EASE
EASE Collaborative Research Center is a DFG-funded, University of Bremen-hosted non-profit research center investigating how robotic agents can master everyday manipulation tasks, serving the scientific community, doctoral students, and industrial partners through open-source AI/robotics software and research outputs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersBremen, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What EASE does
EASE (Everyday Activity Science and Engineering) is a Collaborative Research Center (SFB 1320) hosted at the University of Bremen, Germany, established in 2017 and funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) for up to twelve years. The center investigates how robotic agents can master human-scale, routine manipulation tasks, operating an interdisciplinary research program across AI, robotics, and cognitive science organized into sixteen subprojects led by principal investigators including Michael Beetz (Speaker), Kerstin Schill (Vice Speaker), Gordon Cheng, Daniel Leidner, Carsten Lutz, Tanja Schultz, and Rolf Drechsler.
EASE's technical outputs are anchored in a portfolio of open-source software systems: the CRAM cognitive robot control framework, the KnowRob knowledge representation system, the SOMA semantic object model ontology, the RoboSherlock perception system, and ROSIntegration for game-engine/ROS interfacing, supported by a knowledge service and open-data platform called open EASE. The center pursues applied research areas such as runtime plan transformation, VR-based learning from human demonstration, self-training perceptual agents in photorealistic simulation, and affordance-based task execution, with selected outcomes including a reported 50% improvement in pick-and-place performance and successful sim-to-real transfer of trained perception models.
EASE's business model is that of a publicly funded non-profit research institution. Revenue is derived almost entirely from DFG core funding, supplementary BMBF project grants (TransAIR, ILIAS), the EUR 2.5M ERC Advanced Grant awarded in 2023, and EU H2020 participation (REFILLS). Distribution occurs through academic channels: open-source software, peer-reviewed publications, the EASE Fall School doctoral program (EUR 350 fee, negligible to top line), public outreach, and technology transfer via the EASE Innovation arm, with the University of Bremen serving as institutional host.
EASE firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- EASE
- Legal name
- EASE Collaborative Research Center
- Website
- https://ease-crc.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- EASE Collaborative Research Center is a DFG-funded, University of Bremen-hosted non-profit research center investigating how robotic agents can master everyday manipulation tasks, serving the scientific community, doctoral students, and industrial partners through open-source AI/robotics software and research outputs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where EASE is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bremen
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
EASE business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Research Funding: EASE is a Collaborative Research Center funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Established for up to 12 years, funded by DFG since 2017. Additional funding from BMBF for specific projects like TransAIR, ILIAS, REFILLS.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | EASE Fall School 2019 fee: 350 EUR |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
EASE product offering
Product offeringCore offering
EASE is an interdisciplinary Collaborative Research Center at the University of Bremen that conducts open research, training, data, and knowledge sharing focused on everyday activity science and engineering. Its core work involves designing, realizing, and analyzing information processing models that enable robotic agents to master complex everyday manipulation tasks. The center produces open-source software packages (CRAM, KnowRob, SOMA, RoboSherlock), educational programs (Fall School, Academy), and technology transfer services to industry.
Product overview
EASE (Everyday Activity Science and Engineering) is an interdisciplinary Collaborative Research Center at the University of Bremen focused on advancing robotics and AI for everyday manipulation tasks. The organization operates a multi-component ecosystem: open EASE serves as the primary platform for community-based initiatives including knowledge services and open-source software; EASE Academy provides educational programs through the Learning Hub and annual Fall School; EASE Innovation handles technology transfer; and EASE openLab shares research infrastructure. Core open-source products include CRAM (cognitive robot control), KnowRob (knowledge representation), SOMA (semantic object models), RoboSherlock (perception), and ROSIntegration (game engine interface). In 2025, EASE launched the Virtual Research Building as a new virtual collaboration platform. The center does not offer commercial products or APIs but produces research outputs and educational services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- open EASE: Platform for all community-based initiatives of EASE, including knowledge service, open-source software packages, open teaching and training projects
- EASE Innovation
- EASE Academy
- EASE openLab
- EASE Outreach
Products and services
- open EASE The main community-based platform of EASE providing a knowledge service, open-source software packages, open teaching and training projects, and cooperations for researchers in AI, robotics, and cognitive science.
- EASE Academy Educational division providing teaching and training opportunities for doctoral students, university classes, secondary education students, and teaching resources distributed online. Includes the EASE Learning Hub, Fall School, and Integrated Research Training Group.
- EASE Innovation Technology transfer service supporting the transfer of new technologies from research labs to real-world applications, including applied research, transfer projects, and industrial membership programs.
- EASE Fall School Annual intensive program for doctoral students to learn about cognition-enabled everyday activity robotics, AI, and robot manipulations through lectures and hands-on courses, held in Bremen.
- EASE Learning Hub
Quantifiable outcome
- 50% improvement in robot pick-and-place action performance
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use EASE
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
EASE technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability9 records
Feature6 records
EASE partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- CoAI Joint Research CentercoreThe CoAI Joint Research Center is based on successful research cooperation between three universities: Bielefeld, Bremen, and Paderborn. The center explores cognition-enabled AI in joint human-robot tasks following an interdisciplinary, community-based and open knowledge approach.
