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Compliant Mechanisms (CMs), along with Soft Robotic devices formed therewith, may be defined as engineering systems achieving force and motion transmission via the deflection of flexible members. CMs have increasingly gained a strong foothold in the scientific arena owing to their hinge-less nature, shock resistance, potential single-piece manufacturability, safety in human-machine interaction, minimal maintenance requirements, and adaptability to work in unstructured environments. In parallel, current advances in the production of inherently compliant sensory-motor apparatus, as well as progress in the development of robust control methods, are paving the way to practical CM adoption in a large variety of engineering fields, including healthcare, manufacturing, inspection/maintenance, and agrifood. However, by embracing large deflections as a requirement rather than a design flaw, the conception and the subsequent physical prototyping of optimal CMs requires: i) material models capable of dealing with finite deformations, time-dependent phenomena, and uncertain constitutive parameters; ii) design tools allowing to simulate the behaviour of highly deformable structures; iii) reliable, possibly affordable, manufacturing methods; iv) more powerful adaptive learning and control techniques. Within this scenario, this focused section aims at providing an opportunity for material scientists, robotic/control engineers, and practitioners from academia or industry to present the latest theoretical and technological achievements in Complaint Mechanisms for Mechatronics. Focus shall be placed on transdisciplinary methodological frameworks, hardware development for real-world applications and out-of-lab experiments. Papers presenting newly emerging fields (such as robotic programmable materials) are also especially welcome.
Important Dates
- 1 March 2023 - Submission deadline
- December 2023 – Publication
More details available here: http://www.ieee-asme-mechatronics.info/focus-sections/
Dear female roboticists worldwide:
We are delighted to announce that applications for the Dr. Kanako Miura Award for Humanoids 2022 are now open.
What is the Kanako Miura Award?
This is a travel support award to the IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots established by the IEEE-RAS Technical Committee on Humanoid Robotics in recognition of Dr. Kanako Miura’s contributions to the field. Candidates for the award are doctoral and master course female students entering the field of robotics research.
Dr. Miura (1976-2013) worked at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan. Her expertise was in biomechanics, tele-communication, and human-like motion synthesis on humanoid robots. She continued her research in advanced biped locomotion at MIT. In the spring of 2013, she passed away in a tragic accident. The community was deeply saddened by this event. This award program was created to memorialize both her achievements and her friendship to so many in our community.
How to Apply
Any female students attending Humanoids 2022 can apply for this award by filling out this form and emailing it to humanoids2022kmaward(at)googlegroups.com; please use “Kanako Miura award application” in your subject line. Please note that the application deadline has been extended to November 25, 2022.
Decisions will be announced shortly after the deadline. Awardees will receive their awards during the award ceremony at the conference.
Rus made the design of distributed noisy networked robot systems more efficient, an essential step in the controllability of fleets of autonomous vehicles.
The IEEE Robotics and Automation Society is most pleased to announce that Daniela Rus has been selected as the recipient of the prestigious 2023 IEEE Robotics and Automation Award. Professor Rus was selected “for pioneering contributions to the design, realization, and theoretical foundations of innovative distributed, networked autonomous systems.” Professor Rus will receive the award at the 2023 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), which will be held in London, UK from 29 May–2 June 2023.
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Daniela Rus has made fundamental contributions to the science and engineering of autonomy, with a special focus on robotic interactions. Her work is enabling a future in which machines are pervasively integrated into the fabric of life. She has significantly advanced the ability of machines to reason, learn, and adapt to complex tasks in human-centered environments. The applications of her work include transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, underwater exploration, smart cities, and in-home tasks like cooking. Her recent work focused on computational design and fabrication of robots, as well as safe learning-based control for adaptation to changing conditions place her at the leading edge of her field. An IEEE Fellow, Rus is the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor and director of CSAIL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. |
About the IEEE Robotics and Automation Technical Field Award
The IEEE Robotics and Automation Technical Field Award (TFA) was established in 2002 by the IEEE Board of Directors. This TFA is presented for contributions in the field of robotics and automation; it is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society.
