Biography:Dominik Boesl

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Dominik Bösl
Portrait of Dominik Bösl
Bösl in 2019
Other namesDominik Boesl; Dominik B. O. Boesl
OccupationComputer scientist; robotics executive; epistemologist; professor
EmployerHochschule der Bayerischen Wirtschaft; Technical University of Munich
Known forRobotic Governance; Robotic Natives; 4 Robotic Revolutions

Dominik Bösl (also published as Dominik B. O. Boesl and Dominik Bosl) is a German computer scientist, robotics executive, epistemologist and academic.[1][2][3] He is professor of Business Informatics at the University of Applied Sciences of the Bavarian Economy (Hochschule der Bayerischen Wirtschaft, HDBW) in Munich, adjunct professor at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) at the TUM Institute of Lifelong Learning, and founder & CEO of the Innomancer Thinktank.[4][5]

Bösl’s research and public writing focus on the societal implications of robotics, automation and artificial intelligence, including robotic governance, robotic natives and the four-phase model of robotics evolution known as the 4 Robotic Revolutions.[6][7]

Early life and education

Bösl graduated with distinction from the historic humanistic Gymnasium bei Sankt Anna. The school lists him as one of their noteworthy alumni.[8] Consecutively, he studied computer science at the University of Augsburg with a minor in philosophy, graduating with distinction.[9] He later earned an MBA from the University of Augsburg and an Executive MBA from the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business.[10][11]

Career

Bösl began his professional career in 1999 at Siemens ICN and Fujitsu-Siemens Computers before joining Microsoft Germany (2004 - 2011), where he held management positions in partner satisfaction, national developer-evangelism and academic-outreach programs.[12]

From 2011 to end of 2018, Bösl held various leadership positions at KUKA AG, including Principal Corporate Innovation Manager[2] and Vice President of Consumer Driven Robotics. In his capacity as a Technical Fellow for Digitalization and Industry 4.0 strategy (“Apps, Cloud & IoT”)[13] he defined the corporation’s digitalization strategy, specifically overseeing its positioning within the Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) landscapes. He represented the company in national and international bodies, such as the OPC Foundation,[13] the Platform Industry 4.0, and the IEEE, where he served as Chair of the IEEE TechEthics Ad Hoc Committee.[14]

Bösl co-managed the market launch of the LBR iiwa, which was recognized as the first industrially certified robot safe for direct human-robot collaboration (HRC)[15][16]. His work contributed to establishing the safety standards that allowed for the subsequent growth of the collaborative robotics market.[17] Additionally, he was responsible for the group’s technology assessment and future trends research.[2]

As an early proponent of service robotics, Bösl established and led the Consumer Driven Robotics business unit prior to the sector’s mainstream adoption.[18] These efforts culminated in the public presentation of the KUKA i-do, a modular service robot prototype designed to function as an open platform.[19] While the concept was not mass-produced by KUKA, its modular platform approach anticipated later developments in the consumer robotics industry.

Between 2019 and until the end of 2020 he was Vice President and Head of Robotics at Festo AG, overseeing five international R&D centers and a budget exceeding €20 million.[20][21][22] His department focused on the development of the first pneumatic cobot, the Festo BionicCobot.[23][24]

From January 2022 to December 2023 he held a mandate as interim Chief Technology Officer and Managing Director of Micropsi Industries, a Berlin-based AI and robotics startup.[3]

Since 2019 Bösl has been Professor of Business Informatics at HDBW in Munich, where he teaches digital transformation, AI and automation. He has taught at the Technical University of Munich since 2011 and was appointed Adjunct Professor at the TUM Institute for LifeLong Learning in June 2025.[5] He is also founder and CEO of the Innomancer Thinktank, specializing in technology foresight and innovation ethics, the Robotics & AI Governance Foundation and the global Sustainable Robotics Thinktank. [6][25]

Professional service and public engagement

From January 2016 to December 2018 Bösl served as Vice President for Industrial Activities of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society.[26][27] Between April 2017 and April 2022 he was global Chair of the IEEE TechEthics Initiative,[28][29] representing the IEEE’s ethics program worldwide.[30][31] He continues to serve on the IEEE RAS Industrial Activities Board, as a IEEE TechEthics Ambassador, on the IEEE International Roamapping Committee (IRUG)[32] and on the IEEE SmartVillage Board as Governing Board Member.

