IEEE-RAS news

2007 King-Sun Fu Memorial Best Transactions on Robotics Paper Award

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Editor-in-Chief Alessandro De Luca has announced that "Manipulation Planning for Deformable Linear Objects" by Mitul Saha and Pekka Isto, IEEE Transactions on Robotics vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 1141-1150, December 2007 has been selected as winner of the "2007 King-Sun Fu Memorial Best Transactions on Robotics Paper Award" of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society.

This prestigious award is assigned every year with the following procedure. The T-RO Editor-in-Chief solicits nominations from all members of the Editorial Board, i.e., Editors and Associate Editors, for the best paper published in the IEEE Transactions on Robotics (T-RO)>/em> in the previous year volume (year 2007). Based on a new post-publication evaluation of the nominated papers made by the Editors and the EiC, the best T-RO paper is then selected.

The Award consists of a certificate for each coauthor and a total check of $1000 to be equally distributed among coauthors. The award ceremony will take place during the Award Lunch at the next ICRA'08 in Pasadena (Friday, May 13, 2008), which is open to all participants of ICRA'08.

IEEE/IFR Invention and Entrepreneurship in Robotics and Automation Award

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100
Due to several requests and since the reviewing cannot be arranged earlier, the deadline for applications for the IERA award according to http://www.ieee-ras.org/industrial/iera.php has been extended to April 12.
For more information see the webpage or contact Klas Nilsson, klas@ieee.org.

The purpose of this award is to recognize the entrepreneurial commercialization of ideas into actual products. Nominations should cite and describe the original work that has been translated into commercial application as well as the commercial product and its success.

The New Golden Age of Robotics

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100
In a wide ranging interview with the University of Twente News, IEEE Robotics and Automation Editor Stefano Stramigioli describes the current realities and future opportunities for robotics _____
"High up on the eighth floor of the Hoogkamp building, professor Stefano Stramigioli can often be seen moving around on a Segwey purchased by Professor Regtien for the TEAM project. This personal transportation device, not yet approved for Dutch roadways, moves according to a users own body movements. This is the home of the faculty of Advanced Robotics, the nesting ground of UT's visionaries, who toil to build a fully-functional humanoid robot, capable of working together with humans. Stamigioli says, `For a roboticist— one of the dreams is to build the most complex machine there is— to try to copy the human.' " -- --MORE--

IEEE Nanotechnology Magazine

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0100
Wen J. Li has issued an open call for contributions to IEEE Nanotechnology Magazine. Li has been named Editor in chief of the the new IEEE periodical He is director of the Centre for Micro and Nano Systems and Professor, Dept. of Mechanical & Automation Engineering at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Meyya Meyyappn of NASA Ames Research Center is Managing Editor.
IEEE Nanotechnology was launched to serve as a focal point to dissiminate updated R&D, manufacturing, commercialization, and educational activities related to Nanotechnology throughout the world. It is sponsored by the IEEE Nanotechnology Council, of which the Robotics and Automation Society is a member.

From time to time, special tutorial articles and important leading-edge research topics will also be highlighted in the Magazine. More detailed information regarding the Magazine can be found at: http://www.ieee-nanomag.org

The editors are seeking high quality contributions related to the aforementioned sectors of Nanotechnology, i.e., R&D, manufacturing, commercialization, education, and special tutorials and focused topics, from your institution or country.

Please submit your article(s) to the appropriate editors (submission info available on http://www.ieee-nanomag.org

Articles published in the Magazine will also be included in the IEEE Xplore database and will be SCI-indexed. *******************************************************************************************

RAS 2008 New Initiative Proposals Due Friday February 15

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0100
Proposals for 2008 RAS Initiative Grants must be received by the RAS Administrator by Friday, February 15. As a result of a new IEEE policy established in 2007, the Robotics and Automation Society anticipates being able to use some of its 2008 budget to fund a modest number of initiatives that would benefit society members in general. We expect a maximum of $60,000 to be available to support initiatives. We hope to be able to fund several initiatives in the range of $5000 to $24900.
Members are invited to submit proposals for initiative to the RAS administrator Rosalyn Snyder r.g.snyder@ieee.org.
In accordance with our Business Plan, proposals will be reviewed by the following major Boards of the Society, which, except for EPSB, will be chaired by their respective vice presidents in 2008:

Conference Activities Board (CAB) VP: John Hollerbach
Industrial Activities Board (IAB) VP: Alex Zelinsky
Member Activities Board (MAB) VP: Alicia Casals
Publications Activities Board (PAB) VP: Peter Luh
Technical Activities Board (TAB) VP: Ken Goldberg
EPSB Chair (not formally a VP) Stefano Stramigioli.

