Women in Robotics

Final Call:RAS AdCom Recommendations/Petitions Due July 1

Although the deadline for submission of Petitions for RAS AdCom candidacy wasJune 1, a one time extension is being granted.All recommendations for nominees for RAS Adcom must be submitted to the RASadministrator (r.g.snyder@ieee.org) by July 1, 2008.Petitions with at least 121 qualified signatures will guarantee placement on theballot. Petitions with 25 valid signatures will be considered for candidacy.IEEE member numbers must accompany each signature. No recommendations orpetitions received after July 1 will be considered.

New RAS TC on Marine Robotics and Robot Learning

The Robotics and Automation Society AdCom has aproved two new Technical Committee (TC).

Organizers of the Marine Robotics TC include Gianluca Antonelli, antonelli@unicas.it corresponding and membership chair, Andrew Bennett,Hayato Kondo, Giacomo Marani,Richard Rikoski,Dan Stilwell, andJunku Yuh.

Please notice that all members will receive a biannual newsletter. Mostof the information will be collected in the webpage. Members are encouraged to sendlinks to their laboratories and other activities they would like to see in the webpage.

Organizers of the Robot Learning TC include Russ Russ Tedrake, JunMorimoto, Jun, Jan Peters Corresponding Co-Chair, and Nicholas Roy, Corresponding Co-Chair

TCs encourage research in specific areas, particularly those which are] new and evolving. Membership is free and open to anyone.

As research areas mature and change and the interests and priorities of the TC members change, TCs are retired. Sometimes they are transformed into new TCs with a different focus. The Technical Activities Board has instituted a 'Triennial '. TAB recommened to AdCom that three TCs be retired or merged with existing or new technical committees. They are Underwater Robotics, which will become part of the Marine Robotics; Manufacturing Automation; and Prototyping for Robotics and Automation.

Further information can be found on the TC web pagesand on the RAS Techlnical Activities web page:

New RAS TC on Marine Robotics

The Robotics and Automation Society AdCom has aproved a new Technical Committee (TC) on Marine Robotics. Organizers include Gianluca Antonelli,Andrew Bennett,Hayato Kondo,Giacomo Marani,Richard Rikoski,Dan Stilwell, andJunku Yuh

TCs encourage research in specific areas. Membership is free and opento anyone; email antonelli@unicas.it to request membership.Further information can be found on the TC web page:and on the RAS web page: http://www.ieee-ras.org/technical/index.php .Please notice that, subscribing, you will receive a biannual newsletter. Mostof the information will be collected in the webpage. Members are encouraged to sendlinks to their laboratories and other activities they would like to see in the webpage.

TheRASOR Makes the Scene at ICRA2008 Student Party

ICRA2008 in Pasadena,California featured a Student Party (oldies didn't get free drink tickets) withentertainment by the now legendary international rock band, RASOR! -- Robotics AndAutomation Society Officers Rock! --featuring vocalist Robin Murphy, guitarist and vocalistAlessandro De Luca, Stefano Stramigioli on drums, and Seth Hutchinson on bass. The band performed songs from the Rolling Stones, the Who, and other classic rock bands and, in honor of Pasadena's location on the famed transcontinental highway, sang "Get your kicks on Route 66!" See the video at http://www.prisma.unina.it/ftp/TheRASOR_Videos.zip> (>500Mb) or on You Tube in 4 files , due to YouTube limitations, enjoy it!Part1,Part2 . Part3 Part4 .The band plans a repeat performance at Kobe, with more musicians including soundman and promoter Ken Goldberg and pianist Aude Billard.The Student Party followed the Gold Reception for grad students and young professionals, which provided generous refreshments and the opportunity to meet the chairs of the RAS's TechnicalCommittees.Earlier in the week, student chapter chairs met for a workshop led by Surya Singh and Carol Reilly.More pix from ICRA 2008

The New Golden Age of Robotics

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 roboticistâ one of the dreams is to build the most complex machine there isâ to try to copy the human.' "-- --MORE--

RAS 2008 New Initiative Proposals Due Friday February 15

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 administratorRosalyn 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 â Deadline for proposal submission
March 15, 2008 â Funding decisions disseminated
November 30, 2008 â Final report due
November 30, 2008 â 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 PIâs institution
There can be no âupfrontâ 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 communitythose 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

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 womenâs 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 â 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

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 AutomationA 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.

IEEE TFA and Fellows Nominations

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.

CFP: Scientific Workflow Management and Applications

Special Issue of IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering
Call for Papers

cientific 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: http://www.swinflow.org/si/t-ase.htm.

