greece
Algorithms
Data Science
Artificial Intelligence
Title: Foundation Models in Robotics
Speaker: Asst. Prof. Georgios Th. Papadopoulos (Harokopio University of Athens, Greece)
Abstract: The recent introduction of the so-called Foundation Models (FM), i.e. large-scale machine learning models (typically neural network architectures) that have been constructed using vast amounts of (multi-modal) training data and which can be applicable to a wide range of different/diverse tasks, has revolutionized research and technological solution development in the broader field of AI and beyond. The current talk will focus on how FMs are shaping research and development activities in the particular field of robotics. Specifically, the fundamental considerations and key benefits behind the use of FMs in robotics, as well as a brief overview of the recent research in the field, will be initially discussed. Additionally, a detailed discussion regarding the main robotic FM learning methodologies will be provided (namely pre-training, fine-tuning, reinforcement learning and imitation learning), along with the main strengths and limitations of each category of methods. Moreover, key FM-based methods for various robotics tasks (e.g. perception, natural language instructions, reasoning, and control) will be outlined. The talk will conclude with a summary of the current challenges and future research directions in the field.
Short Biography: Georgios Th. Papadopoulos received the M.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, in 2005 and 2011, respectively. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Informatics and Telematics of the Harokopio University of Athens, Greece. His research interests include computer vision, machine/deep learning, robotics and artificial intelligence. He has more than 100 publications in international academic conferences and scientific journals. He has over 20 years of experience in participating to EU-funded R&I projects in the areas of ICT, security and robotics. He is a member of the IEEE and the Technical Chamber of Greece
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To position Greece as a leading player in AI and Data Science
To build an AI Excellence Hub in Greece where the international research community can connect, groundbreaking ideas can thrive, and the next generation of scientists emerges, shaping a brighter future for Greece and the world
Welcome to ARCHIMEDES, a vibrant research hub connecting the global AI and Data Science research community fostering groundbreaking research in Greece and beyond. Its dedicated core team, comprising lead researchers, affiliated researchers, Post-Docs, PhDs and interns, is committed to advancing basic and applied research in Artificial Intelligence and its supporting disciplines, including Algorithms, Statistics, Learning Theory, and Game Theory organized around 8 core research areas. By collaborating with Greek and Foreign Universities and Research Institutes, ARCHIMEDES disseminates its research findings fostering knowledge exchange and providing enriching opportunities for students. Leveraging AI to address real-world challenges, ARCHIMEDES promotes innovation within the Greek ecosystem and extends its societal impact. Established in January 2022, as a research unit of the Athena Research Center with support from the Committee Greece 2021, ARCHIMEDES is funded for its first four years by the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
Archimedes Academic Fellow and a third-year PhD student at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece, Andreas Lolos recently travelled to Tucson in Arizona, USA, and presented the paper "SGPMIL: Sparse Gaussian Process Multiple Instance Learning" at the IEEE/CVF Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision (WACV 2026).
The Archimedes research unit of the Athena Research Center in Greece has six papers accepted at this year's International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR) gathering, including one oral presentation. The acceptance rate for posters was about 25,8% and about 1,1% for oral presentations. Please bear in mind that ICLR, along with NeurIPS and ICML, is considered one of the three top-tier artificial intelligence and machine learning conferences in the world.
Georgios Papasotiropoulos, a former intern of the Archimedes unit of the Athena Research Center, Greece, received the Hellenic Artificial Intelligence Society's (EETN) Best Doctoral Thesis Award for the year 2025. His doctoral thesis was on "Algorithmic and Game-Theoretic Aspects of Computational Social Choice" and his supervisor was Vangelis Markakis, a Professor at the Department of Informatics of the Athens University of Economics & Business (AUEB), Greece and a Lead Researcher at the Archimedes research unit in AI, Data Sciences, and Algorithms of the Athena Research Center in Athens, Greece.
On Monday 16 February, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, at the Archimedes Amphitheatre (1 Artemidos Street, 15125, Marousi, Archimedes, Athena Research Center, Greece), Professor Nikos Paragios, Distinguished Professor of Mathematics, University of Paris-Saclay, France, and Chief Executive and Technical Officer, TheraPanacea, Paris, France, will deliver an Archimedes Seminar on "Seeing the Invisible - Doing the Impossible: AI-powered diagnosis, treatment and beyond".
On Wednesday, 11 February 2026, the Ambassador of Australia to Greece, Mrs. Alison Duncan, visited the Archimedes Research Unit at the Athena Research Center in Greece and had a very productive meeting with Professor Timos Sellis, Director of the Archimedes Research Unit.
The project “ARCHIMEDES Unit: Research in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Algorithms” with code OPS 5154714 is implemented by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0” and is funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
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