More information and a list of past recipients can be found here.
The Technical Committee on Model-Based Optimization for robotics is excited to kick off a new virtual seminar series.
We'll be getting started with a talk from Zac Machester of CMU at 10AM EST on Friday November 18th. It should be an engaging start to the series, and we hope to see many of you there!
Speaker: Zac Manchester
Title: Composable Optimization for Robotic Motion Planning and Control
Date: Friday, November 18th
Time: 10-11 AM EST (GMT -05:00)
Link:https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/j/91247893326?pwd=L2JWU21aQzc4cU1ZQklEb0QrWGQvdz09
Please see attached document for details on the speaker and the abstract.
Stay tuned for more details to come on other TC seminars that we'll be holding this spring. Our rough schedule is below. We're looking forward to this fantastic slate of speakers to help keep everyone in touch across the long gap in conferences until ICRA.
January: Carlos Mastalli and Majid Khadiv
February: Justin Carpentier
March: Nathan Ratliff
April: Hae-Won Park and Ioannis Havoutis
Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions at tc.opt.rob@gmail.com or visit out website https://www.ieee-ras.org/model-based-optimization-for-robotics.
Important Dates
Guest Editors
Don't wait! The Award Nomination Deadline is 1 September 2022
Who are Leaders in the robotics and automation field? Who should be honored with a prestigious IEEE RAS Award? Consider nominating them! But hurry, the deadline for IEEE Robotics & Automation Society Award nominations is midnight (US EST) 1 September 2022.
Details for each award, including eligibility, nomination requirements and lists of previous recipients, may be found here:
www.ieee-ras.org/awards-recognition/society-awards
The IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics (T-MRB) is published under the joint sponsorship of the Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) (50%) and the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) (50%). The T-MRB is soliciting nominations for Associate Editors to begin service in Fall 2022.
The current T-MRB Editorial Board includes 1 Editor-in-Chief, 1 Deputy Editor-in-Chief, 6 Senior Editors, and 24 Associate Editors (https://www.ieee-ras.org/publications/tmrb).
Associate Editors play a fundamental role in ensuring the quality of published articles and guiding the general development of the Transactions. The editorial support consists of a critical and careful review of the manuscript according to the IEEE guidelines, soliciting emerging topical articles for special issues, and guiding the overall direction of the publication (managed in Clarivate’s ScholarOne: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tmrb-ieee). Furthermore, Associate Editors will also provide feedback from the readership through e-mail conversations, teleconferences, and a year meeting held in person, twice a year in conjunction with the IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation (ICRA) and either the IEEE International Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference (EMBC) or the IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS).
An Associate Editor's term typically consists of a one-year probation period, followed by two years of additional service if the performance is satisfactory. T-MRB is looking forward to receiving applications from qualified candidates committed to ensure excellence and a timely service in their reviews. Candidates should have a solid technical background in T-MRB-related areas and excellent English language skills. Candidates should check the following keywords and include one primary keyword and at least another keyword in their application:
- health care applications of robotic and/or of bionic components and systems able to support prevention, diagnosis or treatment of human diseases;.
- devices for physical and cognitive rehabilitation;
- supporting systems for independent living;
- medical systems which mimic living organisms;
- surgical robots and technologies that intimately interact with the human body;
- bionic artificial organs;
- active implantable devices featuring direct interfaces to the human body.
Nominations should include a resume (not to exceed three pages), a complete list of journal publications, previous experience with publications as an Associate Editor or a Reviewer, or in other editorial capacities, and areas of technical expertise. Contact details of two references, under whom the candidate served in editorial positions before.
