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IEX 2026 · Global online conference

Physical AI in ManufacturingThe Next Five Years Start Today.

A focused one-day broadcast for owners, executives, plant leaders, technologists and implementation partners who need to understand what Physical AI can credibly change—and what must happen before it reaches the factory floor.

Register free for IEX 2026Explore the five panels
October 28, 2026Global online broadcast
Charlotte: 9:00 AM–3:00 PMEastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC−4)
Berlin: 2:00–8:00 PM · Central European Time (CET, UTC+1)
Five expert panelsPractical management decisions
Free registrationReport and materials included
DBR77
Proud member of The Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT)
Association for Advancing Automation (A3) member
ARM Institute
IEX is organized by DBR77 and promoted with industry partners. Membership references indicate DBR77 affiliations; they do not imply event endorsement unless separately announced.
Why this conference

Move from fascination to a factory decision.

IEX is built around the questions manufacturing leaders must answer before committing people, capital and operating responsibility.

See what is ready now.

Separate credible operational applications from demonstration, novelty and unproven scale.

Understand the conditions.

Connect technology with data, integration, safety, skills, ownership and financial logic.

Leave with a next step.

Use the report and post-event materials to structure a real discussion inside your organization.

The program

Five panels. Five decisions.

Each conversation begins with an executive question and ends with a practical takeaway—not a vendor pitch.

Opening · Report premiere

Physical AI in American Manufacturing 2026

The opening briefing connects market signals, adoption barriers and management choices. Every registered participant receives the report and approved post-event materials, whether or not they attend live.

Presented by

Manufacturing leaders reviewing an automated production floor and operational data
Humanoid robot performing a controlled inspection task in a factory
PANEL 01 · HUMANOID ROBOTS

Humanoids Enter the Factory: Breakthrough or Expensive Experiment?

Where can humanoids create value—and what evidence is required before deployment?

Three theses

  • The first value will come from specific tasks, not general replacement.
  • Safety, reliability and workflow redesign matter more than a staged demo.
  • A credible business case needs utilization, integration and lifecycle cost.

What you leave with

A practical filter for deciding whether a humanoid use case deserves further engineering.

Industrial robot, collaborative robot and people working in one production area
PANEL 02 · ROBOTS & COBOTS

Robots, Cobots or No Robot?

How should leaders choose the right level of automation for a real process?

Three theses

  • Start with bottlenecks, safety and quality—not a preferred technology.
  • Flexibility and changeover can dominate nominal cycle time.
  • Total integration and operating cost decide ROI.

What you leave with

A decision sequence for comparing manual work, cobots, industrial robots and process redesign.

Production engineer reviewing live machine and quality data beside manufacturing equipment
PANEL 03 · MANUFACTURING DATA & AI

Your Factory Has Data. Can AI Actually Use It?

What must be true before factory data becomes decision-grade intelligence?

Three theses

  • More data does not compensate for missing context and ownership.
  • Closed-loop value begins with a specific operational decision.
  • Human validation remains essential where production risk is material.

What you leave with

A readiness checklist from machine signal to trusted operational action.

Plant and integration team commissioning a connected robotic production cell
PANEL 04 · SYSTEM INTEGRATION

The Automation Blame Game

Why do good technologies still become disappointing implementation projects?

Three theses

  • Unclear ownership creates technical and commercial ambiguity.
  • Acceptance criteria must cover the process, not only the machine.
  • Manufacturers and integrators need a shared evidence model.

What you leave with

A clearer project contract: baseline, owner, scope, evidence, acceptance and lifecycle responsibility.

TBA
TBA
Plant leaders comparing a factory Digital Twin with the real production line
PANEL 05 · AI & GLOBAL BUSINESS

AI and the Future of Global Business

How is AI reshaping global business—from physical operations to digital work—and what can leaders learn from different approaches to adoption around the world?

Three theses

  • AI is transforming physical operations and digital business processes, creating opportunities alongside practical challenges.
  • Experience across international markets offers different perspectives on AI adoption, readiness and competitive advantage.
  • Successful adoption requires balancing business value, costs and compliance while preparing people and organizations for change.

What you leave with

Practical insights from four AI experts to help you assess opportunities, understand risks and identify next steps for your business.

In partnership withNorth Carolina World Trade Association (NC WTA)North Carolina World Trade Association
Included with registration

Physical AI in American Manufacturing 2026

The report translates the conference into an executive decision tool.

  • State of adoption and the practical Physical AI landscape
  • Readiness conditions for robotics, data and intelligent operations
  • The changing role of system integrators
  • Five management decisions for the next factory
  • Post-event panel materials and approved recordings

You receive the report and post-event package even if you cannot attend live.

Register and receive the report
IEX 2026 · DBR77Physical AI in American ManufacturingExecutive report · Five panels · Practical decision tools
Broadcast schedule · October 28, 2026

One focused day.

Times are shown for Charlotte (Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, UTC−4) and Berlin (Central European Time, CET, UTC+1). Short breaks separate the conversations. Approved recordings and materials follow by email after the event.

