ROSCon BE 2026

ROSCon BE 2026 is the first-ever Belgian edition of the regional Robot Operating System developer conference, taking place on 25 and 26 November 2026 in Nivelles, Belgium. Held at ID2MOVE within the Cap Innove complex south of Brussels, this two-day event gathers ROS developers of all levels, from beginners to experts, for an intensive programme of learning, hands-on work, and networking with the emerging Belgian and wider European ROS community.

A new regional chapter for ROS in Belgium

ROSCon is the international conference for the open-source ROS robotics framework, held globally every year since 2012. Alongside the flagship event, regional ROSCons have grown to serve local communities in their own language and time zone, and 2026 marks Belgium's debut on that map. ROSCon BE is organised by a team from Belgian robotics company Botronics, working under the umbrella of the Open Source Robotics Foundation, and is explicitly framed as a developers' conference: the goal is to give ROS practitioners a practical, community-built space rather than a product showcase. For roboticists in Belgium, the Benelux, and neighbouring countries, it lowers the barrier to attending a dedicated ROS event without long-haul travel.

Programme, themes, and format

The two-day schedule blends technical talks, tutorials, and interactive workshops with panel discussions, lightning talks, and live demonstrations. Talks run in flexible 10, 20, or 45-minute slots, while workshops are built for deeper, participatory sessions between presenters and attendees. Because the content comes from the community's call for proposals, the agenda centres on ROS 2 and the practical realities of building robots with it. Invited topics include:

• New packages and frameworks, plus improvements and insights for existing ones
• Case studies of distinctive ROS deployments and real-world use cases
• Developments for specific robots, sensors, and platforms
• Competitions, collaborations, and community initiatives
• ROS in commercial, research, and teaching settings, plus standards and best practices

Lightning talks are also planned, offering a fast, informal way for community members to surface a tool or result. A social evening on 25 November, with an optional Belgian beer tasting, gives attendees space to network beyond the technical track, in keeping with ROSCon's collegial, open-source culture. Because this is the chapter's first outing, the organisers are actively soliciting talk and workshop proposals from across the region, and the resulting programme will be a snapshot of where Belgian robotics work currently sits, from academic research groups to commercial integrators deploying ROS-based systems in logistics, manufacturing, and inspection.

Who should attend and why this edition matters

ROSCon BE is aimed at robotics software engineers, researchers, students, and companies that build on ROS, and the organisers make a point of welcoming women, members of minority groups, and others under-represented in the field. The inaugural Belgian edition lands at a moment when ROS 2 has become the default middleware for a fast-growing automation and service-robotics sector across Europe, with mobile robots, manipulators, and autonomous platforms moving from pilots into production. Belgium's dense industrial and logistics base, alongside active university robotics groups, makes it a natural place to grow a local ROS community. Early sponsors including Botronics, brobotized, and Mosaico signal industry interest in seeing that ecosystem mature. Discussions around fleet coordination, perception, real-time control, and bridging classical ROS pipelines with newer machine-learning and embodied-AI components reflect where the broader robotics field is heading in 2026 and 2027. For developers used to following the global ROSCon online, a regional edition on their doorstep also makes it far easier to present work, recruit collaborators, and build the in-person relationships that keep an open-source ecosystem healthy.

Attending and registering

Tickets cover both days, with separate student, early-bird, and general categories, plus optional add-ons such as the social evening and beer tasting; full pricing and current availability are listed on the official ROSCon BE site rather than estimated here. The venue, ID2MOVE at Cap Innove on Rue de l'Industrie in Nivelles, offers free on-site parking and is reachable by direct train from Brussels Airport to Nivelles in around an hour, or roughly twenty minutes by car from Brussels South Charleroi Airport. Note that the official site confirms the conference runs 25-26 November 2026. As a community event, ROSCon BE depends on submitted talks and workshops, so the published programme reflects what Belgian and European developers chose to share. Prospective attendees should check the event website for the finalised schedule, registration deadlines, and travel details before booking.