The International Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR) is a single-track workshop devoted to recent advances on algorithmic problems in robotics. The workshop proceedings will be published in a hardcover volume in the Springer STAR series, and selected papers will be invited for publication in a special issue of the International Journal of Robotics Research. WAFR 2010 will return to the format of the early WAFRs and place strong emphasis on interactions and discussions among participants.

Robot algorithms are a fundamental component of robotic systems. These algorithms process inputs from sensors that provide noisy and partial data, build geometric and physical models of the world, plan high- and low-level actions at different time horizons, and execute these actions on actuators with limited precision. The design and analysis of robot algorithms raise a unique combination of questions from many fields, including control theory, computational geometry and topology, geometrical and physical modeling, reasoning under uncertainty, probabilistic algorithms, game theory, and theoretical computer science.

News

  • Dec 6, 2010
    For poster presenters, the poster board size is roughly A0 (portrait), 1 meter on the long edge.
  • Nov 8, 2010
    If you intend to submit a poster, please use this LaTeX style file to format your poster abstract for submission.
  • Oct 21, 2010
    A preliminary program is now available.
  • Oct 1, 2010
    The registration site is open.
  • Sep 13, 2010
    All authors were notified of the decisions on the submissions. Please submit the final version of accepted papers by Oct 1, 2010.
  • Jul 8, 2010
    As a result of many requests, the paper submission deadline will be extended to Jul 15, 11:59pm (Samoa Time).
  • May 21, 2010
    The organization committee received comments from a number of people regarding the new workshop format and its potential implication on the acceptance rate for contributed papers.
In response to the feedback from the community, we have decided to make some adjustments to the workshop format:
  • Presentations of all contributed papers will have the same amount of time.
  • Time dedicated for discussion may be planned at the end of sessions.
This way, topics for discussion can be focused and tailored to the interest of workshop participants. As stated earlier, one primary objective of WAFR 2010 is to encourage interactions and discussions among the attendees.
We would also like to stress that there is no specific limit on the number of accepted papers. It is anticipated that the number of accepted papers will be comparable to earlier WAFRs. All accepted papers will have the same maximum page length in the published proceedings.

Topics

The focus of WAFR is on the design and analysis of robot algorithms from both theoretical and practical angles. The topics of interest are very broad. We encourage papers on fundamental algorithmic issues, such as complexity, completeness, machine learning, probabilistic reasoning, and new programming paradigms, to name a few. We also encourage papers on applications of robot algorithms to important or new domains, such as manufacturing, legged locomotion, distributed robotics, human-robot interaction, surgical robots, intelligent prosthetics, and brain-controlled robots. Furthermore, robot algorithms are being applied in domains beyond the traditional scope of robotics, e.g., computational biology, computer animation, sensor networks, etc. Papers on these topics are also welcomed.

Format

WAFR 2010 will place strong emphasis on interactions and discussions among participants. Each presentation will be followed by ample time for discussions. There may also be time dedicated for discussions at the end of sessions. To facilitate discussions, all papers will be made available on-line prior to the workshop. The goal will be to encourage interesting and constructive discussions throughout the workshop.

All accepted papers will have the same maximum page length in the published proceedings.

Invited Speakers

Leslie Kaelbling, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jean-Pierre Merlet, INRIA Sophia Antipolis
Jose del Millan, EPFL
Yoshihiko Nakamura, University of Tokyo
Daniela Rus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Moshe Shoham, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

Workshop Co-Chairs

David Hsu, National University of Singapore
Volkan Isler, University of Minnesota
Jean-Claude Latombe, Stanford University
Ming C. Lin, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Program Committee

Srinivas Akella, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Dan Halperin, Tel Aviv University
Seth Hutchinson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Vijay Kumar, University of Pennsylvania
Jean-Paul Laumond, LAAS-CNRS
Stephane Redon, INRIA
Daniela Rus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Katsu Yamane, Disney Research & Carnegie Mellon University

Important Dates

  • Jul 15, 2010, 11:59pm (Samoa Time) Paper submission deadline
  • Sep 14, 2010 Notification of accepted papers
  • Oct 1, 2010 Final paper due
  • Dec13-15, 2010 Workshop in Singapore

Sponsors

We wish to thank the following organizations for their support of WAFR 2010:

Contact

E-mail: wafr AT comp.nus.edu.sg