Dominik Boesl

Dominik Boesl

• Futurist: expert in digital science, automation, and leadership
• Focuses on new technologies and their effect on humans and society
• Involved in the future of work and smart cities
• Supports entrepreneurship in a technological environment

Dominik Boesl, a Professor in Digital Sciences, Automation, and Leadership at the Hochschule der Bayerischen Wirtschaft in Germany, worked for FESTO AG & Co KG from January 2019 to December 2020. His time there as Vice President and Head of Robotic Features saw him lead the company’s robotics business unit and define its automation strategy.

Before FESTO, Dominic Boesl had been responsible for Innovation and Technology Management at KUKA. Upon joining, he took on the role of Head of Corporate Strategy. He also became a board member. In 2012, however, he became the Corporate Innovation Manager and took on the role of acting Vice President Consumer Driven Robotics and Senior Corporate Innovation Manager from January 2017 to December 2018.

His tenure at KUKA saw Dominik Boesl profoundly contribute to the group’s strategy on Apps, Cloud, and IoT.

Starting his career at Siemens in 1999, Dominik Boesl helped establish the company’s mobile ecosystem as we know it today. This he did by bringing the first UMTS broadcasting cell to market. He went on to join Microsoft in Germany in 2005.

While at Microsoft, Dominik Boesl held various leadership positions. Instead of moving to Seattle, USA, to pursue a leadership position in programme management at Microsoft, he opted to join the KUKA group.

Dominik Boesl is, these days, also engaged in the IEEE-SA Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in the Design for Autonomous Systems, the IEEE RAS FDC Incubation Project on Autonomous Systems and their Societal Impact, and the euRobotics Topic Group on Ethical, Social and Legal Implications (ESL) of Robotics, influencing the input to the European roadmaps. He also organises workshops on Technology and Robotics Governance and chairs the Annual IEEE IROS Futurist Forum.

Other positions currently held by Dominik Boesl include, amongst many others, Chair of the GLOBAL IEEE TechEthics ad-hoc Committee, VP for Industrial Activities of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, and a judge of innovation and start-up challenges at various events and forums.

With regards to his educational background, Dominik Boesl graduated with a diploma in Computer Science from the University of Augsburg, Germany, and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh in the USA. Besides his career in the private sector, he has also lectured at various universities. He is also the author of numerous technical and scientific publications. He is currently researching Technology, Robotics, and AI Governance at Munich Technical University. The plan, according to him, is to foster the interdisciplinary discourse about the impact of robotics and automation on society and humankind.

Dominik Boesl, Speaker

As a conference speaker, Dominik Boesl appears at over 100 events across the globe a year. Amongst these, he includes the USA, various European countries, Japan, Australia, Japan, China, and South Korea. He lives in Germany and speaks English and German.

Speaking Topics

• FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY / FUTURIST RESEARCH / (MEGA-)TREND RESEARCH: It is impossible to predict the future! Albeit one of the oldest desires of humankind, we still do not know for sure what will happen tomorrow. But grace to scientific methods, e.g. (mega-)trend analysis, is to estimate and extrapolate what is most likely to happen over the next two to five decades – from global warming, technological disruptions, ethical challenges, and economic crisis to societal progress.
• ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION / HUMAN ROBOT COLLABORATION / CONSUMER ROBOTICS: Robotics, Automation, and AI will change the world! Our grandchildren will grow up as the first-Generation R of Robotic Natives. And we are Robotic Immigrants – still with a very analogue background, but we will be witnesses of a huge disruption – first, the Digitalization and then the Automation of our world! Dominik is shaping the future of robotics – in industry and academia – since he joined KUKA and IEEE in 2011.
• TECHNOLOGY ETHICS / ROBO-ETHICS / AI ETHICS: Ever since the dawn of humankind, technology has been disrupting our lives. From fire, pottery, metalworking over mechanics, transistors to the internet, and robotics: technology is permeating all areas of our living realm! And within itself, it is neither „good“ nor „bad“ – it depends on what we use it for. As technological progress is getting faster, the ethical and moral aspects of technology need more attention, and transparent, educated public discourse is crucial to fostering sustainable and responsible innovation!
• INNOVATION MANAGEMENT / DESIGN THINKING / DISRUPTION: Everybody is hunting for disruptive innovation. Unfortunately, it cannot be „planned“ but only recognized as such in retrospect. Or could you have foreseen the disruptive power of cars, electricity, transistors, or the Internet? Luckily, there are methods to change mindsets and foster creative, user-centric – speak innovative – thinking. Design Thinking, Blue Ocean Strategy, Business Model Generation Canvas, Value Proposition Design, …, are only a few.
• (DEMYSTIFYING) TECHNOLOGICAL HYPE TOPICS: Gartner’s Hype Cycle is a great tool to identify technology trends – but also to debunk them. At the peak of the hype, everybody seems to be craving for a certain technology – without knowing about its ups or downsides. Blockchain, the Cloud, neural networks & deep learning, Robot Process Automation, Autonomous Driving, and E-Mobility are good examples. Learn more about how to demystify these trends and get back to the facts that matter.
• DIGITALIZATION / INDUSTRIE 4.0 / IOT / IIOT: Digitalization is already considered to be the new megatrend, which will affect and disrupt at least all areas of industrial manufacturing and production. Having shaped KUKA’s Industrie 4.0 strategy from the beginning and contributed to the Platform Industrie 4.0, Dominik can share a unique view on IoT from its early beginnings. Maybe, it is even more evolutionary than most people think, and we should not turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy…
• TECHNOLOGY GOVERNANCE / ROBOTIC & AI GOVERNANCE: Technologies like Robotics, Automation, and AI will change our world! They will have at least as much impact on people’s daily lives over the next 50 years as the internet and computers had on the last five decades. To foster sustainable and responsible innovation, the world needs governance structures to (self-)regulate technological progress. Educated discourse involving all kinds of stakeholders must be stoked to address peoples ‘questions and fears!
• FUTURE OF WORK / CITIES OF THE FUTURE / SMART MOBILITY: We are living in very interesting times! Never before has progress taken such an incredible pace. All parts of our daily lives are affected and will undergo fundamental change. Cities will transform into smart metropolitan areas, where industrial, recreational, and service zones start to blend. New mobility concepts will permeate, enrich and in some cases also challenge these areas. But the biggest change might loom in our work environment…
• ENTREPRENEURSHIP / INTRAPRENEURSHIP / STARTUP MINDSET: What makes a startup so successful? How can large enterprises learn from these „speedboats“? Is there a way, how to catch and transfer their entrepreneurial spirit into existing structures? These questions have been core to Dominik’s work at Microsoft, KUKA, and now Festo. Reach out if you want to hear his answer!
• IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON SOCIETY: Technology can improve our lives and make the world prosper. The same technology can also cast doom and perish onto whole societies. Why do people either tend to be excited or deeply afraid? What is the Hollywood effect? Dominik’s research in the domain of technology foresight has shed light on these questions.