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URF's global head of Urban Planning, Adam Beck, hosts this panel discussion on the topic of: Preparing for Robots in Public through an Urban Planners Lens. This session features Vignesh Ram, Vice President, Public Policy at Serve Robotics and John G Jung, Chairman and Co-founder of Intelligent Community Forum. The discussion takes a deep dive into Chapter 6 of URF's recent whitepaper: https://www.urbanroboticsfoundation.org/2026-whitepaper-robots-in-public co-written with ASTM International, Mass Robotics and with support from NIST. Chapter 6 explores recommendations for Urban Planners and covers topics such as: •Infrastructure and Spatial Readiness •Land use Integration •Equity and Community Engagement

On June 18th, URF brought together three of the authors of the 2026 whitepaper "Robots in Public: Building the Governance Framework for Shared Human-Robot Spaces" to engage in a panel discussion exploring a critical inflection point in the evolution of robotics: the transition from controlled environments to shared public spaces. With special guest Andrew Glass Hastings, Executive Director of the Open Mobility Foundation, our panelists discussed the recommendations and conclusions that are published in the report. Robots are now operating on sidewalks, in hospitals, airports, campuses, and urban streets—interacting daily with people who have not opted in and may not understand their capabilities. Existing regulatory frameworks—designed for products, vehicles, or workplace machines—fail to account for autonomous systems operating among the general public. This creates fragmented oversight, inconsistent rules, and growing risks around safety, privacy, accessibility, and public trust. Panelists include: Aaron Prather, ASTM International Joyce Sidopoulos, MASSRobotics Bern Grush, Urban Robotics Foundation The 80-page whitepaper was completed in partnership between ASTM International, MASS Robotics and the Urban Robotics Foundation with contributions from NIST. You are welcome to download a free copy by clicking this link: https://www.urbanroboticsfoundation.org/2026-whitepaper-robots-in-public

Ready or Not: What Global PMR Deployments mean for Australasia Moderated panel discussion featuring URF's head of urban planning, Adam Beck, and Yariel Diaz, Director of Government Affairs at Serve Robotics, Ben Foster, City of Gold Coast and Dr. Damith Herath, Founding Director of the Collaborative Robotics Lab at the University of Canberra.

Hear from Craig Desjardins, the Director of Strategy, Innovation and Partnerships at one of the most innovative cities in North America - Kingston, Ontario, Canada - being interviewed by Lee St James, URF's Managing Director, about the best practices for preparing for urban robots and drones to positively impact city operations.

An incredibly agile mobile robot that turns on a dime and traverses all kinds of terrain. So excited to see this in person and explore use cases.

View this webinar to take a deep dive into the challenge of Pick-up & Drop-off (PUDO) at the curbside for cities planning ahead for the integration of robotaxis, automated delivery trucks and public-area mobile robots (PMRs). URF's Executive Director, Bern Grush, leads a panel discussion featuring: - David Carson Lipscomb, Curbside Manager for District Department of Transportation (DDoT), Washington DC - Rachel Castignoli, Senior Business Process Consultant, Transportation and Public Works, City of Austin - Shawn McCormick, Parking Enforcement Director, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency For more information, visit: https://www.urbanroboticsfoundation.org/event-details/managing-pick-up-and-drop-off-at-the-curb

Hosted by URF's Managing Director, Lee St James, this informative webinar summarizes the key content available in URF's "2025 Executive Guide to Public-area Mobile Robots: What you need to know". Bringing the content into context for both government planners and innovation companies, we also hear form two guest speakers: Vignesh (Viggy Ram), VP Public Policy at Serve Robotics and Doug McCollough, Executive Director ICF Institute, Dublin, OH. Vignesh Ram is Vice President of Public Policy with Serve Robotics, where he leads public affairs engagement for the future of robotic on-demand delivery. He most recently served on the policy teams at Match Group and Postmates, where his work focused on antitrust, the future of work, privacy, robotics, mobility, and how tech intersects with our communities. Additionally, Vignesh serves on the board of Loud Light, an organization driving youth progressive action in Kansas through voter engagement and outreach. He began his career staffing Vice President Kamala Harris's first run for Attorney General of California, and through 2018, Vignesh headed policy and the racial justice project for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kansas, building a community-focused civil rights agenda in the Midwest. He is a graduate of the University of California - Santa Cruz, University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law, and a 2020-21 Harvard Kennedy School fellow. Doug McCollough works to connect people to opportunities, remove barriers, and promote change in initiatives ranging from Smart and Connected Cities, IT Workforce Development, expanding broadband access, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, and Smart Mobility. Doug now serves as the Executive Director of The Beta District in Central Ohio, which organizes innovation, development, and investment in Smart Mobility industry sectors, as well as Executive Director of the Intelligent Community Forum Institute in Dublin, Ohio. He speaks as a Subject Matter Expert and advocate on using technology for community development. The Executive Guide is available as a free download on URF's website: https://www.urbanroboticsfoundation.org/guidebooks

Exploring the regulatory landscape for public-area mobile robots (PMRs): Implementing new technologies in public spaces brings with it many challenges for governments at all levels. Around the world we are seeing mobile technologies that operate on sidewalks and in shopping malls, move on bike paths, cross intersections, and perform a variety of functions from last mile delivery to cleaning to transporting passengers. How can municipalities effectively manage these mobility innovations? Hosted by the Urban Robotics Foundation, this session brings together a panel of experts to share their thoughts on how good governance and regulations can contribute to improved safety and successful deployment of public-area mobile robots and other mobility innovations. Estonia is one of the only countries in the world that has amended their national traffic act with guidance for how to regulate PMRs. Mark E. Talivere, an innovation expert at the Tallinn Strategic Management Office, will be joining the conversation to discuss Estonia's unique regulatory approach to public-area mobile robots, including its amendments to the national traffic act and insights from Tallinn's pilot projects and innovations. Pedro Homem de Gouveia, Senior Policy Advisor and Project Manager, Governance & Integration + Safety & Security at POLIS network, is an expert on Accessibility and Universal Design; Public Space and Sustainable Urban Mobility; Pedestrian Safety and Traffic Calming; Strategy and Innovation in Cities. He will share his thoughts regarding key lessons and best practices for cities to integrate these new technologies effectively.

Featuring guest speakers: Dr. Hannah Pelikan, Dr. Stuart Reeves, Lisa Johnson Although mobile robots have been around industrial warehouses and factories for decades, they are appearing more often now in public spaces and being used for a variety of tasks around 'bystanders'. So how do people interact with these robots when they have not had any training? What are robot designers doing to help people be more comfortable? How can we collaborate to improve human-robot interactions? If you are a smart city planner, accessibility advocate, mobility innovator or technology designer interested in the social acceptance of robots, this session will offer new perspectives on how people interact with robots and vice versa. We invite you to review the article "Encountering Autonomous Robots on Public Streets" published in March 2024 that was awarded 'best paper' at the 2024 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. Two of the three authors will join our panel discussion. https://robotsinpublic.org/hri-2024-paper.html This webinar is sponsored by the Centre for Integrated Transportation and Mobility (www.CITM.ca). CITM specializes in helping businesses take electrified, connected, and autonomous vehicle innovations from ideation to commercialization and scale-up.