KUKA Service Robotics Best Paper Award

About the award
Description:	To promote between robotics science research and industry R&D advancement in the area of service robotics applications (both professional and domestic). The first award will be given at ICRA 2008. Administration: Conference Editorial Board of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Nominee Solicitation: A call for the award nomination will be announced in the ICRA call for papers, R&A Magazine, and Society website. Award Committee: A selection committee will be appointed by the Conference Awards Committee with memberships who have appropriate expertise in the field of service robotics. Schedule: Selection of nominees will be made by the Conference Editorial Board at the time all conference papers are reviewed.
Established:	2008
Prize:	A US$ 1,000 prize to be shared by all authors and plaques for individual authors.
Funding:	The award is sponsored by KUKA Roboter GmbH for an initial period of 5 years (2008-2012), which will be automatically extended for the same period unless one party, in writing to the other party, propose an amendment or notify their intention to terminate
Eligibility:	All papers submitted to the annual ICRA. No restrictions as to IEEE membership, organization, nationality, race, creed, sex, or age.
Basis for judging:
Presentation:	Preesented at the ICRA awards ceremony

Winners of this award

Year	Winner and reason
2008	Riccardo Schiavi, Giorgio Grioli, Soumen Sen and Antonio Bicchi VSA-II: A Novel Prototype of Variable Stiffness Actuator for Safe and Performing Robots Interacting with Humans