Proposals must identify the Board(s) which most closely represent(s) the type of activity proposed. The Boards will prioritize the requests and send them to the Financial Activities Board, which will review them and forward them to the AdCom, which will make the ultimate funding decisions.
Timeline:
February 15, 2008 – Deadline for proposal submission
March 15, 2008 – Funding decisions disseminated
November 30, 2008 – Final report due
November 30, 2008 – Deadline for invoice

Submission of Proposals

Proposals must be submitted as an attached PDF with a two page limit. Proposals must include, in the following order:

Most relevant RAS Board (Membership, Industry, ...) for the proposal
Proposed Title of New Initiative
List of PIs with contact info
Short description of idea and impact on members
Short plan for sustainability beyond initial seed funding
Total funding requested in US Dollars
Sources of matching funds (if any)
Proposed use of funds
Proposed timeline for project (funds must be spent in time for invoices to reach the Society Treasurer by November 30, 2008!)
Short plan for administration of funds by proposers

Several issues to consider:

IEEE is a volunteer organization and funding cannot be used to pay members fees or salaries.
Funds must be processed through the PI’s institution
There can be no “upfront” funds. Invoices must be submitted after expenditure of funds.
Expenses incurred for which invoices are not received by November 30, 2008 will not be reimbursed.

All proposals and related questions should be directed to:
Rosalyn Graham Snyder
Administrator
IEEE Robotics and Automation Society
http://www.ieee-ras.org
r.g.snyder@ieee.org
T +1 919 851 3603
F + 1 919 882 9734<./p>
Evaluation of Proposals

Priorities on which proposals will be preferred for funding will be conducted according to the following criteria:

Essential characteristics

The proposed activity must benefit the RAS society as a whole or a substantial subset of its members
The proposed activity must not be for individual or group research projects
Proposed funding must be less than or equal to $24,900
Proposed funding must be greater than or equal to $5,000 (smaller items should work their way through the boards in their normal budget cycle)

High priority characteristics:

Those that that use innovative approaches to implement a strong vision for the future
Those that directly impact a large number of RAS members
Those that have high impact to cost ratio
Those with cost sharing
Those that seed self-sustaining activities
Those that leverage volunteer efforts
Those that provide travel or meeting support in a program area
Programs providing student support
Workshops in emerging areas
Potential to increase membership or involvement in RAS activities
Those that develop RAS activities in emerging regions or technical areas
Those providing service to the R&A community those that clearly identify one of the boards to administer, develop and evaluate the program.
Low priority characteristics:

Those whose activities are of peripheral interest to society
Those that fund individuals
Those restricted to a geographic region, especially not an emerging region
Those that fund technical research
Those containing extensive funding of staff salaries
Long term activities
Those with low impact to cost ratio
Those particularly complex to execute

Other Issues:

RAS will support payment of full-time students (undergraduate, graduate, or postdoctoral) for services, provided satisfactory information regarding their tax status is received prior to award/contract.
RAS will only support full-time students for initiative work.
RAS will not pay for activities that are considered a normal activity associated with academic activities, e.g., preparing courses.
RAS's standard policy is to pay zero indirect/ overhead on any award/contract. Exceptions are expected to be rare and must be negotiated in advance before the award/contract is issued, preferably before the proposal is submitted.
Laptops, PC's, software, or cameras, may only be purchased if the work for the award/ contract specifically requires these items (the case for the purchase of these items must be made clearly in the proposal). At the conclusion of the initiative, such items shall be the property of RAS, which will determine the future utilization of the items.
IEEE/RAS retains all rights on intellectual property developed under RAS-funded projects.
Travel to technical conferences is considered part of normal activity and will not normally be covered by initiative funding.

