The Society is interested in both applied and theoretical issues in robotics and automation. Robotics is here defined to include intelligent machines and systems used, for example, in space exploration, human services, or manufacturing; whereas automation includes the use of automated methods in various applications, for example, factory, office, home, laboratory automation, or transportation systems to improve performance and productivity.
Robotics and Automation involves designing and implementing intelligent machines which can do work too dirty, too dangerous, too precise or too tedious for humans. It also pushes the boundary on the level of intelligence and capability for many forms of autonomous, semi-autonomous and teleoperated machines. Intelligent machines have applications in medicine, defense, space and underwater exploration, service industries, disaster relief, manufacturing and assembly and entertainment.

Sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society
In connection to IEEE ICRA 2007

Date and time: Thursday, April 12, 12:20-13:50
Location: Aula Minor of the Angelicum
Organizers: Allison Okamura, Danica Kragic, Aude Billard, Nancy Amato, Mihoko Otake, Robin Murphy
Registration: The event is open to all conference participants. To allow us to estimate attendance, please email Allison Okamura (aokamura at jhu dot edu) with the subject line "BoF Women Lunch" if you would like to attend this event.
Contact and more information: Danica Kragic (dani at kth dot se)

Motivation:
The field of robotics and automation has grown significantly during the past few decades. Today, we are seeing some of the most ground-breaking work being performed by researchers with very different backgrounds: medical doctors collaborating with software and tool designers, physiologists and neuroscientists collaborating with computer vision researchers, behavior and social study researchers collaborating with developers of humanoid robots. It appears that this synergistic trend has brought more women into the field of robotics and automation, which has historically been dominated by men. However, there are still relatively few women at robotics and automation conferences. Our long-term goal is to develop activities that increase the number of women participating in the field of robotics and automation.

Topics to discuss:
Career difficulties/requirements/paths
What are the research interests of female researchers in robotics and automation?
What is the male/female senior researcher ratio in RAS and IEEE as a whole?
What is the male/female student ratio in RAS?
Strategies for encouraging young women (from grade school through graduate school) to join the robotics field.?

Related links:
IEEE Women in Enginering
IEEE Robotics and Automation Society
Women in Robotics and Automation towards Human Science, Technology and Society