KUKA To Sponsor Best Service Robotics ICRA Paper Award

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/RSJ IROS 2007 and Fires in the San Diego Area

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

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) â For contributions in robot mechatronics, telerobotics, man-machine interface research, and space robotics.
2006: George Bekey (University of Southern California) â For contributions to research and education in biologically inspired and intelligent robots.
2005: Seiuemon Inaba (FANUC Ltd.) â For long-standing leadership and technical contributions to the development of Numerical Control machines, industrial robots, and flexible factory automation.
2004: Joseph Engelberger â For a lifetime of achievement in establishing and advancing the field of robotics and automation worldwide.

2008 RAS New Initiative Grants: Tentative CFP

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 administratorRosalyn 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 â Deadline for proposal submission
March 15, 2008 â Funding decisions disseminated
November 30, 2008 â Final report due
November 30, 2008 â Deadline for invoice

Call for Nominations: RAM Associate Editors

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.

Call for Nominations: RAM Associate Editors

CFP: IROS 2008

The 2008 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems will be held September 22-26, 2008 in Nice, France. The conference theme is "Robots for the planet", reflecting the growing development of robots use in all aspects of human life and their increasing diversity but also to emphasize the necessity of managing the co-existence of robots and humans within a sustainable development scheme.

General Co-Chairs are Raj Chatila (LAAS) and Jean-Pierre Merlet (INRIA). Program Chair is Christian Laugier (INRIA.

Deadline for contributed papers: 11:59 PM, France Time, February 22, 2008

All papers must be submitted electronically in PDF format through the PaperPlaza system and must contain no information to identify authors and must contain a maximum of 6 pages, including Figures although 2 additional pages are allowed at a charge of 200 Euros per page.

CFP: IROS 2008

General Co-Chairs are Raj Chatila (LAAS) and Jean-Pierre Merlet (INRIA). Program Chair is Christian Laugier (INRIA.

Deadline for contributed papers: 11:59 PM, France Time, February 22, 2008

2008 IEEE-CASE

The fourth annual IEEE Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (IEEE CASE 2008), sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, will be held from August 23 to 26, 2008 in Washington DC, U.S.A. The conference goal is the broad coverage and dissemination of foundational research on automation among researchers, academicians, and industry practitioners. The focus is on scientific methods for automated machines and systems operating in structured environments over long periods, and also on the explicit structuring of environments.The deadline for submissions is 1 February, 2008.

The ICRA 2008 Robot Challenge

A new robot event is being introduced at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, starting at ICRA 2008. The event will consist of a number of specific challenges with the overall theme of "space robotics". Our goal is to make this competition accessible to all members of the ICRA community, to integrate it tightly with the technical aspects of the conference, and to encourage as many participants as possible to bring their robots and compete.

We are currently working on finalizing the rules and the structure of the events, and are looking for input from the community. If you would like to contribute your opinions and experience to the discussion, please join the discussion mailing list. As the details of the Challenge solidify, they will be posted on the web site. To be informed of new developments, please join the the announcement mailing list .For more information, contact the Challenge Chairs

Challenge ChairsBill Smart
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Washington University in St. Louis
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130
United States
Phone: +1 (314) 935-4749
Fax: +1 (314) 935-7302
Email: wds (at) cse (dot) wustl (dot) edu

Paul Rybski
Robotics Institute
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
United States
Phone: +1 (412) 268-7417
Fax: +1 (412) 268-5571
Email: prybski (at) cs (dot) cmu (dot) edu
Robotics Institute
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
United States
Phone: +1 (412) 268-7417
Fax: +1 (412) 268-5571
Email: prybski (at) cs (dot) cmu (dot) edu

Women in Robotics

Final Call:RAS AdCom Recommendations/Petitions Due July 1

New RAS TC on Marine Robotics and Robot Learning

New RAS TC on Marine Robotics

TheRASOR Makes the Scene at ICRA2008 Student Party

The New Golden Age of Robotics

RAS 2008 New Initiative Proposals Due Friday February 15

Timeline:

Submission of Proposals

Several issues to consider:

Evaluation of Proposals

Essential characteristics

High priority characteristics:

Low priority characteristics:

Other Issues:

"IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine"Debuts

Call for Nominations: IEEE and RAS Society Awards

IEEE TFA and Fellows Nominations

CFP: Scientific Workflow Management and Applications

KUKA To Sponsor Best Service Robotics ICRA Paper Award

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

Call for Nominations: IEEE Robotics&Automation Field Award

2008 RAS New Initiative Grants: Tentative CFP

Call for Nominations: RAM Associate Editors

Call for Nominations: RAM Associate Editors

CFP: IROS 2008

CFP: IROS 2008

2008 IEEE-CASE

The ICRA 2008 Robot Challenge