Bösl is also a member of an expert group at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), advising on the impact of AI and robotics on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. He has served as panelist at the UN STI Forum and advises several governments and international organizations on technology policy.[12][33]

Research and ideas

Bösl has advocated for robotic governance,[34] a framework for multi-stakeholder dialogue and voluntary self-regulation around robotics and AI, developed through the Robotic & A.I. Governance Foundation and related workshops.[35] Together with Bernd Liepert, he proposed the 4 Robotic Revolutions [36] model and presented it in his plenary keynote at IROS 2016 [37], describing the evolution from caged industrial robots to collaborative, mobile and perceptive systems analogue to the development of mainstream computing.[38]

Since 2019, Bösl has led the Global Delphi Study on the Future of Robotics & AI (Robotics 2050+), a long-term research initiative supported by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. The study aims to establish a neutral, globally recognized, and diverse database of expert opinions to inform international roadmapping efforts and provide a holistic view of the future of robotics and AI through 2050 and beyond.[39][40][41] The initiative, which Bösl continues to advance as part of his adjunct professorship at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), consults over 200 international experts to mitigate bias in technological forecasting.[5] Findings from the study contribute to broader governance discussions, including those within the IEEE International Roadmap Committee (IRUG).[32][42]

At HDBW Bösl coordinated APOLLO, a German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)-funded project within the INVITE program[43] to develop an AI-based companion app for lifelong learning and skills mapping. The project had a funding framework of €6.4 million and ran for 39 months, concluding in December 2024.[44][45]

Selected publications

  • Boesl, Dominik B.O.; Liepert, Bernd (2016). "4 Robotic Revolutions – Proposing a holistic phase model describing future disruptions in the evolution of robotics and automation and the rise of a new Generation 'R' of Robotic Natives". In: Proceedings of the 2016 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Daejeon, Korea. doi:10.1109/IROS.2016.7759209.
  • Haidegger, T., Mai, V., Mörch, C., Boesl, D. B. O., Jacobs, A., Rao R., B., Khamis, A., Lach, L., & Vanderborght, B. (2023). Robotics: Enabler and Inhibitor of the Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 43, 422-434. doi:10.1016/j.spc.2023.11.011
  • Boesl, Dominik B.O.; Bode, Martina (2016). "Generation 'R' – Why our grandchildren will grow up as the first generation of 'Robotic Natives'". In: IEEE EmergiTech 2016.
  • Boesl, Dominik B.O.; Achtenberg, T.; Bergler, L. (2023). "Foundations for the Development of an AI-based, Platform-independent Companion-app for Lifelong Learning-Optimization (APOLLO)". In: Zinke-Wehlmann, C. (ed.), AIDRST 2023. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-43705-3_9.

