Wijkbots in the wild at two events

This week, Wijkbot is present in different forms at two events, one in Amsterdam and one in Delft.

ESConference, Amsterdam, 11-13 February 2026

The Wijkbot Kit 2.0 is part of the ESC conference exhibition, the annual conference of the Expertisenetwork Systemic Co-Design*, held 11-13 February at Pakhuis de Zwijger, Amsterdam. Wijkbot has received funding from the ESCall program to refine its existing knowledge product, the Wijkbot Kit. In that project, we expanded the workshop to place greater emphasis on the contextual aspects and second-order effects of introducing wijkbots in existing neighborhoods or communities. We've written about this project previously.

Highlight Festival, Delft, 11-14 February 2026

The Highlight Festival** in Delft (11-14 February) is themed "Robo-futures" this year—a fitting context for the Labkar, a mobile robot derived from the Wijkbot concept and developed as part of the Sociaal AI Lab in Rotterdam by Creating010 (Hogeschool Rotterdam). It will be around in Delft at Leeuwenhoek park and —in case of bad weather— in The Social Hub, both next to NS Station Delft.

We invite visitors to consider what roles a neighborhood robot might play on the streets of Delft.

Hoodbots (Wijkbots) are experimental urban robots developed within the Civic Prototyping research group at the Research Centre Creating010 (Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences). These AI-speaking vehicles roam public space to spark unexpected encounters and ask big questions: Who owns robots in our streets? Who takes care of them? And how do we want to live alongside them?

*The Expertisenetwork Systemic Co-design (ESC) connects four metropolitan universities of applied sciences, six design research groups, and 38 societal and design partners. As a leader in systemic and design-oriented work, ESC has a direct and indirect impact at the intersection of practice-oriented design research, design professionalization, societal transitions, and education.

**Now in its ninth year, Highlight Festival transforms Delft into a playground for art and technology. Each edition brings together artists, designers, engineers, and researchers to create site-specific installations across the city. From light and sound to robotics and data, and research and fine art, the festival invites visitors to explore innovation and creativity in unexpected ways, not just as spectators, but as active participants in shaping the future.