The following must be included in/with the budgets of all proposals responding to RAS initiative competitions:

Total amount of compensation for services;
(Educational) status of all those to receive this compensation, and breakdown of compensation amounts for each such person;
Itemization of all supplies/equipment over $500 to be purchased with RAS funds;
If travel funding is requested, full details of the nature of each travel instance (location(s), duration of travel, purpose, estimated amount). Travel not specifically included in the proposal will not be reimbursed.

"IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine" Debuts

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0100
IEEE Women in Engineering (IEEE WIE) Magazine, a new publication that will be issued twice a year to IEEE WIE members, has launched its premiere issue. The publication, sent as an interactive PDF file which enables easy navigation through the different sections of the magazine, aims to help attract, retain and sustain women in the engineering and science fields. Its articles integrate engineering subjects with current issues facing society including careers, health care, medicine, law, governance and women’s issues. A print edition will be produced for distribution at symposiums and other events throughout the year.
IEEE WIE currently has more than 12,000 members worldwide, with over 176 affinity groups – the largest international professional organization dedicated to promoting women engineers and scientists. Karen Panetta, 2008 IEEE Women in Engineering Committee chair, serves as editor-in-chief.
View the publication at www.ieee.org/committee/women/13350.pdf. WIE Magazine

Call for Nominations: IEEE and RAS Society Awards

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0100
Nominations for the the following IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Awards are due March 1.

RAS Chapter of the Year Award
RAS Most Active Technical Committee Award
RAS Most Active Distinguished Lecturer Award
RAS Pioneer Award
RAS Early Career Award
IEEE-RAS Distinguished Service Award
IEEE InabaTechnical Award for Innovation Leading to Production
IEEE/IFR Invention and Entrepreneurship Award
IEEE RAS George Saridis Leadership Award in Robotics and Automation

A description and list of previous recipients of each award is available on the RAS webpage at http://www.ieee-ras/member/awardsRAS.php. Nominators should use the appropriate Nomination Forms which are available on the RAS Secretary webpage, at http://www.ieee-ras.org/secretary/documents.php under "Volunteer Resources."
Please send the completed nominations form to the RAS Administrator at r.g.snyder@ieee.org.
Nominations for the IEEE Robotics Technical Field Award must be submitted to the IEEE by January 31. Please see http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/awards/sums/robotaut.html for details and instructions for nominators.
Nominations for IEEE Fellow must be submitted to the IEEE by March 1. Please see http://www.ieee.org/web/membership/fellows/fellow_apps.html for applications and instructions. <./p>

RAS AdCom Election Results

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0100
Congratulations and thanks to the six new members of the Robotics and Automation Society Administrative Committee, who will serve a three year term 2008-10. The newly elected members are:

At-Large
Alessandro De Luca, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", Italy
Peter Corke, CSIRO, Australia
Geographical Area 1: IEEE Regions 1-7, 9
Lynne Parker, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA

Geographical Area 2: IEEE Region 8
Stefano Stramigioli, University of Twente, The Netherlands

Geographical Area 3: IEEE Region 10
Shigeki Sugano, Waseda University, Japan
Satoshi Tadokoro, Tohoku University, Japan

2007 was the first year RAS members had the opportunity to use electronic ballots. The result was that 1217 of the 1246 votes were cast via the web. More than twice as many RAS members voted in this adcom election as did in any of the past 5 years.
The 18 elected AdCom members serve staggered three year terms, and can serve no more than two consecutive terms. All members of graduate student grade or higher may vote. Members may vote for six candidates regardless of region.

