The DFKI Robotics Innovation Center in Bremen has a long-standing and successful partnership with SENAI CIMATEC. As early as 2013, SENAI (Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial) opened the “Brazilian Institute of Robotics” (BIR) in Salvador, Bahia – modeled after the DFKI – with Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Frank Kirchner serving as Scientific Director. SENAI is the central organization for industrial training, applied research, and innovation in Brazil. Among other things, this collaboration resulted in the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) FlatFish for inspecting offshore energy infrastructure. The framework agreement now signed aims to further deepen this partnership, particularly in the areas of applied AI, robotics, and industrial innovation.
With the NEXUS AI Campus, DFKI also gains a new strategic partner. Located in Joinville, Santa Catarina, in Brazil’s industrially strong southern region, this innovation hub focuses on applied AI research, technological development, and the implementation of market-oriented solutions. NEXUS connects companies, universities, and international centers of excellence and specifically promotes global collaboration and knowledge transfer. Key areas of focus include generative AI, large language models, computer vision, health tech, industrial AI, quantum computing, cognitive robotics, and applications in agriculture and smart cities.
The goal of both partnerships is to jointly advance the development and application of innovative AI technologies, intensify the exchange of knowledge and talent, and provide new impetus for the economic use of AI.
“With Brazil as the partner country, this year’s Hannover Messe offers a particularly fitting setting to showcase the further development of our collaborations. Intensifying our collaboration with partners such as SENAI CIMATEC and NEXUS AI Campus opens up additional opportunities for us to translate our European AI research perspective and expertise into industrial applications and to further expand our international network with like-minded partners,” said Prof. Dr. Antonio Krüger, CEO of DFKI.
DFKI at Hannover Messe 2026
Hannover Messe is regarded as the world’s leading platform for technologies related to industrial transformation and brings together thousands of companies from the mechanical engineering, electrical, and digital industries, as well as the energy sector, every year. This year, DFKI will be presenting practical AI solutions in Hall 11, Booth B30, as well as at partner booths – ranging from robotic systems for aerospace and logistics to assistance solutions in medicine, management, and law, and the optimization of complex processes in industry and healthcare. Here, visitors can experience the transfer from research to industrial application firsthand, while also seeing how the developed technologies can be successfully applied to other fields.