Dipl.-Ing. Gunnar Bloss was the Managing Director and Head of R&D of werk5 GmbH | new craft in Berlin, and is the co-founder of mirabotics, a startup initiative of the DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics (via the DLR Startup Factory) developing user-friendly robotic surface-finishing software for the manufacturing and repair industries. After completing a carpentry apprenticeship (1990–1993), he studied architecture at the HdK Berlin, earning his diploma in 2000. That same year he co-founded Skotoparc GbR, before joining werk5 in 2004 as Project Manager, a Prokurist in 2010 and a Managing Director in 2017.
Under his leadership, werk5 became a recognized voice for the future of the model-making craft, combining traditional handcraft with industrial machinery, CNC technology, robotics, and AI. Bloss led werk5’s R&D work on collaborative robotics for the trades, including the ZIM-funded “Robotics Toolbox” project and the BMBF-funded LEROSH project (Lernende Roboterschleiftechnik für das Handwerk / Learning Robotic Grinding Technology for Crafts), which transfers human craft skills (“machine dexterity”) to robotic systems to address labor shortages in skilled trades. The Mirabotics venture grew out of this research line and was presented at Hannover Messe 2026 alongside DLR researchers Korbinian Nottensteiner and Stefan Schneyer.