Please submit nominations in a single pdf file to the Editor in Chief, Prof. Paolo Dario at paolo.dario@santannapisa.it and in copy to T-MRB Editorial Office at tmrboffice@gmail.com by 15 AUGUST 2022. Any questions on this Call may be directed to tmrboffice@gmail.com
Haptics in the metaverse:Haptic feedback for Virtual, Augmented, Mixed, and eXtended Realities
Haptic sensations are a fundamental component of the user’s immersive experience when interacting in Virtual/Augmented/Mixed/eXtended Realities (VR/AR/MR/XR). In the last few years, we have witnessed the rapid development of many innovative devices and original techniques for providing haptic sensations, e.g., using force feedback, mid-air interfaces, props, or exploiting perceptual phenomena with cross-modal effects such as pseudo-haptics. While increasingly immersive and realistic experiences have developed at a fast pace, the emergence of a metaverse proposes new use cases where prolonged utilisation and social interactions become more frequent and effective than reality. This change in direction presents the haptics community with new challenges and opportunities. To that end, the goal of this Special Issue is to present innovative cutaneous and tactile technologies as well as their use towards the metaverse vision.
Image: julien Tromeur/Unsplash.
Topics of interest include:
● design consideration and evaluation of tactile haptic interfaces for VR/AR/MR/XR, specifically wearable and hand-held tactile devices;
● rendering and methods for tactile interaction in VR/AR/MR/XR;
● perceptual, behavioural, and cognitive studies on how tactile haptics can improve or alter human interaction, participation, training performances, immersion, or sense of presence in VR/AR/MR/XR;
● studies on tactile haptics investigating human perception, cognition, attention, new human-computer interaction paradigms, and user interface design and experience (UIX) during interactions in VR/AR/MR/XR;
● biometric sensing, such as GSR, eye-tracking, EEG, EMG, and heart rate, and other measurements for assessing objective and subjective performance metrics in VR/AR/MR/XR;
● use cases and applications of tactile haptics in VR/AR/MR/XR;
● computational modelling, analysis and data-driven evaluations of haptic interactions in VR/AR/MR/XR.
If you are unsure whether your topic of research fits the scope of this Special Issue, please contact the Guest Editors indicated below.
Timeline
Guest Editors
Eyal Ofek, Microsoft Research (USA)
Max Di Luca, Univ. Birmingham (UK)
Orestis Georgiou, Ultraleap (UK)
Konstantinos Koumaditis, Aarhus University (DK)
Francesco Chinello, Aarhus University (DK)
Claudio Pacchierotti, CNRS/IRISA (FR)
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine is soliciting nominations for new associate editors, to begin in January 2023. The associate editors play an important role in maintaining the caliber of the magazine by ensuring the quality of published articles by implementing reviews of
Any visionary leaders and RAS members who have frequently participated and contributed to IEEE Conference on Automation Science and Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, or Automation-related Technical Committees, and who are mature communicators and coordinators are eligible.
ICRA automation chair, TAB automation coordinator, and RA-L automation editor are visionary, experienced and dedicated automation leaders who are eager to build up the automation community while coordinating with robotic activities to cultivate, promote and contribute to the automation profession.
Submission deadline: 25 July 2022
Please send the nomination documents to Dr. Jingshan Li, jsli@tsinghua.edu.cn
IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Leaders- Ken Goldberg, Seth Hutchinson and Jing Xiao to give a panel discussion at Automate, the largest automation event in North America, on 8 June 2022.
Panel theme: "What's Next: The Cutting-Edge Research Driving Automation"
Time: 10:30-11:30 AM
Description: Researchers are developing advances in AI, Algorithms, and Cloud Computing that can enhance Logistics, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Agriculture, and many other automation applications. Researchers from Georgia Tech, WPI, Zebra Robotics, and UC Berkeley will present updates from their labs, answer questions about exciting new technologies under development, and explain how to keep informed about the latest research from organizations such as the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society: https://www.ieee-ras.org/
For more information visit Automate.
Member in the News: Interview with Craig Schlenoff On The Future Of Robotics Over the Next Few Years
Craig Schlenoff was recently interviewed by David Leichner for Authority Magazine discussing the future of robotics over the next few years. Click here for full article.
