ROSConUK Community Builder

A 90-minute evening opening of the ROSConUK exhibition hall at Pollock Halls to the wider community, with no conference ticket required. Sponsors show working robots on the stands, and ROSConUK delegates are in the room and willing to talk — which is the real draw, since the conference itself is paid and mostly sold to professionals. The organisers state that all experience levels are welcome, from robotics professionals and academics to hobbyists, and that under-18s must be accompanied. Free, from 17:00. Why go: it is the only free way into the UK's main robotics conference, and standing in front of a working robot with the person who built it beats any talk. Best for students, hobbyists and engineers curious about robotics, and for anyone in Edinburgh who wants to see what the field looks like up close before committing to it.