Technical Activities


Satoshi Tadokoro

Vice-President - Technical Activities

  Tohoku University, Graduate School of Information Sciences
Flag of Japan Sendai (Miyagi), Japan
Phone +81 22 795 7022 / +81 90 3709 5449 Skype
Fax +81 22 795 7023 Website http://www.rm.is.tohoku.ac.jp
E-mail Linkedin
view full profile »

The Technical Activities Board (TAB) focuses on the research content of the Robotics and Automation Society, tracking technical developments and encouraging innovation in: applications, theory, models, metrics, experiments, architectures, products, initiatives, and other technical areas. The TAB oversees the Technical Committees and the Distinguished Lecturers programs. The TAB is chaired by the Vice President for Technical Activities. Members of the TAB include all current Technical Committee Co-Chairs,  and five members appointed by the RAS President.

Technical Committees

For a list of  RAS Technical Committees, their chairs and recent activities ,see http://tab.ieee-ras.org/ .

It is not difficult to establish a new RAS Technical Committee. The key is showing that the proposed topic area is growing, relevant, sufficiently outside the scope of existing TCs, and identifying a very enthusiastic team of Co-Chairs to lead and sustain the group. The first step is to submit an application with the information below to the VPTA. This is then reviewed and brought before the TAB and the Adcomm at the next semi-annual meeting (usually in April and October).
Note: please be sure to carefully read the Duties of TC Co-Chairs and confirm that you and your co-Chairs are willing to accept the Duties for at least 3 years.


Application for Proposing a New Technical Committee


(Please send in plain text -- no attachments please).

  1. 1.    Proposed Title
  2. 2.    Proposed Scope (under 200 words)
  3. 3.    Motivation (under 200 words). Recent technical developments, growing number of papers, etc.
  4. 4.    Relationship to existing TCs (under 200 words). Which existing TCs are closest in scope and argument why it is not possible to coordinate this topic under an existing TC.
  5. 5.    Goals within 3 and 6 years (under 100 words).
  6. 6.    Proposed Chair and Co-Chairs (with affiliations and contact info). TC's should can have up to 4 co-Chairs, preferably at least one from each major geographic area: Asia, Europe, Americas. With one Co-Chair agreeing to be the corresponding co-chair to take responsibility for updating the website, corresponding promptly with the Society and new members.
  7. 7.    Confirmation that the Proposed Chair and Co-Chairs have reviewed the TAB Charter and are prepared to accept the Duties of TC Co-Chairs.


Duties of Technical Committee Co-Chairs


Every 2 years, the incoming RAS President appoints TC Co-Chairs. The next term begins in 2010. Most TC Co-Chairs serve from 4-6 years. One Co-Chair, the Corresponding Co-Chair, is primarily responsible for prompt communication with the Society and with current and potential members of the TC.
Duties:

  1. 1.    Serve as a reliable point of contact for the TC via email
  2. 2.    Maintain the TC website at IEEE RAS Technical Committees.
  3. 3.    Define and annually update the TC scope
  4. 4.    Coordinate and promptly submit semi-annual reports to the VP-TA (Vice-President of Technical Activities).
  5. 5.    Post an updated single slide on TC Technical Progress (see Appendix IV of Charter) in January each year.
  6. 6.    Maintain the TC membership list (including email addresses)
  7. 7.    Recruit new members
  8. 8.    Communicate at least twice a year with TC members via group email
  9. 9.    Encourage research in their area
  10. 10.    Advise junior researchers in their area
  11. 11.    Track major developments in their area
  12. 12.    Promptly respond to inquiries from fellow researchers and the press
  13. 13.    Alert VP-TA about major research developments
  14. 14.    Evaluate new results and initiatives when requested by the VP-TA
  15. 15.    Recommend reviewers when requested by EICs
  16. 16.    Attend or appoint a representative from the TC to go to the semi-annual TAB meetings (or sending a representative)
  17. 17.    Attend or appoint a representative from the TC to participate in GOLD events (Graduates of the Last Decade) at major RAS conferences (ICRA, IROS, CASE).
  18. 18.    Coordinate and promtly submit Triennial TC self-evaluation reports (once every 3 years).
  19. If a TC Corresponding Co-Chair will be away from email for more than 2 weeks, he or she shall set up appropriate auto-reply messages and appoint a Co-Chair to handle communication during this period. TC Chairs can be replaced after a 4 week warning by the VPTA if they are unresponsive to communication.

 

Technical Committee Triennial Review

RAS Bylaws require TCs to be reviewed every 3 years and considered for possible retirement. A rotation of the TCs will be initiated so that approximately one third of TCs are reviewed each year at ICRA.  Please note that there should be no "stigma" to retiring a TC.  TC's are to spur activity in specific research areas and should naturally retire to make room for new TCs after 6-9 years when interest in a  TC topic has declined or the TC is sufficiently thriving.

Triennial Review Policy/Process for TCs (Approved Nov 2007)

 

Distinguished Lecturers

The Distinguished Lecturer program is aimed at promoting the research areas of the Robotics and Automation Society as identified by its Technical Committees.  For details about arranging a Distinguished Lecturer visitor, see http://www.ieee-ras.org/technical/lecturers.html.