From Models to Machines: AI, World Models, and the Next Generation of Robotics

How advances in AI and world models are enabling robots to understand, predict, and act in complex real-world environments. Robotics is entering a new phase, driven by rapid progress in foundation models, multimodal learning, and world models that allow machines to build internal representations of their surroundings. This session explores how AI is reshaping robotics from the inside out. Speakers will discuss how world models are trained, how perception and control are integrated, and how simulation, reinforcement learning, and real-world data pipelines come together in modern robotic systems. 17:00-18:00 Robotics show-and-tell 18:00-20:00 Presentation, demos, panel 20:00-21:00 Networking drinks Network Partners Tech Makers - a network that brings together founders, builders, and innovators who love turning ideas into reality. Amsterdam AI - a local network that connects knowledge institutions, companies, and public organisations to work together on impactful projects in the domains of Health & Care, Society, and the Service Sector. Call! Are you interested in a show-and-tell of your robot project? Contact Monique and send her your ideas. With a.o. Emanuela Girardi, President of ADRA (European Association of AI, Data and Robotics) Dmitri Jarnikov, Senior Director Data Science Prosus Group Maarten Witteveen, CTO of Manus Iulia Feroli, Robotics, Physical AI Advocate, Back to Engineering Sébastien Willems, Co-founder & CEO Antfarm Tom Mulder, Robotics + AI builder Geoffrey Lillemon, digital artist Vsevolod Prudius, Robotics Engineer, Prosus Group · Curated and moderated by Monique van Dusseldorp About the speakers Dmitri Jarnikov, Senior Director Data Science, Prosus Group and Professor at Eindhoven University of Technology, is working at the intersection of applied AI and academic research. Bridging industry scale with scientific depth, his work reflects the shift from AI models to systems that operate reliably in complex, real-world settings. Emanuela Girardi, President of ADRA (European Association of AI, Data and Robotics). She works directly with the European Commission to implement Horizon Europe’s 2.6 billion euro investment plan for 2021-2027, guiding the development of the European innovation ecosystem in AI, data and robotics, with a focus on the new technology frontier: Physical AI. Maarten Witteveen is CTO of Manus, building the interface between human hands and robotic ones. His team develops data gloves that capture human dexterity with extreme precision, providing the training data robots need to learn real-world manipulation. Iulia Feroli is the founder of Back to Engineering. With a background in data science, AI, cloud, and open source, she is building a global community—sharing hands-on content, talks, and tutorials on robotics and AI. Sébastien Willems, Co-founder & CEO of Antfarm, building autonomous robots that sort out waste. At Antfarm, he and his team of engineers are developing autonomous sorting robots that make material recovery 10x more efficient. Tom Mulder builds developer-friendly systems that connect AI models to real robots. He focuses on turning complex AI concepts into robust architectures and tools that enable developers to deploy and scale physical AI systems. Geoffrey Lillemon is a contemporary digital artist working at the intersection of art, code, VFX, and performance. For over 25 years, his work has treated the browser as a primary artistic medium, building real-time, procedural systems that perform live online. In his demo he shows how those same systems can move off-screen, using robotics to translate digital behaviors into physical, embodied actions. Monique van Dusseldorp is a curator/moderator of tech events and part of the AI House team. ​AI House Amsterdam ​AI House Amsterdam is a hub for artificial intelligence created by Prosus. With world-class technical events, the AI House offers free AI training and workshops, collaborations between engineers and academia, elite hackathons, meetup events, investor-founder events, residency programs for top AI experts, a moonshot project studio, and more. ​About Prosus ​Prosus is the power behind the world’s leading lifestyle ecommerce brands, across Europe, India, and Latin America, unlocking an AI-first world for our 2 billion customers. ​The Prosus technology ecosystem spans food delivery, payments, classifieds, travel, events, and mobility. Our integrated approach enhances user engagement and creates the foundation for unprecedented AI capabilities through proprietary data and cross-service intelligence. ​Address and contact information ​AI House is located on the third floor of the Symphony building, Mahlerplein 5, Amsterdam. ​Questions? events@aihouse.nl