- ILIAS Project (Germany-Korea Cooperation)coreCooperation between Germany and South Korea funded by BMBF focusing on imitation learning from human demonstrations in VR for physical human-robot interaction in assistance tasks.
- TransAIR (Transatlantic AI-based Robotics)coreCooperation between Cluster for AI in Bremen and North America. German partners include BIBA, DFKI, Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg, CRC EASE. US partners include DWIH and Bertelsmann Foundation Northamerica. Funded by BMBF as part of Future of Work program.
- REFILLS Project (EU H2020)coreEU H2020 project 'Robotics Enabling Fully-Integrated Logistics Lines for Supermarkets'. CRC EASE collaborated on knowledge representation, plan-based control, and perception technology for mobile robotic systems in retail.
- Technical University of Munich (TUM)coreEASE PI Gordon Cheng from TU Munich focuses on neurorehabilitation through exoskeleton technologies. Collaboration on ERC Advanced Grant research.
- German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI)coreCollaboration through TransAIR project and other research initiatives in AI and robotics.
- CITEC BielefeldcoreCollaboration through CoAI Joint Research Center and EASE Fall School lecturer participation.
- DLR (German Aerospace Center)minorListed as cooperating partner institution, collaboration on robotics research.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
EASE competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems: Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems conducts foundational research in autonomous robotics, embodied AI, and perception — directly overlapping EASE's everyday manipulation agenda. Both are German government-funded research institutes with similar peer-reviewed output expectations and talent pipelines.
- German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI): DFKI is Germany's largest applied AI research center, working across robotics, knowledge representation, and cognitive systems. It is explicitly listed as an EASE collaborator (via TransAIR) and operates at a comparable scale with similar multi-institutional, government-funded research model, making it the closest direct peer.
- CITEC Bielefeld: CITEC is Bielefeld University's excellence research center on cognitive interaction technology, an explicit EASE partner via the CoAI Joint Research Center. It works on humanoid robotics, social cognition, and human-machine interaction — overlapping strongly with EASE's everyday-activity robotics focus.
- INRIA: INRIA is France's national computer science and applied mathematics research institute, with major teams in AI, robotics, and cognitive systems (e.g., CHROMA, LARSEN). It mirrors EASE's role as a publicly-funded, multi-site European research powerhouse producing open-source robotics tooling.
- ETH Zurich - Center for AI and Robotics: ETH Zurich hosts leading robotics and AI labs (Autonomous Systems Lab, ASL) working on manipulation, legged robots, and embodied AI. It is directly comparable to EASE in research scope, output quality, and its role as a European robotics thought leader.
- Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute: CMU Robotics Institute is a global leader in mobile manipulation, perception, and cognitive robotics. Its open-source contributions (e.g., ROS-Industrial, manipulation frameworks) overlap structurally with EASE's CRAM/KnowRob stack. Comparable scale, reputation, and government/industry funding mix.
- MIT CSAIL: MIT CSAIL conducts broad AI and robotics research including manipulation, planning, and human-robot interaction. Its scale, output volume, and prestige in robotics are directly comparable to EASE, and its open-source releases (e.g., in task planning and perception) compete for community adoption.
- Stanford AI Lab (SAIL): Stanford SAIL conducts foundational research in embodied AI, manipulation, and learning for robotics. Comparable in prestige, citation impact, and open-source contribution patterns to EASE, and a natural benchmark for academic robotics research excellence.
- UC Berkeley BAIR: Berkeley AI Research (BAIR) lab covers deep learning for robotics, manipulation, and vision, with strong open-source output. Comparable in scope to EASE for everyday manipulation AI research and in its role as a top-tier US robotics research entity.
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) - Institute of Robotics: KIT is a leading German technical university with major robotics research programs (e.g., H2T, IAR) on manipulation, humanoid robotics, and embodied AI. Comparable to EASE in geographic focus (Germany), public funding model, and contribution to European robotics research infrastructure.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
EASE social profiles
Digital presenceEASE financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
EASE leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
EASE funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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EASE M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about EASE
What does EASE do?
EASE is an interdisciplinary Collaborative Research Center at the University of Bremen that conducts open research, training, data, and knowledge sharing focused on everyday activity science and engineering. Its core work involves designing, realizing, and analyzing information processing models that enable robotic agents to master complex everyday manipulation tasks. The center produces open-source software packages (CRAM, KnowRob, SOMA, RoboSherlock), educational programs (Fall School, Academy), and technology transfer services to industry.
Is EASE a public or private company?
EASE is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was EASE founded?
EASE was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is EASE based?
EASE is headquartered in Bremen, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does EASE make money?
One revenue line is on record: research Funding.
Who are EASE's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), CITEC Bielefeld, INRIA, ETH Zurich - Center for AI and Robotics, Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute, MIT CSAIL, Stanford AI Lab (SAIL), UC Berkeley BAIR and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) - Institute of Robotics.
Does EASE have an API?
No public API is recorded for EASE.