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Panel discussion recorded on October 1, 2026 featuring host Bern Grush, Executive Director of the Urban Robotics Foundation. Guest panelists: Henriette Cornet is Urban Innovate's Founder and CEO and a University of San Francisco professor co-directing the Autonomous Vehicles and the City Initiative. Her Ph.D. in Engineering and Environmental Sciences is from the Technical University of Munich. Her career includes Audi, BMW, and European AV projects. She advises global cities and serves as a European Commission Senior Expert; her work bridges innovation, policy, and practice to shape the future of urban transportation. Laura Herzig is a partner in Beta Mobility, a Nordic mobility startup studio, and advisory. Laura has worked on key autonomous vehicle projects with stakeholders across the value chain, including public transport authorities, operator, road regulators, and technology providers. Drawing on extensive insights from Nordic test cases, Laura is passionate about advancing the AV agenda across Europe, particularly by integrating AVs into multi-modal transport systems. Rachel Castignoli is a Senior Consultant with the City of Austin’s Smart Mobility Office, specializing in autonomous vehicle (AV) regulation, policy, and public safety. With a JD from Quinnipiac, she is a member of Texas and California Bar Associations. Rachel pioneered Austin’s Citywide Autonomous Vehicle Working Group—recognized nationally as a model for municipal-AV corporate relations. She leverages data-driven governance to safely integrate emerging transit tech into public infrastructure, making her a leading expert on local mobility innovation. “Gridlock” Sam Schwartz is the Chair and Founder of the Transportation Research Program at Roosevelt House at Hunter College. He is or has been: an author, CEO, columnist. NYC Traffic Commissioner, and Chief Engineer of the NYC Department of Transportation. His third book, the 2026 novel, AutoKill, is a thriller centered on autonomous vehicle technology. Sam loves problem-solving for seemingly intractable situations, and is expert at getting people out of their cars and into other forms of transportation.

Hosted by Adam Beck, Global Head of Urban Planning for the Urban Robotics Foundation (www.urbanroboticsfoundation.org) This Panel Discussion was recorded on August 20 2026 (10am AEST) for urban planners and city shapers who are interested in how to prepare for innovative technologies like public-area mobile robots (PMRs) used for delivery, public works, security, etc. Guest speakers: Yariel Diaz, Director of Government Affairs & Accessibility, at Serve Robotics and Sara Stace, Director of Cities for Vivendi Consulting. The discussion includes highlights from URF's recent whitepaper: co-written with ASTM International, Mass Robotics and with support from NIST. Chapter 6 of the whitepaper explores recommendations for Urban Planners and covers topics such as: •Infrastructure and Spatial Readiness •Land use Integration •Equity and Community Engagement To download a free copy of the whitepaper, visit: https://www.urbanroboticsfoundation.org/2026-whitepaper-robots-in-public

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