2008 Society Initiative Grants: Call for Applications

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0100
As a result of a new IEEE policy, the Robotics and Automation Society anticipates being able to use some of its 2008 budget to fund a modest number of initiatives that would benefit society members in general. We expect a maximum of $60,000 to be available to support initiatives. We hope to be able to fund several initiatives in the range of $5000 to $24900.
Members are invited to submit proposals for initiative to the RAS administrator Rosalyn Snyder r.g.snyder@ieee.org.
In accordance with our Business Plan, proposals will be reviewed by the following major Boards of the Society, which, except for EPSB, will be chaired by their respective vice presidents in 2008:

Conference Activities Board (CAB) VP: John Hollerbach
Industrial Activities Board (IAB) VP: Alex Zelinsky
Member Activities Board (MAB) VP: Alicia Casals
Publications Activities Board (PAB) VP: Peter Luh
Technical Activities Board (TAB) VP: Ken Goldberg
EPSB Chair (not formally a VP) Stefano Stramigioli.

Proposals must identify the Board(s) which most closely represent(s) the type of activity proposed. The Boards will prioritize the requests and send them to the Financial Activities Board, which will review them and forward them to the AdCom, which will make the ultimate funding decisions.
Timeline:
February 15, 2008 – Deadline for proposal submission
March 15, 2008 – Funding decisions disseminated
November 30, 2008 – Final report due
November 30, 2008 – Deadline for invoice

Submission of Proposals

Proposals must be submitted as an attached PDF with a two page limit. Proposals must include, in the following order:

Most relevant RAS Board (Membership, Industry, ...) for the proposal
Proposed Title of New Initiative
List of PIs with contact info
Short description of idea and impact on members
Short plan for sustainability beyond initial seed funding
Total funding requested in US Dollars
Sources of matching funds (if any)
Proposed use of funds
Proposed timeline for project (funds must be spent in time for invoices to reach the Society Treasurer by November 30, 2008!)
Short plan for administration of funds by proposers

Several issues to consider:

IEEE is a volunteer organization and funding cannot be used to pay members fees or salaries.
Funds must be processed through the PI’s institution
There can be no “upfront” funds. Invoices must be submitted after expenditure of funds.
Expenses incurred for which invoices are not received by November 30, 2008 will not be reimbursed.

All proposals and related questions should be directed to:
Rosalyn Graham Snyder
Administrator
IEEE Robotics and Automation Society
http://www.ieee-ras.org
r.g.snyder@ieee.org
T +1 919 851 3603
F + 1 919 882 9734<./p>
Evaluation of Proposals

Priorities on which proposals will be preferred for funding will be conducted according to the following criteria:

Essential characteristics

The proposed activity must benefit the RAS society as a whole or a substantial subset of its members
The proposed activity must not be for individual or group research projects
Proposed funding must be less than or equal to $24,900
Proposed funding must be greater than or equal to $5,000 (smaller items should work their way through the boards in their normal budget cycle)

High priority characteristics:

Those that that use innovative approaches to implement a strong vision for the future
Those that directly impact a large number of RAS members
Those that have high impact to cost ratio
Those with cost sharing
Those that seed self-sustaining activities
Those that leverage volunteer efforts
Those that provide travel or meeting support in a program area
Programs providing student support
Workshops in emerging areas
Potential to increase membership or involvement in RAS activities
Those that develop RAS activities in emerging regions or technical areas
Those providing service to the R&A community those that clearly identify one of the boards to administer, develop and evaluate the program.
Low priority characteristics:

Those whose activities are of peripheral interest to society
Those that fund individuals
Those restricted to a geographic region, especially not an emerging region
Those that fund technical research
Those containing extensive funding of staff salaries
Long term activities
Those with low impact to cost ratio
Those particularly complex to execute

Other Issues:

RAS will support payment of full-time students (undergraduate, graduate, or postdoctoral) for services, provided satisfactory information regarding their tax status is received prior to award/contract.
RAS will only support full-time students for initiative work.
RAS will not pay for activities that are considered a normal activity associated with academic activities, e.g., preparing courses.
RAS's standard policy is to pay zero indirect/ overhead on any award/contract. Exceptions are expected to be rare and must be negotiated in advance before the award/contract is issued, preferably before the proposal is submitted.
Laptops, PC's, software, or cameras, may only be purchased if the work for the award/ contract specifically requires these items (the case for the purchase of these items must be made clearly in the proposal). At the conclusion of the initiative, such items shall be the property of RAS, which will determine the future utilization of the items.
IEEE/RAS retains all rights on intellectual property developed under RAS-funded projects.
Travel to technical conferences is considered part of normal activity and will not normally be covered by initiative funding.

