Professor Evangelos Papadopoulos speaks on Greece’s First Public Radio Program
10-04-2025
In an insightful interview given on the program “Geopolis” with journalist Dimitris Fanariotis on the First Program of Hellenic Radio, Professor Evangelos Papadopoulos from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) presented HERON, the first Greek Center of Excellence in Robotics. As Professor Papadopoulos emphasized, HERON aims to become a powerful hub for the development of robotics in Greece. He also noted that the Center of Excellence in Robotics is not limited to research alone, but includes parallel activities such as the operation of a maker space state-of-the-art laboratory equipped with 3D printers, software, electronics, and other tools that enable the realization of robotic ideas.
The professor also spoke about the technological challenges that robots continue to face, as well as the promising prospects within the robotics sector, highlighting the strong link between robotics and artificial intelligence.
Thanks to HERON’s funding, Greece aims to develop three key areas in robotics:
- Safety & Security Robotics
- Field Robotics (for agriculture, marine environments, and archaeology)
- Healthcare Robotics (e.g., robots that support people requiring enhanced care)
In fact, as he revealed, a quadruped robot is already under development—designed to move through cultivated fields, record images and video, and provide agronomists with alerts about potential issues.
In closing, Professor Papadopoulos expressed optimism about the future of robotics, stating that as technology advances and robots become more capable, they will increasingly be able to take on roles, especially in environments or tasks that are particularly demanding for humans.
The HERON project is funded by the Widening “Teaming for Excellence” program under the European Union’s Horizon Europe initiative. Its objective is to establish Greece’s first Center of Excellence in Robotics, promoting the science and technology of robotics in the modern era of artificial intelligence, in combination with industrial innovation.
Listen to Professor Evangelos Papadopoulos’ interview here
Learn more about HERON – The Hellenic Robotics Center of Excellence