BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Bits&Chips Event//Event app//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Bits&Chips Event 2026 – program BEGIN:VEVENT UID:cmvierf4i000ug8sygi0nokpr@bits-chips-event DTSTAMP:20261026T191858Z DTSTART:20261126T083000Z DTEND:20261126T091500Z SUMMARY:On our radar – navigating the future of defense technology LOCATION:Van der Valk Eindhoven-Best DESCRIPTION:Koen ten Hove (Thales Netherlands)\n\nKeynotes\n\nThe pace of technological change is no longer linear; it’s exponential\, systemic a nd deeply intertwined with geopolitics\, resilience and strategic advant age. As AI transforms defence\, Koen ten Hove\, CTO of Thales in the Net herlands\, will explore how innovation isn’t just about breakthroughs\, but about building ecosystems\, making bold choices and turning vision i nto impact.\n\nFrom AI-powered decision-making in complex military opera tions to accelerating engineering and documentation processes\, Thales i s at the forefront of shaping responsible defense technology. But true s trategic autonomy demands more than just cutting-edge tools; it requires focused investment in talent\, systemic integration and European collab oration to ensure sovereignty\, security and societal benefit.\n\nJoin u s as Ten Hove dives into the critical choices\, partnerships and technol ogies that will define the future of defense. A future where innovation isn’t just an option\, but a necessity for shaping tomorrow’s security l andscape. How do we prioritize? How do we scale? And how do we ensure th at the technologies we build today serve the missions of tomorrow? That’ s what’s on our radar.\n\nhttps://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/progra m/on-our-radar-navigating-the-future-of-defense-technology URL:https://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/on-our-radar-navigati ng-the-future-of-defense-technology END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:cmvierfy8000wg8syizy2dpui@bits-chips-event DTSTAMP:20261026T191858Z DTSTART:20261126T094500Z DTEND:20261126T102500Z SUMMARY:The future of combat unmanned ground systems (CUGS) LOCATION:Van der Valk Eindhoven-Best DESCRIPTION:Jochem Vlaardingerbroek (Ministry of Defense)\n\nDefense meet s high tech\n\nhttps://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/the-futur e-of-combat-unmanned-ground-systems-cugs URL:https://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/the-future-of-combat- unmanned-ground-systems-cugs END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:cmvierggu000xg8syd6kge4t6@bits-chips-event DTSTAMP:20261026T191858Z DTSTART:20261126T094500Z DTEND:20261126T102500Z SUMMARY:From systems architecture to service excellence – integrating ser vice requirements early to maximize lifecycle value LOCATION:Van der Valk Eindhoven-Best DESCRIPTION:Florian Loosen (Zeiss SMT)\n\nSystems engineering\n\nIn compl ex high-tech systems\, service excellence is often perceived as an opera tional challenge. In reality\, it’s largely determined long before a pro duct reaches the field. Critical capabilities such as maintainability\, diagnostics\, upgradeability\, observability and availability are rooted in early systems architecture and design decisions.\n\nThis talk explor es how service requirements can be systematically integrated into produc t development from the very beginning. Drawing on practical examples fro m the semiconductor industry\, it demonstrates how systems engineering c an bridge the gap between product development and lifecycle support. Att endees will gain insights into architectural principles\, design trade-o ffs and cross-functional collaboration approaches that enable superior s ervice performance throughout the product lifecycle.\n\nThe talk highlig hts why service shouldn’t be treated as an afterthought\, but as a core design objective that creates long-term customer value\, operational exc ellence and sustainable business success.\n\nhttps://event-app-ecru-alph a.vercel.app/program/from-systems-architecture-to-service-excellence URL:https://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/from-systems-architec ture-to-service-excellence END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:cmviergwx000yg8syimehxlcc@bits-chips-event DTSTAMP:20261026T191858Z DTSTART:20261126T103000Z DTEND:20261126T111000Z SUMMARY:Starting from scratch: building a CUGS innovation operational cap ability LOCATION:Van der Valk Eindhoven-Best DESCRIPTION:Robert Howe (Ministry of Defense)\n\nDefense meets high tech\ n\nThe CUGS program must deliver both a combat operational capability an d the innovation lifecycle needed to sustain and evolve it. For the Roya l Netherlands Army\, this means mastering a new discipline: continuous e ngineering of a complex\, integrated system. The ambition is bold – upda ting deployed systems within days\, or even hours\, through an agile eng ineering approach. The greatest hurdles aren’t technological\, but organ izational: changing structures\, processes and mindsets to make continuo us engineering a reality.