The following must be included in/with the budgets of all proposals responding to RAS initiative competitions:

Total amount of compensation for services;
(Educational) status of all those to receive this compensation, and breakdown of compensation amounts for each such person;
Itemization of all supplies/equipment over $500 to be purchased with RAS funds;
If travel funding is requested, full details of the nature of each travel instance (location(s), duration of travel, purpose, estimated amount). Travel not specifically included in the proposal will not be reimbursed.

2007 IEEE-CASE Best Paper Awards

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0100
Congratulations to the winners of the Best Paper Awards at the 2007 IEEE Conference on Automation Science and Engineering. The awards were presented at the IEEE-CASE awards banquet Scottsdale, Arizona, September 2007.
Cowinners of the Best Paper Award were:
Wenhui Wang, Xinyu Liu, and Yu Sun, for "Autonomous Zebrafish Embryo Injection Using a Microrobotic System,"

Timothy Molter, Sarah McQuaide, Meng Zhang, Mark Holl, Lloyd Burgess, Mary Lidstrom, and Deirdre Meldrum for "Algorithm Advancements for the Measurement of Single Cell Oxygen Consumption Rates,"

Winners of the Best Student Paper Award were
T. H. Tran, Ngai Ming Kwok, Steven Scheding, and Q. P. Ha for "Dynamic Modelling of Wheel-Terrain Interaction of a UGV."

IEEE TFA and Fellows Nominations

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0100
Nominations for the IEEE Robotics and Automation Field Award, the most prestigious award offered by the IEEE in this area, are due January 31, 2008. For nominations information see: http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/awards/sums/robotaut.html.
Nominations for IEEE Fellows for the Class of 2009 are due March 1, 2008. Fellow is the highest member grade of the IEEE, and no more than one tenth of one percent of voting members of the society may be elected Fellow in a given year.
Fellow nominations must be submitted on-line, in strict accordance with the instructions provided. Please see http://www.ieee.org/fellows for details. Candidates for Fellow must be Senior Members of the IEEE and have been an IEEE member in good standing for at least 5 years. Fellows may not be self-nominated, but anyone may make a nomination. At least five letters of recommendation from IEEE Fellows are required.

RAS Society Awards Nominations Due March 1

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0100
The Robotics and Automation Society presents a number of awards each year to recognize outstanding members for their professional accomplishments and service to the society and profession. Nominations are solicited from the membership for the following awards:

RAS Pioneer Award
RAS Early Career Award
IEEE-RAS Distinguished Service Award
IEEE InabaTechnical Award for Innovation Leading to Production
IEEE/IFR Invention and Entrepreneurship Award
IEEE RAS George Saridis Leadership Award in Robotics and Automation
The critera for the different awards vary. A complete description and a list of previous recipients is provided on the RAS webpage http://www.ieee-ras.org/member . Please send nominations to the Society Administrator at r.g.snyder@ieee.org. These awards will be presented at an Awards Ceremony held during the 2008 International Conference on Robotics and Automation.
Applications are also solicited for the IEEE/IFR Invention and Entrepreneurship Award. This award will be presented in conjunction with the IEEE/IFR Industry Forum on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Robotics and Automation which will be held in Munich Germany in June 2008, colocated with Automatica. Contact Rainer Bischoff (RainerBischoff@kuka-roboter.de) for information.

CFP: Scientific Workflow Management and Applications

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0100
Special Issue of IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering
Call for Papers
Scientific workflow is a new special type of workflow that often underlies many large-scale complex e-science applications such as climate modeling, structural biology and chemistry, medical surgery or disaster recovery simulation. Compared with business workflows, scientific workflow has special features such as computation, data or transaction intensity, less human interaction, and a large number of activities. Some emerging computing infrastructures such as grid computing with powerful computing and resource sharing capabilities present the potential for accommodating those special features.
Submission Deadline: March 31, 2008
For details see:

KUKA To Sponsor Best Service Robotics ICRA Paper Award

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0100
The KUKA Roboter GmbH, a leading robotics company based in Germany, has agreed to sponsor a new paper award in the area of Service Robotics at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, beginning in 2008.
The purpose of the award is to promote between robotics science research and industry R&D advancement in the area of service robotics applications (both professional and domestic). The sponsorship by KUKA will be initially for 5 years (2008-2012).