Report premiere and opening briefingPhysical AI in American Manufacturing 2026.
Panel 01 · Humanoid Robots
Panel 02 · Robots & Cobots
Panel 03 · Manufacturing Data & AI
Panel 04 · System Integration
Panel 05 · AI & Global Business
Closing: from insight to the next 90 days
Free registration

Join live—or register for the report and follow-up materials.

This is one standard conference registration. Attendance is not required to receive the report and approved post-event package.

Registration is recorded in DBR77 HubSpot. Access information, report delivery and approved post-event materials will be sent to the address above.

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For partners

One professional registration destination.

Industry associations, media, universities and technology partners can promote this page directly. Every visitor sees the same program, receives the same registration confirmation and enters one governed HubSpot journey.

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FAQ

Before you register.

Is IEX 2026 free?

Yes. Registration, online access, the report and approved post-event materials are free.

What if I cannot attend live?

Register anyway. The report and approved post-event materials will be sent to the registered email after the conference.

Is this an online or in-person event?

IEX 2026 is a global online conference produced from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Can I attend only selected panels?

Yes. One registration covers the full program; join the conversations most relevant to you.

Are all speakers confirmed?

Speaker announcements will be published only after confirmation. Invited experts are never presented as confirmed participants.

One report · Five panels · One next decision

Register once. Use the materials on your schedule.

October 28, 2026 · Global online conference · Free access

Register free
Torian Richardson
MODERATOR

Torian Richardson

CEO, DBR77 USA

Torian Richardson is a CEO, board director, investor, and builder whose work sits at the intersection of technology, transformation, and human potential. Across more than 25 years, he has led global teams, advised growing companies, and helped organizations navigate moments where strategy, talent, technology, and uncertainty collide. A former global director at NVIDIA, he now serves as CEO of DBR77 USA, where he is helping build the future of embedded AI, enterprise transformation, and industrial intelligence.

Clark Fritzsch

Clark Fritzsch

3580 Partners

Clark is a dual U.S.-German citizen based in Charlotte whose work sits at the intersection of logistics and supply-chain operations, enterprise technology, and practical AI adoption for mid-sized companies. Over 15 years, he has built and reworked supply chains, implemented enterprise systems, and operated across the U.S. and Europe. His current work includes helping European, particularly German-speaking, companies establish themselves in the U.S. Southeast and advising SMEs on where AI can create real operational value rather than simply another technology project.

Duane Kennedy

Duane Kennedy

CEO, CoreVector Systems

Duane is CEO of CoreVector Systems and founder of Kennedy Capital, with more than 20 years of experience building global partner ecosystems and closing $3 billion in commercial agreements. He spent 14 years working in Shanghai, advising U.S. and international enterprises on market entry, regulatory navigation, and deal structuring, and is fluent in English and Mandarin. Today, his work focuses on helping healthcare, biotech, and manufacturing companies navigate cross-border AI, data-residency, sovereignty, and compliance requirements while making technology architecture decisions that support global growth.

Matthias Krinke

Matthias Krinke

Managing Director, pi4_robotics

Dipl.-Ing. (Univ.) Matthias Krinke is the founder, owner and managing director of the Berlin-based companies pi4_robotics and Robozän. Founded in March 1994, pi4 specializes in automated optical inspection and AI-powered robotics solutions for factory automation. Since 2010, the company has also been developing and building service and humanoid robots for applications in manufacturing, security and care. With Robozän, he launched Germany’s first Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) company.

Jerry Perez

Jerry Perez

Manager – Business Development, FANUC America

Jerry Perez is Business Development Manager at FANUC, with more than 25 years of experience advancing robotics across defense, automotive, electronics, and medical device manufacturing.

His work focuses on Physical AI, intelligent automation, and the business strategies required to move new technologies from pilot programs to scalable adoption. Jerry has experience designing turnkey robotic systems and advising organizations on automation roadmaps, workforce development, ecosystem partnerships, and successful implementation.

He earned a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Michigan and lives in Royal Oak, Michigan, with his partner and two children.

Tomasz Wierzchowski

Tomasz Wierzchowski

Co-Founder & CEO, Contact Intelligence Labs

Tomasz is a serial deep tech entrepreneur, product and technology leader and strategic advisor building scalable technology, successful products, world-class teams and category-defining companies in Frontier Robotics, Autonomous Systems and Physical AI. His portfolio spans 10+ robotics products across industrial inspection, construction, manufacturing, agriculture and consumer sectors, 6+ of them on the market, and 4 CES Innovation Awards.

Over 15 years he has delivered safety-critical autonomous systems and robotics solutions from architecture design through NPD and NPI to manufacturing and scaling. He established and scaled the Robotics & Autonomous Systems business unit at Bosch Group, shipped the world’s first mass-produced VSLAM robots at Dyson Robotics, engineered defence-adjacent Class I VTOL UAV platforms at Aerialtronics (acquired by Destinus), and served as CTO, Head of Engineering and Advisory Board Member across robotics ventures including HayBeeSee, Emotech, Oculo and MoonXcribe. He holds an MEng in Robotics & Control from Cranfield University, with a postgraduate, defence-oriented specialization in Autonomous Vehicle Dynamics & Control.