\n\nhttps://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/pro gram/starting-from-scratch-building-a-cugs-innovation-operational-capabi lity URL:https://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/starting-from-scratch -building-a-cugs-innovation-operational-capability END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:cmvierhdw000zg8sy1nx5yjjs@bits-chips-event DTSTAMP:20261026T191858Z DTSTART:20261126T103000Z DTEND:20261126T111000Z SUMMARY:One platform\, many procedures: the architectural trade-offs behi nd extensible intervention systems LOCATION:Van der Valk Eindhoven-Best DESCRIPTION:Laura Calvino (Philips)\n\nSystems engineering\n\nImage-guide d intervention systems must support diverse clinical procedures\, custom er segments and regional needs while remaining dependable through a long product lifecycle. This creates an architectural tension: Shared capabi lities need stability\, while procedure-specific applications and AI-ena bled capabilities need to evolve at different speeds. This talk presents a platform approach for Azurion. A durable core provides the common cli nical\, system and safety foundations – apps that address procedure- and segment-specific workflows on a multi-year cadence. A rapidly evolving AI-enabled layer can extend those workflows through controlled integrati ons\, without forcing changes in the core. Three architecture decisions frame the discussion: which capabilities belong in the stable platform\, which should remain application-specific and when a repeated need justi fies promotion into the core. Stable interfaces\, compatibility rules an d clear ownership let each layer evolve independently while preserving t he overall system. The case offers lessons for any complex high-tech pro duct family: A platform makes variability explicit and manageable\, prot ecting the long-lived foundation while enabling focused innovation.\n\nh ttps://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/one-platform-many-procedu res URL:https://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/one-platform-many-pro cedures END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:cmvieri7f0011g8symqkxu629@bits-chips-event DTSTAMP:20261026T191858Z DTSTART:20261126T123000Z DTEND:20261126T131500Z SUMMARY:Systems engineering for safe and efficient airport operations LOCATION:Van der Valk Eindhoven-Best DESCRIPTION:Joyce van Niel (Saab ATM)\n\nKeynotes\n\nAirports are complex ecosystems of people\, procedures and technology. As a supplier of air traffic management systems\, Saab ATM operates at the heart of this envi ronment\, delivering highly integrated systems that process vast amounts of critical data and respond to asynchronous events. Deploying these sy stems worldwide presents formidable engineering challenges. Despite exte nsive regulations and standards\, local circumstances and user preferenc es generate a wide range of requirements. Saab ATM must accommodate this diversity while maintaining a sophisticated\, proprietary software plat form with safety- and business-critical functionality. Complex system be havior\, human and hardware interactions and numerous external interface s add further challenges. Systems engineers need powerful tools to manag e this complexity. AI is already proving its value\, but in an environme nt where humans remain firmly in the loop\, understanding and predicting system behavior are paramount. In this keynote\, Joyce van Niel connect s air traffic management and the Dutch high-tech industry. By comparing technologies\, methodologies\, engineering skills and tools\, she explor es what these two worlds have in common\, where they differ and what the y can learn from each other.\n\nhttps://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/ program/systems-engineering-for-safe-and-efficient-airport-operations URL:https://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/systems-engineering-f or-safe-and-efficient-airport-operations END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:cmvierj2m0013g8sy7zrw2dp4@bits-chips-event DTSTAMP:20261026T191858Z DTSTART:20261126T134500Z DTEND:20261126T142500Z SUMMARY:CUGS: systems engineering in a rapidly changing domain LOCATION:Van der Valk Eindhoven-Best DESCRIPTION:Ben Pronk (TNO-ESI)\n\nDefense meets high tech\n\nHow do you engineer combat unmanned ground systems while autonomous technologies\, operational concepts and military tactics are changing at speed? The CUG S program combines Incose-based systems engineering with MBSE to address key technical challenges and architectural trade-offs. At its heart is an adaptable architecture designed to remain relevant in a rapidly evolv ing operational and technological environment.\n\nhttps://event-app-ecru -alpha.vercel.app/program/cugs-systems-engineering-in-a-rapidly-changing -domain URL:https://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/cugs-systems-engineer ing-in-a-rapidly-changing-domain END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:cmvierjjp0014g8syraam5wpx@bits-chips-event DTSTAMP:20261026T191858Z DTSTART:20261126T134500Z DTEND:20261126T142500Z SUMMARY:The boring spreadsheet invented by the military and why skipping it can cost millions LOCATION:Van der Valk Eindhoven-Best DESCRIPTION:Robin Lawson (Robin Lawson Engineering)\n\nSystems engineerin g\n\nFailure modes and effects analysis didn’t start out as a nice-to-ha ve. It was formalized by the US military in 1949\, adapted by NASA for t he Apollo missions and later migrated into automotive and consumer produ ct development. It remains one of the most rigorously proven risk mitiga tion tools in engineering\, and yet\, it’s chronically under-utilized.\n \nDrawing on 20 years of mechanical-design leadership in deep tech acros s aerospace\, aviation and consumer hardware\, this talk makes the case for treating FMEA as a living design tool owned by engineering\, not a c ompliance checklist completed by quality. It also asks the harder engine ering ethics question: Why do rigorous\, well-understood risk processes erode under schedule and cost pressure\, even when everyone involved kno ws better?\n\nThe talk utilizes industry case studies and real incidents from the speaker’s career\, including a moment where a “good enough” co mpromise quietly became the new lowered standard. It examines how small\ , individually defensible compromises accumulate into systemic failure.