IEEE 2008 Fellows Class Includes 14 RAS Members

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0100
We are pleased to announce that 14 RAS members have been elected to the grade of Fellow as a mark of their distinguished achievements. Eleven of the RAS Fellows were evaluated by the Society. They are:

Max Meng, Chinese University of Hong Kong: for contributions to medical robotics

Zexiang Li, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology: for contributions to robotic manipulation, nonholonomic motion planning and workpiece utilization

Tianyou Chai, Northeastern University, China: for contributions to adapt intelligent decoupling control, and integrated automation of complex industrial processes

Fan-Tien Cheng, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan: for contributions to semiconductor manufacturing automation and force optimization in multiple-chain robotic mechanisms

Narahari Yadati, Indian Institute of Science: for contributions to the design of manufacturing systems, supply chain networks, and electronic markets

Alexander Zelinsky, Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia: for contributions to vision-based robotics

Peter Corke, Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia: for contributions to visual-based robot control and its applications to field robotics

Roy Featherstone, Australian National University: for contributions to multibody dynamics

Steven Holland, General Motors Research and Development: for leadership in the industrial application of robotic technology

Vincent Hayward, McGill University: for contributions to robot manipulator programming and the development of haptics interface technology

Roland Siegwart, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich): for contributions to mobile, networked, and micro-scale robots

Three other RAS-IEEE Fellows were evaluated by other societies (in parentheses):

Dragan Nesic, University of Melbourne: for contributions to the analysis and control of networked nonlinear sampled-data systems (Control Systems)

Karen Panetta, Tufts University: for leadership in engineering education and curriculum development to attract, retain, and advance women in engineering (Education Society)

Ju-Jang Lee, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology: for contributions to intelligent robust control and robotics (Industrial Electronics)

The grade of Fellow recognizes unusual distinction in the profession and shall be conferred by the Board of Directors upon a person with an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. No more than 0.1 percent of the voting membership may be elevated to Fellow per year.

RAS AdCom Election: Voting Ends Dec 21

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0100
Robotics and Automation Society Members have less than 3 weeks to vote for the 2008 new AdCom members. All ballots, paper or electronic must be received at the IEEE by 12 Noon, Eastern Standard Time December 21, 2007.

All RAS Voting Members (Graduate Students and higher grades) should have received ballots for the RAS AdCom Election.
p>If you have not received either a paper ballot or an email ballot, please e-mail the vendor (pnentwig@intelliscaninc.com) with your name, member number and address to request a replacement ballot.

Members may vote for up to six of the following candidates:

David Orin

N. Papanikolopoulos

Lynne Parker

Wes Snyder

Alessandro DeLuca

Stefano Stramigioli

Peter Corke

Li-chen Fu

Sukhan Lee

Shigeki Sugano

Satoshi Tadokoro

Michael Wang

Information about the candidates are included with the election information.

Vote for your RAS AdCom Members

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0100
Ballots for the 2007 RAS Administrative Committee Elections were mailed November 9, 2007 to all RAS members either by email, with an electronic ballot, or by postal mail, with a paper ballot. If you received a paper ballot and wish to cast your vote electronically, you may go to https://www.intelliscaninc.com/ieee_ras_2007.htm and enter your IEEE member number and the Ballot Control Number located on your paper ballot above your name and address.

If you have not received either a paper ballot or an email ballot by November 25, please e-mail the vendor (pnentwig@intelliscaninc.com) with your name, member number and address to request a replacement ballot.

Members may vote for up to six of the following candidates:

David Orin

N. Papanikolopoulos

Lynne Parker

Wes Snyder

Alessandro DeLuca

Stefano Stramigioli

Peter Corke

Li-chen Fu

Sukhan Lee

Shigeki Sugano

Satoshi Tadokoro

Michael Wang

Information about the candidates are included with the election information. All ballots must be received by the IEEE by 12 Noon, Eastern Standard Time, December 21, 2007.

