[TAB News] RAS TAB activities report and new initiatives

February 5th, 2024

 

Dear TC Co-Chairs,

 

I'm honored to announce that I will be serving as the VP of TAB for another 2 years under our new president, Prof. Aude Billard. 

 

I would like to extend my gratitude to Prof. Frank Park, the past president, for his passion for reinvigorating the TCs, which is a vital part of RAS, and for giving me the freedom to initiate new systems. 

 

Over the last two years, we have made significant strides, including the following. 

 

1. Restructuring TAB:  

TC Clusters, Technical Communities, and Blue Ribbon TCs have been launched to foster deeper collaboration between TCs and empower active TCs.  

 

2. Enhancing operational efficiency: 

TC Operating guide, TC request forms, a TC database, and the dedicated TAB assistant and RAS staff to support the co-chairs have been established.

3. Empowering TCs with financial support:

To foster a better community through happy hours, workshop speaker dinners, awards, and so on. 

 

4. Fostering next-generation TC members: 

We started TABxSAC Dinner to increase student involvement and invite students to TC activities. 

Please find a presentation summarizing the new initiatives for the RAS Long Range Planning Meeting earlier this year. [Link to the Presentation]

 

Looking ahead to the next two years, here are some new initiatives: 

 

1. Annual plan submission

We aim to collect annual plans from all TCs to streamline our objectives. Prof. Biyun Xie, our AVP, will provide more information and a draft form shortly. A draft of the request form is here. 

 

2. TC activities report and TC website update

RAS Staff will regularly update the TC website with your activity reports. Please submit these reports after following major conferences like ICRA and IROS. 

 

Here are some examples that we started after IROS. 

Examples: Model-based, Haptics, Multi-Robot Systems, Agricultural Robotics and Automation

 

We will request a TC activities report after ICRA, IROS, and other major TC conferences. Please submit them whenever there are activities by the TC.  [link to the form]

 

3. Restructuring Triennial Review 

We have revised the Triennial Review process to group similar TCs. Please review the new plan for your TC's scheduled review dates. We are planning to change the format to improve the discussion on how we can assist the TCs’ operation. Josie Hughes, our AVP, will coordinate this. [link to the new plan]

 

4. New TC Co-chairs 

Identifying passionate TC Co-chairs who can lead the TC is crucial for the successful operation of the TCs.  Please refer to the RAS TC Operating Guide for information on updating TC co-chairs for retirement and recruitment. Recruiting Associate Co-chairs is also recommended. 

 

5. Student Representatives and Conference Welcome Kit

We encourage TCs to involve students more, including assigning them to create a welcome kit for TC members attending major conferences like ICRA.  We are currently developing a guideline and Amy Han, our AVP will announce this soon. 

 

Also, updates on cluster forums, meetings, and TABxSAC dinners will be communicated in due course. You can expect more detailed communications from our AVPs soon.

 

Our continued efforts will further strengthen these initiatives, vitalize our TCs, and nurture the smaller communities within RAS. Your feedback, ideas, or suggestions are highly valued. Please do not hesitate to reach out via email. (ras.tab.vp@ieee.org)

 

Thank you once again for your unwavering support.

  

Kyujin Cho

Professor

Director, Soft Robotics Research Center, Biorobotics Laboratory

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Seoul National University, Korea  

VP of Technical Activities Board, IEEE Robotics and Automation Society

General Chair of ICRA 2027