Dr. Craig Schlenoff is currently the Associate Vice President for Standardization in the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and leads the Manufacturing Robotics Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He has served as the Program Manager for the Process Engineering Program at NIST and the Director of Ontologies at VerticalNet. He also teaches two courses at the University of Maryland, College Park: “Calculus” and “Building a Manufacturing Robot Software System.” He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, his master’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and his PhD from the University of Burgundy (France).
Dear IEEE RAS Members,
As members of the global community of reseachers, scientists, and engineers who adhere to the universal principles of respect for human dignity and the free exchange of ideas, we are deeply concerned and saddened by Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
This invasion, which has already caused significant human suffering, is a clear violation of global norms. Our hearts go out to the Ukrainian people -- to those in Ukraine who are enduring such cruelty and to those who find themselves refugees from the conflict -- and to all others who are suffering from the consequences of this tragic, senseless, and unjustifiable war.
Frank Park, Aude Billard, Seth Hutchinson,
Tony Maciejewski, Nancy Amato, Bram Vanderborght,
Yoshihiko Nakamura, Andra Keay, Maria Pia Fanti,
Patrick M. Wensing, Stefano Stramigioli,
Todd Murphey, Kyujin Cho
The IEEE Robotics and Automation Society membership will elect six new members of the Administrative Committee in 2022, each to serve a three-year term beginning 1 January 2023. The AdCom is the governing body of the Society.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF ADCOM MEMBERS
AdCom members must attend two formal meetings each year, one in conjunction with ICRA and the other usually in October/November in conjunction with another major conference. Each AdCom member is expected to serve on at least two boards and/or committees of the Society.
ELIGIBILITY
Any higher-grade member of the Society is eligible to serve and all higher-grade members plus graduate students may nominate candidates and vote.
TO NOMINATE A CANDIDATE
To nominate a candidate or offer yourself as a candidate, contact the Society at ras@ieee.org by 1 May 2022.
PETITION CANDIDATES
Candidates may also petition to be on the ballot. All persons who, by the deadline, submit petitions with valid signatures and IEEE member numbers with at least 2% of the year-end voting membership will be placed on the ballot. Only original signatures on paper or electronic signatures submitted through the RAS petition website will be accepted. Faxed or emailed signatures are NOT acceptable. Contact the Society at ras@ieee.org to obtain a paper petition form or to set up an electronic petition.
Completed petitions must be received by 1 May 2022 to be placed on the ballot.
SELECTION OF FINAL BALLOT
The Nominations Committee will consider all nominations and petitions and select the candidates to be placed on the ballot.
IEEE recently hired Pete Sobel as the first Executive Director of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. Pete has more than 35 years of experience creating, supporting and growing academic, industry and professional society programs. In recent years, Pete has led initiatives at Yale, Columbia and Rutgers Universities. His efforts increased industry-academic partnerships in support of science and engineering research.
Prior to those efforts, Pete was at IEEE for nearly seven years working to establish and develop IEEE’s global offices (Europe, India, Japan and China). In that post, he also led fundraising for the IEEE Foundation, and built key corporate partnerships. Pete also established and led IEEE’s initial Humanitarian Activities Programs including partnerships with the United Nations Foundation, ASME, and Engineers Without Borders.
Pete also directed global business development for Boston’s Museum of Science, expanding their brand, diversifying revenue streams and growing the international dissemination of their K-8 engineering curriculum and intellectual property. Most recently, he served as Director, Global Affairs at Optica (formerly OSA) where he was responsible for the Global Environmental Measurement & Monitoring and Global Health Initiatives.
Pete is eager to reconnect with IEEE colleagues, forge new relationships, and dive deep into the exciting world of Robotics and Automation.
The IEEE Robotics & Automation Society recognizes and congratulates the following individuals for their outstanding accomplishments and service to RAS and the robotics and automation community. They will be honored during an award ceremony, to be held during the IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation (ICRA 2022) in May. Please join us in congratulating these outstanding recipients!