Nominations for RAS Student AdCom Member

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0100
The IEEE Robotics and Automation Society is seeking applications for the chair of the Society’s Student Activities Committee, who will also serve a two year term as a voting member of the RAS Administrative Committee.

The IEEE-RAS Student Activities Committee promotes student participation in the Society activities in cooperation with all Society Boards, Committees and Working Groups, especially with Membership Activities Board (MAB). The mission of the committee includes, for example, working on issues of interest to student members, interacting with student members and bringing student’s’ voice to AdCom.
The Chair of this Committee is appointed from a slate of candidate Society student members recommended by the Membership Activities Board and by the AdCom to serve for a two-year term. (Graduating students may fill out their terms.)

The Chair of the Student Activities Standing Committee shall be an ex-officio Administration Committee member with vote. The chair is expected to attend the semiannual AdCom meetings. Partial travel support (depending on distance) is provided by the Society.

The Student Activities Chair shall also be a member of the RAS Member Activities Board. Candidates may be undergraduate or graduate students, but must be student members of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society in good standing.

If you wish to be considered for nomination for chair, please send the following to the Vice-President-Elect for Member Activities, Prof. Alicia Casals, at alicia.casals@upc.edu :
1. A letter indicating why you are interested in serving as Student Activities Chair
2. A copy of your CV or resumé, and
3. A letter of support from a faculty member at your college or university who is a member of IEEE RAS.

All applications are due by November 30, 2007
Downoad Nominations Flyer

Richard Volz Elected IEEE Division X Director Elect

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0100
RAS President Richard Volz has been elected Director-Elect for Division X by the members of the the division. He will serve as Director-Elect in 2009 and in 2010 he will succeed William A. Gruver as Division X Director.

The Director of Division X, along with the Directors of the other nine IEEE Technical Divisions, the directors of the ten IEEE geographic regions, the chairs of the major IEEE boards, and the IEEE officers, constitute the Board of Directors, the governing body of the IEEE. The Directors also work to facilitate communication and cooperation among the societies and regions in their Divisions.

In addition to the Robotics and Automation Society, Division X includes the Computational Intelligence, Control Systems, Engineering in Medicine and Biology, Lasers and Electro-Optics, and Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Societies and the Sensors Council and the Systems Council.

Volz has been an active member of the IEEE for more than 40 years, and has been active in RAS since the establishment of the IEEE Journal on Robotics and Automation, the predecessor to the current IEEE T-Robotics and T-Automation Science and Engineering. During his term as RAS President, he has also served as a member of the IEEE-TAB Finance and Conference Committees and as a member of the IEEE Publication Services and Products Board (PSPB) Strategic Planning Committee, and the IEEE Careers Committee.

Kazuhiro Kosuge Elected RAS President Elect 2008-9

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0100
At their November 3 meeting in San Diego, the Robotics and Automation Society AdCom elected Kazuhiro Kosuge of Tohoku University, Sendai Japan, as President-Elect. He will serve in 2008-9 as President-Elect and in 2010 he will succeed Bruno Siciliano to become RAS President.

Kosuge has served the Society in many capacities, including several terms on the RAS AdCom, Vice President for Membership, Conference Board Meetings Chair, Program Co-chair for IROS 1998 and ICRA 2007, General Chair for IROS2004. He will be general chair for ICRA 2009.

His research at the Systems Robotics Laboratory at Tohoku University is in the area of Robotics Systems and Control Problems. The Laboratory's 'Dance Partner Robot' was featured in Time Magazine as one of the '100 Best inventions of 2005.'

IEEE/RSJ IROS 2007 and Fires in the San Diego Area

Olaf Zandwijk — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0100

IEEE/RSJ IROS 2007 WILL TAKE PLACE AS SCHEDULED

If delegates need further information please contact Eddie Grant (General Chair), Tom Henderson (Program Chair), Gordon Lee (Local Arrangements Chair), or Kimberley Wallace at the hotel. Please note, Eddie Grant and Tom Henderson will travel to San Diego on Friday, October 26, 2007, so there will be a delay in any expected reply from them during that day.