References

  1. ↑ "Streichel mich, sonst ersetz ich dich (EN: Pet me or I will replace you)" (in de). https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/streichel-mich-sonst-ersetz-ich-dich-14084129.html. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "KUKA-Innovationsmanager Dominik Bösl: "Innovativ zu sein, kann man lernen" (Kuka-Innovation-Manager Dominik Boesl: Being innovative can be acquired) - Profile on Dominik Boesl on CIO Magazine" (in de). CIO (IDG). 2014. https://www.cio.de/article/3676629/innovativ-zu-sein-kann-man-lernen.html. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Robotics Trailblazer Dominik Boesl Joins Micropsi Industries as Managing Director". 15 March 2022. https://www.automation.com/en-us/articles/march-2022/robotics-trailblazer-dominik-boesl-joins-micropsi. 
  4. ↑ "HDBW–Professor Dominik Bösl: Akademisches Profil (Prof. Dominik Boesl's Academic Profile)" (in de). https://www.hdbw-hochschule.de/studium/professorinnen-und-dozentinnen/prof-dominik-boesl. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "TUM Institute for LifeLong Learning – Adjunct Prof. Dominik B.O. Bösl". June 2025. https://www.msl.mgt.tum.de/rm/team/research-associates/prof-dr-dominik-boesl/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Robotic & A.I. Governance Foundation". https://www.roboticgovernance.com/. 
  7. ↑ Boesl, Dominik B.O.; Liepert, Bernd (2016). "4 Robotic Revolutions - proposing a holistic phase model describing future disruptions in the evolution of robotics and automation and the rise of a new Generation 'R' of Robotic Natives". 2016 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). pp. 1262–1267. doi:10.1109/IROS.2016.7759209. ISBN 978-1-5090-3762-9. 
  8. ↑ "Gymnasium bei St. Anna (Augsburg)" (in de), Wikipedia, 2025-11-14, https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gymnasium_bei_St._Anna_(Augsburg)&oldid=261539477, retrieved 2026-01-04 
  9. ↑ "Microsoft Student Program goes Uni Augsburg" (in de). https://www.rz.uni-augsburg.de/info/connect/2006-01/msp/. 
  10. ↑ "EMVA Business Conference – Speakers (Bio)". https://bc-2024.emva.b2match.io/page-4131. 
  11. ↑ MBA Augsburg (2017-07-14). MBA-Teilnehmer erzählen: Interview mit Dominik Bösl - Universität Augsburg. Retrieved 2026-01-05 – via YouTube.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Mr. Dominik Boesl | Department of Economic and Social Affairs". https://sdgs.un.org/panelists/mr-dominik-boesl-32992. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Zahorsky, Ira (2015-04-20). "Microsoft: Industrie 4.0 ist die Jahrhundertchance für Deutschland (Microsoft: Industrie 4.0 will be the Chance of the Century of Germany)" (in de). https://www.it-business.de/microsoft-industrie-40-ist-die-jahrhundertchance-fuer-deutschland-a-486461/. 
  14. ↑ "2020 VIC Summit and HC Recap" (in en-US). https://corporate-awards.ieee.org/event/2020-vics-and-hc-recap/. 
  15. ↑ Diez-Holz, Lisa (2019-09-30). "Europa führend beim Einsatz von Industrierobotern (Europe's leading role in the application of industrial robots)" (in de). https://www.ingenieur.de/technik/fachbereiche/automation/deutschland-fuehrend-einsatz-industrierobotern/. 
  16. ↑ "DLR – Success Story Lightweight Robot LBR" (in en). https://www.dlr.de/en/images/2022/03/success-story-lightweight-robot-lbr. 
  17. ↑ Import, M. V. S. (2023-11-16). "Micropsi Industries und Fraunhofer IFF kooperieren im Bereich Industrierobotik (Micropsi Industries and Fraunhofer IFF announce cooperation in the domain of industrial robotics)" (in de). https://industrieanzeiger.industrie.de/news/micropsi-industries-und-fraunhofer-iff-kooperieren-im-bereich-industrierobotik/. 
  18. ↑ Prier, Marc-Oliver (2017-08-22). "Interview mit Dominik Bösl Teil 1" (in de). Deutsche Unternehmerbörse. https://www.dub.de/newsinhalte/management/interview-mit-dominik-boesl-teil-1/. 
  19. ↑ Eitel, Lisa (2018-04-25). "LBR iisy cobot and mechatronics: KUKA at Hannover Messe 2018" (in en-US). https://www.therobotreport.com/lbr-iisy-easy-co-robot-and-mechatronics-kuka-at-hannover-messe-2018/. 
  20. ↑ "Team und Forschungsbeirat (Team and Scientific Advisory Board)" (in de). https://lswi.de/industrial-transformation-lab/ueber-uns/team-und-forschungsbeirat. 
  21. ↑ "2019 VICS and HC Recap" (in en-US). https://corporate-awards.ieee.org/event/past-vic-summits-2019/. 
  22. ↑ "IEEE Vision, Innovation & Challenges Summit & IEEE Awards Ceremony Program". 2019-05-17. https://corporate-awards.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/FINAL-IEEE-VIC-Brochure_-2019.pdf. 
  23. ↑ Import, M. V. S. (2022-05-19). "So will Festo mit seinem Pneumatik-Cobot punkten (This is how Festo wants to score with its pneumatic cobot)" (in de). https://automationspraxis.industrie.de/cobot/leicht-und-nachgiebig-festo-will-mit-pneumatik-cobot-punkten/. 
  24. ↑ "BionicCobot - Sensitive helper for human-robot collaboration". FESTO AG & Co. KG. https://www.festo.com/PDF_Flip/corp/Festo_BionicCobot/en/files/assets/common/downloads/Festo_BionicCobot_en.pdf. 
