RAS E-News March 2010

Volume 8, Number 5

 

1. IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine: Call for Papers

The IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine (RAM) is calling for technical articles of interest to the international robotics and automation community.

The Magazine is a unique technology publication which is peer-reviewed, readable and substantive. It is a forum for articles which fall between the academic and theoretical orientation of scholarly journals and vendor sponsored trade publications. The Magazine complements these publications and seeks to present new scientific results to the practicing engineer through a focus on working systems.

The magazine is consistently ranked by Thompson's Journal of Citation Reports among the top four Robotics publications world wide and in 2009 was number one with an impact factor of 3.0.

 

2. ICRA 2010 EARLY REGISTRATION ENDS MARCH 31.

ICRA2010 General Chair Wesley Snyder reports that over 1000 people have registered as of March 22. The Anchorage Hilton is nearly full, but the other ICRA conference hotel the Mariott, still has rooms. Snyder noted that over 50 companion tickets have already been purchased for the 'rolling banquet' on the train. He reminds ICRA participants that the train has a fixed maximum capacity, so that if they have not already registered for the conference, and/or ordered a companion ticket for the train they need to do so soon.

Also, see the ICRA website www.icra2010.org, to sign up for the Women's BOF lunch and/or the the GOLD lunch (for students and young professionals.)

 

3. ICRA 2010 CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF ROBOTICS WITH SPECIAL SESSIONS

It has been 50 years since George Devol's initial work on programmable automation led to the development of Unimate, the world’s first industrial robot. Today robots are used to perform surgeries, discover new drugs, explore the deep seas and outer space, serve as security guards, vacuum clean our carpets and mow our lawns at home, in addition to being critical to high-quality manufacturing. This conference is a celebration of the accomplishments of the field in the last five decades and hence the theme of the conference: 50 Years of Robotics!

Program chair Vijay Kumar announces that ICRA2010 will introduce special sessions reflecting the '50 Years of Robotics' conference theme. Each session will address one of 8 key technical areas underlying robotics research and application domains where robotics and automation have made and continue to make a significant impact.

The four technical area sessions address control, perception, learning, and planning. The four application domains are: medical and life sciences; industrial robotics and automation; energy, environment and society; and field robotics. Each session includes a keynote speaker and three contributed papers that were selected by the Senior Program Committee.

The technical program of ICRA 2010 also includes of 3 invited plenary talks and 154 technical sessions. The conference also features 43 technical workshops and tutorials, scheduled before and after the main technical program.

 

4. RAS ADCOM AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS IN ANCHORAGE

Members of RAS boards and committees can find the schedule of meetings at wwww.ieee-ras.org/calendar/meetinglist. The AdCom will meet Saturday, May 8.

 

5. IEEE-IFR INVENTION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION AWARD DEADLINE MARCH 31

Since 2005 the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and the International Federation of Robotics have jointly sponsored an award to recognize the entrepreneurial commercialization of ideas into actual products.

Nominations should cite and describe theoriginal work that has been translated into commercial application as well as the commercial product and its success. The nomination must also describe the unique characteristics of the transformation into the commercialized product t hat justify the award. The current and future impact of the commercial product is a fundamental element of the merit for selection. The $2000 prize will go to the individual or team of individual responsible for the contribution. IEEE-RAS membership is not required.

This year the award will be presented at the IERA Workshop held June 8, in Munich, colocated with the International Symposium on Robotics and Robotika.

For details see www.ieee-ras.org/awards.

 

6. ROBOTDALEN COMPETITION DEADLINE MAY 31

For the 4th time Robotdalen is sponsoring the international research competition the Robotdalen Scientific Award to encourage young, innovative researchers within the field of robotics. Last date of entry is May 31, 2010. The winner will be announced on Robotdalen Day in Sweden in September, and receive the prize sum of € 20 000. Please visit www.robotdalen.se/award for further information. If you have any questions please contact Mr Lennart Karlsson, Internationalization Manager at Robotdalen and Project Manager for the Robotdalen Scientific Award, at award@robotdalen.se.

 

7. US TO CELEBRATE FIRST NATIONAL ROBOTICS WEEK APRIL 10-17

Universities, companies and other organizations across the US will be holding open houses, demos, competitions, and seminars on aspects of robotics ranging from food processing to firefighting.

National Robotics Week is a product of a 2009 effort by leading universities and companies to create a “national road-map” for robotics technology, which was initially unveiled at a May 2009 briefing by academic and industry leaders, including many RAS Members, to the Congressional Caucus on Robotics.

U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (PA-14), co-chair of the Caucus, and other members have submitted a formal resolution asking Congress to support the designation of the second full week in April as National Robotics Week. For more information and a schedule of events, see http://www.nationalroboticsweek.org/about.