For more information and the status in San Diego, visit the website http://www.iros2007.org.

Call for Nominations: IEEE Robotics & Automation Field Award

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0100

Nominations for the 6th IEEE Robotics & Automation Technical Field Award are due at the IEEE by January 31, 2008.

The award is presented for contributions in the field of robotics and automation. It can be presented to an individual or team of up to three in number.

It includes but is not limited to: Manufacturing automation, Robotics and Automation in Unstructured Environments, Sensor Design, Integration and Fusion, Robot Design, Modeling, Planning and Control, Methodologies for Robotics and Automation.

The IEEE Robotics & Automation Award was established in 2002. As an IEEE Institute Level Award, it is administered by the Technical Field Awards Council of the IEEE Awards Board.

In the evaluation process, the following criteria are considered: manufacturing automation, robotics and automation in unstructured environments, sensor design, integration and fusion, robot design, modeling, planning and control, methodologies for robotics and automation, and the quality of the nomination.

The Award consists of a bronze medal, certificate and honorarium.

General Guidelines and Nomination Forms are available online.

The deadline for nominations is January 31, 2008

Past recipients of the Robotics and Automation Field Award are:

2008:Paul G. Backes (JPL), Eric T. Baumgartner (Ohio Northern University), and Larry H. Matthies (JPL) - For contributions to robotics enabling effective autonomous operations of science investigations under extreme conditions on the planet Mars
2007: Gerhard Hirzinger (DLR) – For contributions in robot mechatronics, telerobotics, man-machine interface research, and space robotics.
2006: George Bekey (University of Southern California) – For contributions to research and education in biologically inspired and intelligent robots.
2005: Seiuemon Inaba (FANUC Ltd.) – For long-standing leadership and technical contributions to the development of Numerical Control machines, industrial robots, and flexible factory automation.
2004: Joseph Engelberger – For a lifetime of achievement in establishing and advancing the field of robotics and automation worldwide.

2008 RAS New Initiative Grants: Tentative CFP

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0100
As a result of a new IEEE policy, the Robotics and Automation Society anticipates being able to use some of its 2008 budget to fund a modest number of initiatives that would benefit society members in general. We expect approximately $90,000 to be available to support initiatives. We hope to be able to fund several initiatives in the range of $5000 to $24,900. While we cannot make a firm call for proposals at this time because IEEE will not approve our 2008 budget until mid-November, we are making a tentative preliminary call now because the time for proposal preparation after IEEE approves the 2008 budget will be too short. We do expect our budget to be approved. When it is, a final call for proposals will be issued to confirm what is contained in the Tentative Call for Proposals.

Members are invited to submit proposals for initiative to the RAS administrator Rosalyn Snyder r.g.snyder at ieee.org.

In accordance with our Business Plan, proposals will be reviewed by the following major Boards of the Society, which, except for EPSB, will be chaired by their respective vice presidents in 2008:

Conference Activities Board (CAB) VP: John Hollerbach

Industrial Activities Board (IAB) VP: Alex Zelinsky

Member Activities Board (MAB) VP: Alicia Casals

Publications Activities Board (PAB) VP: Peter Luh

Technical Activities Board (TAB) VP: Ken Goldberg

EPSB Chair (not formally a VP) Stefano Stramigioli.

The Boards will prioritize the requests and send them to the Financial Activities Board, which will review them and forward them to the AdCom, which will make the ultimate funding decisions.

Timeline:

December 31, 2007 – Deadline for proposal submission

March 15, 2008 – Funding decisions disseminated

November 30, 2008 – Final report due

November 30, 2008 – Deadline for invoice

Important Information for IROS 07 Attendees

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0100
IROS 07 Participants who have not booked their hotel rooms need to do so immediately, as hotel space is running short. The group rate for the Sheraton is only offered to those who book before October 5, and is subject to availability. See the IROS Website for more information .

Call for Nominations: RAM Associate Editors

Rosalyn Graham Snyder — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0100
IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazines is soliciting nominations for two new Associate Editors, to serve a 3-year term beginning in January 2008. Please send nominations, including self-nominations to Stefano Stramigioli, s.stramigioli [at] ieee.org.