IEEE RoboSoft Full-day Workshop
When: April 14th, 2024
Where: Hard Rock Hotel San Diego, 207 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101, USA
Building upon the success of the annual Conference on Embodied Intelligence, this workshop aims to advance discussions on democratizing soft robotics through the perspective of embodied intelligence.
The workshop’s objectives are twofold:
1) Explore the convergence of embodied intelligence and soft robotics technology, drawing insights from recent advancements to address conceptual challenges and translate them into tangible, physical solutions.
2) Broaden participation by engaging soft robotics researchers from diverse communities.
By emphasizing collaboration and community engagement, this workshop actively contributes to the ongoing paradigm shift in soft robotics research. It advocates for a holistic and inclusive approach to technological advancement, echoing the success and significance of previous discussions within the collaborative community. To push the boundaries of soft robotics, our commitment lies in fostering a community-driven approach to technological development, with a dedicated focus on embodied intelligence to bridge the gap between technology and human experiences.
Program at a Glance
All times are in California time.
| 8:15 – 8:30 | Welcome, agenda, introduction | Workshop organizers |
| 8:30 – 9:30 | Invited speaker talks | Ilana Nisky, Jonas Jørgensen, Tania Morimoto, Thrish Nanayakkara, Invited students |
| 9:30 – 9:40 | Student flash-talks | Poster finalists |
| 9:40 – 10:00 | Discussion | Everyone |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Coffee, poster, demos | |
| 10:30 – 11:30 | Invited speaker talks | Dana Damian, Thilina Lalitharatne, Barbara Mazzolai, Richard Futrell, Invited students |
| 11:30 – 12:00 | Discussion & AM wrap-up | Everyone |
| 12:00 – 13:30 | Lunch break | |
| 13:30 – 14:50 | Summary & Invited speaker talks | Ankur Mehta, Eduardo Bayro-Corrochano, Onur Özcan, Cecilia Laschi, David Howard |
| 14:50 – 15:05 | Soft robots on a budget pitches | Competition finalists |
| 15:05 – 15:30 | Discussion | Everyone |
| 15:30 – 16:00 | Coffee break | |
| 16:00 – 16:45 | Invited speaker talks | Adam Stokes, Laura Blumenschein, Fumiya Iida |
| 16:45 – 17:05 | Discussion | Everyone |
| 17:05 – 17:15 | Wrap up & Next steps | Workshop organizers |
Our Speakers and Provisional Titles
Timetable
All times are in California time.
Morning Session: Democratization through embodied intelligence technology
8:15 – Welcome & Intro
8:30 – Prof. Ilana Nisky: “Embodied intelligence in physical interaction between surgeons and robots” [Online]
8:45 – Prof. Jonas Jørgensen: “Embodied Knowledge for Embodied Intelligence: Interfacing Art-Based Methods and Soft Robotics” [Online]
9:00 – Prof. Tania Morimoto: “Soft haptic interfaces for teleoperating continuum robots”
9:15 – Prof. Thrish Nanayakkara: “How interactive robotic patients can help medical trainees to be robust in diverse social contexts”
9:30 – Student Flash-talks
9:30 – Xiaohao Xu: “Robust Embodied Perception for Soft Robots: How Far Are We There?”
9:30 – Mahdiar Edraki: “Striking a Target with a Whip: From Human to Robot Control”
9:30 – Fuchen Chen: “Steerable Walking with Vibrating Soft Twisted Beams”
9:40 – Discussion
10:00 – Coffee, posters, demos
10:30 – Prof. Dana Damian: “More fluidics, less electronics: soft robots based on minimal and accessible resources, with applications to healthcare” [Online]
10:45 – Prof. Thilina Lalitharatne: Information Theory and Embodied Social Interactions
11:00 – Prof. Barbara Mazzolai: “Embodied Intelligence in plants and plantoids”
11:15 – Prof. Richard Futrell: “Information bottlenecks in human language processing”
11:30 – Discussion & morning wrap-up
12:00 – Lunch break
Afternoon Session: Democratization through community actions
13:30 – Welcome back to the afternoon session
13:35 – Prof. Ankur Mehta: “The power of paper“
13:50 – Prof. Eduardo Bayro-Corrochano: “Low budget – Basic research”
14:05 – Prof. Onur Özcan: “Lowering the price point of soft robots as a means to democratization“
14:20 – Prof. Cecilia Laschi: “Embodied Intelligence for soft robotics sustainable growth“
14:35 – Prof. David Howard: Democratizing research, the infrastructure and modality needed
14:50 – Soft Robotics on a Budget Pitches
14:50 – “Tubot” by Alberto Comoretto and Team
14:50 – “Vibration-based Soft Robot” by Viet Linh Nguyen and Team
14:50 – “A Soft Robot made from Garbage” by Dan Sameoto and Team
15:05 – Discussion
15:30 – Coffee break
16:00 – Prof. Adam Stokes: Funding, collaborations, start-ups in soft robotics
16:15 – Prof. Laura Blumenschein: Democratization and benchmarking in soft robotics
16:30 – Prof. Fumiya Iida: Big visions and EI community
16:45 – Discussion
17:05 – Wrap up and next steps
Calls for Contributions
We welcome participants in the workshop to present a physical poster or a demo. The submitted contributions will be reviewed based on the originality, technical contributions, clarity in presentation, and relevance to the workshop topics. Contributions can be submitted as a maximum of 2-page abstract of your work with title, author names, and affiliations. Submission form is here.
The deadline for contribution submission is March 24, 2024. The best contributions will be selected for a 3-minute flash talk during the workshop program. Contribution acceptance will be notified by March 31, 2024. Accepted submissions may become part of a journal submission after the workshop.
If you have any questions and feedback, please send an email to Nana Obayashi.
“Soft Robotics on a Budget” is a global robot design competition. Participants from around the world will compete in coming up with the most ingenious solution to a specific, real-life robotics problem. There is only one catch: the entire robot must be built on an extremely low budget, under $50.
This limitation will encourage the participants to showcase their creativity in using easily accessible DIY materials, tools, and equipment, to create robot prototypes that are subtle in their simple, low-cost nature, yet extremely powerful in terms of delivering capability that is on par with expensive, state-of-the-art devices: a hallmark of the embodied intelligence offered by the rapidly evolving field of biologically inspired, and soft, robotics.
We encourage participation from early-stage researchers, as well as students; the 3 winners (or winning teams) will be invited to present their designs at the workshop.
The initiative is an excellent opportunity to get involved with soft robotics research; the extremely low barrier to entry empowers participants from disenfranchised communities, as well as low-income countries. In showcasing one’s skills to the whole soft robotics community, and the leading researchers in the field, the participants and winners will be able to strongly boost their portfolio, and even put themselves in front of possible future employers, or postgraduate project supervisors.
Submissions should be sent to Kyle Walker by 31 March, 2024.
Organizers
- Nana Obayashi, EPFL, Switzerland
- Kyle Walker, The National Robotarium, UK
- Maks Gepner, The University of Edinburgh, UK
- Alistair McConnell, Heriot-Watt University, UK
- Chapa Sirithunge, University of Cambridge, UK
- Arsen Abdulali, University of Cambridge, UK
- Josie Hughes, EPFL, Switzerland
- Adam Stokes, The University of Edinburgh, UK
- Fumiya Iida, University of Cambridge, UK