Forrest Rogers-Marcovitz

Forrest Rogers-Marcovitz

Principal Robotics Engineer, Sereact

Forrest Rogers-Marcovitz is a Principal Robotics Engineer at Sereact, focused on Physical AI deployments of picking stations and dual-arm manipulation across Europe and North America. He has spent nearly two decades turning sensor data into reliable robot behavior. At Locus Robotics, he led the planning and controls team that took the Array mobile manipulation system from concept to customer deployment for warehouse piece picking. Before that, he led motion-algorithm teams at KUKA, Rethink Robotics, Carnegie Mellon’s National Robotics Engineering Center. As a Physical AI consultant, he benchmarks vision-language-action models, world models and agentic AI for manufacturing and logistics companies. He holds an MS in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon.

Norbert Majerus

Norbert Majerus

Lean Champion, norbert majerus consulting

Beginning in 2005, Norbert implemented a principles-based lean product development process at the three global innovation centers of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. For more than a decade he was Goodyear’s lean champion in research and development.

In 2016, Norbert published his first book, Lean-Driven Innovation, which received the Shingo Research Award. Also in 2016, with Norbert’s guidance the Goodyear R&D organization applied for and received the AME Excellence Award. Norbert published his second book, Winning Innovation in 2022.

Norbert, born and raised in Luxembourg, has a Master’s degree in Chemistry from the Universitaet des Saarlandes, Saarbruecken, Germany, and worked most of the disciplines in the Goodyear innovation centers in Luxembourg and Akron.

Norbert has taught workshops and has spoken at many conferences in the United States and other countries. Since retiring from Goodyear in 2017, he continues to share his extensive lean expertise via norbert majerus consulting, as a Fellow of the Shingo Institute at Utah State University and a lecturer at Nichols College.

Piotr Wiśniewski, Ph.D.

Piotr Wiśniewski, Ph.D.

Global CEO, DBR77

Piotr Wiśniewski, Ph.D., is the founder and global CEO of DBR77.com, where he leads the company in process automation for various businesses through innovative digital transformation solutions. He is also a lecturer on digital transformation in MBA programs and a regular contributor to reputable business magazines.

Piotr has extensive experience in leadership and strategic management. He served as CEO of the Maflow Group, overseeing plants in many countries and leading strategic initiatives that significantly improved operational efficiency and financial performance. He also served as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Hutmen S.A. and President of the Management Board of Boryszew S.A. Elana Branch in Toruń.

He holds a PhD in management from the Poznań University of Economics (2005-2009). He also completed the General Management Program at Harvard Business School (2015-2016) and a master's degree in financial management at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun (1996-2001).

Randy Kesterson

Randy Kesterson

CEO, Kesterson Group, Inc.

Randy Kesterson has spent nearly five decades helping manufacturing organizations improve operational performance. His experience spans nearly 50 companies, including executive leadership, interim executive, and senior advisory roles.

Author of three books, including the forthcoming Integrating AI into Lean: How to Drive Smarter Continuous Improvement (Routledge/Productivity Press), Randy is a strong advocate for practical AI applications in manufacturing.

His philosophy: Start with the business problem, not the technology. Humans are the pilots; AI is the copilot — not the autopilot.

Bartłomiej Straszak
MODERATOR

Bartłomiej Straszak

Chief Operating Officer, DBR77

Bartłomiej Straszak is Chief Operating Officer of DBR77. His career includes roles as a Senior Consultant at McKinsey & Company and a Process and Product Engineer at Autoneum Holding AG, giving him extensive experience in consulting, management strategy and engineering.

He holds a Master of Science in Nanotechnology from École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay, a Master of Science in Materials Engineering from Wrocław University of Science and Technology, and a Master's degree in Production Management from WSB University in Poznań.

Pawel Mroczkowski

Pawel Mroczkowski

Executive Director Western Europe, DBR77

Pawel Mroczkowski is Executive Director for Western Europe and Asia at DBR77 and Managing Director of DBR77 GmbH in Berlin, where he oversees strategic development in Western Europe, daily business operations and digital transformation consulting.

An experienced entrepreneur and executive, he co-founded and led several companies in Poland and Germany in production, retail, services and crafts, and was closely involved in the digital transformation of their processes.

He studied at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in Maastricht, earned an MBA at Hult International Business School, and completed the General Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Dr. Kiryl Rudy

Dr. Kiryl Rudy

Chief Global/Government Relations Officer, Andersen Lab

Kiryl advises companies, investors, and institutions at the intersection of IT, AI, geopolitics, government relations, international trade, finance, and education, bringing more than 25 years of global experience across government, finance, technology, and international markets.