\ n\nThis is not a call for more paperwork. It’s a look at personal and or ganizational conditions that let good engineers make bad decisions\, and how the FMEA process can objectively safeguard against them.\n\nAttende es will leave with a concrete framework for applying FMEA as an early\, cross-functional design tool and a clearer\, more honest picture of why risk processes succeed or quietly fail.\n\nhttps://event-app-ecru-alpha. vercel.app/program/the-boring-spreadsheet-invented-by-the-military URL:https://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/the-boring-spreadshee t-invented-by-the-military END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:cmvierk060015g8sy6vc8t7qr@bits-chips-event DTSTAMP:20261026T191858Z DTSTART:20261126T143000Z DTEND:20261126T151000Z SUMMARY:More than mobility: the autonomous mission systems powering CUGS LOCATION:Van der Valk Eindhoven-Best DESCRIPTION:Nick Atanasov (Forterra)\, Tommy Tietjen (Forterra)\n\nDefens e meets high tech\n\nMobility is what you can see. Mission success depen ds on everything that enables it. Forterra’s work within CUGS integrates RNLA mission autonomy software with autonomous navigation\, sensing\, c ompute and communications\, four pillars that together turn a platform i nto something interoperable\, scalable and capable of extending reach in to contested environments no soldier should have to enter. This talk ask s why autonomous navigation is the fundamental enabling technology benea th that architecture and how Forterra and CUGS are building toward it to gether as one integrated system rather than four separate capabilities.\ n\nhttps://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/more-than-mobility-th e-autonomous-mission-systems-powering-cugs URL:https://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/more-than-mobility-th e-autonomous-mission-systems-powering-cugs END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:cmvierknm0016g8sy9mlqc4zb@bits-chips-event DTSTAMP:20261026T191858Z DTSTART:20261126T143000Z DTEND:20261126T151000Z SUMMARY:What do we need a product manager for? (Can’t AI do that …) LOCATION:Van der Valk Eindhoven-Best DESCRIPTION:Xaviera Reynhout (Koers & Koffie)\n\nSystems engineering\n\nI ’ve been asked this to my face\, more than once\, walking into a new R&D team: “Yet another product manager. What do we need you for?” Usually\, it’s the systems architect asking. Fair question\, and AI has made it s harper.\n\nHere’s my answer. The architect and I do the same job from tw o sides. The architect is the technical conscience: What can we build\, what holds together\, what’s possible? The product manager is the busine ss conscience: What’s worth building\, what will the market pay for\, wh at actually ships and sells? AI is brilliant at producing more: more con cepts\, more options\, more half-finished work thrown over the fence. De ciding which of it is worth anything is the part AI can’t do. And that p art only works when architect and product manager are aligned.\n\nExpect a provocative\, lively session\, with stories straight from R&D-driven companies\, including the ones where I had to win this argument on the f loor.\n\nhttps://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/what-do-we-need -a-product-manager-for URL:https://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/what-do-we-need-a-pro duct-manager-for END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:cmvierlfy0018g8syuratgl9y@bits-chips-event DTSTAMP:20261026T191858Z DTSTART:20261126T153000Z DTEND:20261126T161500Z SUMMARY:From capability to agency – when AI starts acting on your behalf LOCATION:Van der Valk Eindhoven-Best DESCRIPTION:Robert Engels (Capgemini)\, Alexey Nesterenko (ASML)\n\nKeyno tes\n\nTwo years ago\, we explored how not to get fooled by AI. The conc lusion: Capability alone isn’t enough. AI needs knowledge\, reasoning\, oversight and trust. Today\, AI is moving beyond answering questions to planning\, deciding and acting. We’re entering the age of agentic system s. The challenge is no longer just intelligence\, but authority: from co pilots to autonomous agents\, from prompts to decisions\, from capabilit y to accountability\, from automation to delegated authority. ASML’s Ale xey Nesterenko brings this challenge into engineering reality\, transfor ming complex software-change documentation from a growing “big book” int o AI-powered answers. The experience shows that AI itself is often the e asy part. Good data\, context\, understanding ambiguous engineering lang uage and human oversight are what make it work. Start small\, learn from real users and let the solution evolve\, while keeping humans in contro l. These lessons become even more important as AI moves from answering t o acting. Robert Engels explores how organizations can embrace this shif t without losing control. Because the defining question is no longer: “C an AI do this?” but “Who gave it permission?” 2024: Don’t get fooled by AI. 2026: Don’t lose control of AI.\n\nhttps://event-app-ecru-alpha.verc el.app/program/from-capability-to-agency-when-ai-starts-acting-on-your-b ehalf URL:https://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/from-capability-to-ag ency-when-ai-starts-acting-on-your-behalf END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:cmvierm240019g8sy2114y5sr@bits-chips-event DTSTAMP:20261026T191858Z DTSTART:20261126T161500Z DTEND:20261126T173000Z SUMMARY:Networking drinks LOCATION:Van der Valk Eindhoven-Best DESCRIPTION:https://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/drinks URL:https://event-app-ecru-alpha.vercel.app/program/drinks END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR