR
The Worldwide Federation of Robotics (IFR) at the moment named 11 ladies it says are shaping the way forward for robotics. The IFR stated it hopes the listing will give ladies within the business extra visibility and acknowledgment.
Girls have been traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. Immediately, ladies make up solely 16% of engineers. That is even supposing ladies make up over 40% of the worldwide workforce.
“Girls are crucial contributors within the quick‑rising subject of robotics,” stated Dr. Susanne Bieller, common secretary of the Worldwide Federation of Robotics. “That is clearly illustrated by various groups creating unbiased AI know-how and next-generation robotics techniques. These initiatives goal to open up new sectors for automation, not solely in conventional manufacturing settings, but additionally in healthcare and aged care, or in shopper markets.”
This 12 months’s honorees embrace:
- Younseal Eum, the CEO of AeiROBOT, a South Korean developer of general-purpose robots
- Stefania Ferrero, chief advertising and marketing and options portfolio officer at Comau, an Italian producer of business automation and digital options
- Christina Jørgensen, advertising and marketing supervisor for northern and jap Europe at Common Robots, a supplier of collaborative robots (cobots) based mostly in Denmark
- Allison Krumpe, president and CEO of HealthTech Companions World, a U.S.-based consulting agency that helps med-tech startups develop their footprints
- Henrike Neulen, senior enterprise growth supervisor at Intrinsic, a robotics software program and AI firm that lately joined Google
- Asami Sasao, supervisor of the Design Dept. within the Robotic Division at Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a Japanese supplier of business robotic arms
- Kristina Schunk, CEO of Schunk Group, a German know-how supplier of toolholding and workholding, gripping, and automation
- Mikell Taylor, director of robotics technique at Basic Motors
- Susanne Timsjö, Nordics supervisor at ABB Robotics, a Swedish supplier of robotic arms and autonomous cellular robots (AMRs)
- Dana Whalls, VP of occasions on the Affiliation for Advancing Automation (A3), which is an advocate for robotics, imaginative and prescient, movement management, and automation
- Prof. Rong Xiong, the co-founder and chief scientist at IPLUSMOBOT, a Chinese language AMR supplier
Final 12 months, the IFR included 10 ladies in its listing of ladies shaping robotics in 2025.
Mikell Taylor keynoting Robotics Summit & Expo
Mikell Taylor can be giving two talks on the Robotics Summit & Expo, the world’s main occasion for industrial robotics builders. The present takes place Could 27-28 in Boston. It should entice 5,000+ builders who’re constructing robots for aerospace and protection, healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, and different markets.
Taylor can be main the Girls in Robotics Breakfast on Could 28 at 8:00 AM. She’s going to then ship a keynote known as “What Makes a Robotic Worthy?” at 10 AM the identical day. She’s going to draw on her expertise at startups creating know-how for patrons huge and small, in addition to expertise in management roles at corporations like Basic Motors and Amazon, to induce the business to give attention to areas of robotics that may unlock exponential development whereas avoiding stagnation in “pilot purgatory.”
Registration for the Robotics Summit & Expo is open now.