  25. ↑ Haidegger, T.; Mai, V.; Mörch, C. M.; Boesl, D. O.; Jacobs, A.; Rao R, B.; Khamis, A.; Lach, L. et al. (2023-12-01). "Robotics: Enabler and inhibitor of the Sustainable Development Goals". Sustainable Production and Consumption 43: 422–434. doi:10.1016/j.spc.2023.11.011. ISSN 2352-5509. Bibcode: 2023SusPC..43..422H. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352550923002634. 
  26. ↑ Burgard, Wolfram (December 2019). "Today's Youth Are Our Future Leaders [President's Message]". IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine 26 (4): 6–130. doi:10.1109/MRA.2019.2949185. ISSN 1070-9932. 
  27. ↑ Bosl, Dominik B.O. (December 2019). "Predicting the Future of Robotics and Making It Matter for Industry [Industry Activities]". IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine 26 (4): 128–130. doi:10.1109/MRA.2019.2949184. ISSN 1070-9932. 
  28. ↑ "SYP 2018 Porto". https://syp.ieee-pt.org/workshops.html. 
  29. ↑ Boesl, Dominik (November 2019). "Disruption Cannot be Planned! On Robotics, Automation, Flying Cars and Smart Digital Solutions: PLENARY PAPER". 2019 IEEE 19th International Symposium on Computational Intelligence and Informatics and 7th IEEE International Conference on Recent Achievements in Mechatronics, Automation, Computer Sciences and Robotics (CINTI-MACRo). IEEE. pp. 000111–000112. doi:10.1109/CINTI-MACRo49179.2019.9105248. ISBN 978-1-7281-5625-5. 
  30. ↑ "IEEE TechEthics Conversations Series features RAS VP Dominik Boesl". 26 April 2018. https://www.ieee-ras.org/about-ras/latest-news/ieee-techethics-conversations-series-features-ras-vp-dominik-boesl. 
  31. ↑ "Ethical Considerations 200 Years After Frankenstein: IEEE TechEthics Virtual Panel | IEEETV" (in en). 2018-05-10. https://ieeetv.ieee.org/technology/ethical-considerations-200-years-after-frankenstein-ieee-techethics-conversations-series,%20https://ieeetv.ieee.org/technology/ethical-considerations-200-years-after-frankenstein-ieee-techethics-conversations-series. 
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 "IEEE Technology Roadmaps Committee (IRC) & IEEE IRUG". IEEE. https://roadmaps.ieee.org/about/. 
  33. ↑ "Special event: Digital Cooperation in the Decade of Action – Mr. Dominik Boesl". 2021. https://sdgs.un.org/panelists/mr-dominik-boesl-32992. 
  34. ↑ Ostrowski, Anastasia K.; Walker, Raechel; Das, Madhurima; Yang, Maria; Breazea, Cynthia; Park, Hae Won; Verma, Aditi (August 2022). "Ethics, Equity, & Justice in Human-Robot Interaction: A Review and Future Directions". 2022 31st IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN). pp. 969–976. doi:10.1109/RO-MAN53752.2022.9900805. ISBN 978-1-7281-8859-1. 
  35. ↑ "Robotic & A.I. Governance Foundation". https://www.roboticgovernance.com/. 
  36. ↑ Boesl, Dominik B.O.; Liepert, Bernd (2016). "4 Robotic Revolutions – Proposing a holistic phase model...". 2016 IEEE/RSJ Iros: 1262–1267. doi:10.1109/IROS.2016.7759209. 
  37. ↑ "IROS2016" (in en). http://iros2016.org/plenaries_and_keynotes.html. 
  38. ↑ Vasconez, Juan P.; Kantor, George A.; Auat Cheein, Fernando A. (2019-03-01). "Human–robot interaction in agriculture: A survey and current challenges". Biosystems Engineering 179: 35–48. doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2018.12.005. ISSN 1537-5110. Bibcode: 2019BiSyE.179...35V. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1537511017309625. 
  39. ↑ "Delphi Study Robotics: Status in 2021". IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine 28 (1): 6. March 2021. doi:10.1109/MRA.2021.3052112. ISSN 1558-223X. 
  40. ↑ Bösl, Dominik B. O. (December 2019). "Predicting the Future of Robotics and Making It Matter for Industry". IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine (IEEE) 26 (4): 128–130. doi:10.1109/MRA.2019.2947620. 
  41. ↑ "Robotics 2050+: Global Delphi Study". https://www.robotics2050.org. 
  42. ↑ Lee, Ho (2022-11-30). "Robotics 4.0 : Challenges and Opportunities in the 4th Industrial Revolution". Journal of Internet Services and Information Security 12 (4): 39–55. doi:10.58346/JISIS.2022.I4.003. https://jisis.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/I4.003.pdf. 
  43. ↑ "INVITE Toolcheck - Project Report of the INVITE Funding Program" (in de). https://www.invite-toolcheck.de/html/de/English.php. 
  44. ↑ "APOLLO (INVITE) – Aktuelle Forschungsprojekte der HDBW" (in de). https://www.hdbw-hochschule.de/hochschule/forschungskooperationen/aktuelle-forschungsprojekte. 
  45. ↑ Boesl, Dominik B.O.; Achtenberg, Teresa; Bergler, Lisa (2023). "Foundations for the Development of an AI-based, Platform-independent Companion-app for Lifelong Learning-Optimization (APOLLO)". AIDRST 2023 – Artificial Intelligence Development for a Resilient and Sustainable Tomorrow. Informatik aktuell. Springer. pp. 117–127. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-43705-3_9. ISBN 978-3-658-43704-6. 



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