RAS Pioneer Award
Marc Raibert - Boston Dynamics, Waltham, (MA) United States
"For pioneering contributions to the field of dynamic legged locomotion"
"For pioneering contributions to the field of robot mechanics, mechanism design and surgical manipulation"
RAS George Saridis Leadership Award in Robotics and Automation
Torsten Kroeger - Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT) Karlsruhe, Germany
"For foundational research on real-time robot motion planning and leadership and service in conferences and society management"
"For leadership in robotics and automation through innovations in conferences and publications, broadly accessible education, and research"
Jing Xiao- Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester (MA), United States
"For leadership, service, dedication, and innovation in RAS and Robotics and Automation community"
IEEE RAS Distinguished Service Award
Raja Chatila - Sorbonne University, Paris, France
"For his excellent, visionary contribution to governance, journals, conferences and multidisciplinary international initiatives linking robotics to artificial intelligence and ethics"
Aude Billard – EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
"For her leadership in RAS publication activities and distinguished services on RAS conferences and RAS committees."
Cecilia Laschi– National University of Singapore, Singapore
"For her outstanding contribution and leadership in Technical Activities, Conferences, and Administrative Committees"
Early Academic Career Award in Robotics and Automation
Chelsea Finn - Stanford University, Stanford (CA), USA
"For pioneering contributions in deep robotic learning, and their application to vision-based robotic manipulation."
Dorsa Sadigh- Stanford University, Stanford (CA), USA
"For contributions to learning and control algorithms for interactive robotics"
Early Government or Industry Career Award in Robotics and Automation
Joshua Mehling- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, (TX) USA
"For extraordinary contributions to the advancement of space robotic systems and their innovative spin-off application in industry and other government missions"
IEEE Robotics and Automation Award for Product Innovation
ANYbotics
Peter Fankhauser
"ANYmal: a versatile quadruped robot with high mobility for inspection and maintenance"
RAS Most Active Technical Committee Award
Technical Committee on Haptics
Chair: Claudio Pacchierotti, Co-Chairs: Manuel Cruz, Ki-Uk Kyung
Technical Committee on Model-Based Optimization for Robotics
Co-Chairs: Sylvain Calinon, Adrien Escande, Yue Hu, Patrick M. Wensing
RAS Chapter of the Year Award
IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, Kerala Chapter
Chair: Dr. Jisha V R, Co-Chair: Robin Tommy
RAS Student Chapter of the Year Award
RAS Student Branch Chapter Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology
Chair: Abdul Ahad, Co-Chair: Ajisha V
RAS Student Branch Chapter Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Bogotá
Chair: Valentina Hernández
The IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) is interested in encouraging students to play an active role in existing robotics standardization efforts. To help encourage student participation, funds have been set aside to provide partial travel support to students interested in attending the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Philadelphia, PA on May 23-27, where numerous IEEE robotics standardization meetings will be held. We expect to award 3 - 4 travel grants for $1,000 each. While this will likely only support a fraction of the students’ travel expenses, it is hoped that this will make it a little easier for students to attend. Priority will be given to students that would not have otherwise attended ICRA (e.g., do not have a paper accepted), and priority will also be given to undergraduate students. You do not need to be an IEEE member to apply.
Travel awards will cover conference and/or workshop registration and partial reimbursement for lodging and travel. Reimbursements will be processed after attendance at ICRA 2022. Funding will be contingent on ICRA 2022 occurring physically (not virtually only). Selected students will be expected to participate in the full-day International Robotics Standards Coordination Effort meeting likely to be held the day before ICRA (22 May), as well as participate in at least one standards working group meeting. Students will also be required to write a 2 - 3 page report, submitted to IEEE RAS, describing their experiences at the conference and how they expect to use what they learned.
Any questions can be directed to Dr. Craig Schlenoff (Associate Vice President of Standardization in the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Industrial Activities Board) at craig.schlenoff@nist.gov.
Applications are due 1 March 2022 with notification of acceptance expected on or around 15 March 2022.
Important Links:
- To apply for the travel grant: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/
form/ 1cdaa60cf0484d29a31da3ae3b5010 63 - IEEE RAS Standardization Efforts: https://www.ieee-ras.org/
industry-government/standards - ICRA 2022 Website: https://www.icra2022.org/
