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ICRA 2024 Forum “Enhancing Service Robots for Future Homes”
by Katarzyna Pasternak 11 Apr '24

11 Apr '24

Dear RoboCuppers, We are pleased to extend our invitation for the Forum "Enhancing Service Robots for Future Homes: Insights and Learnings Forum" scheduled to take place at ICRA 2024 on May 16th, 2024. This forum will provide a venue to discuss the current state and future of research and advancement of domestic service robots, spanning from human-robot interaction and scene understanding to navigation and object manipulation. We believe that by exploring these areas, we can pave the way for the creation of at-home service robots that seamlessly integrate into human environments. Our distinguished panel of speakers, comprising six experts in the field of robotics, will offer invaluable insights into the topics such as explainable robots, safety, trustworthiness, perception, planning, and learning for service robots. Through their expertise, we aim to foster a deeper understanding of recent technological advancements and their implications for the development of service robots. Furthermore, we will provide context by discussing the role of RoboCup and other competition environments in shaping the future of robotics. We cordially invite you to join us for this forum, where you'll have the opportunity to engage with fellow experts, researchers, and enthusiasts in the field. Your presence and insights will contribute to the success of our discussions. Event Details: Date: May 16th, 2024 Time: 13:30 - 18:00 Location: Pacific Convention Plaza Yokohama(PACIFICO Yokohama), North G1 room Website: sites.google.com/view/fma-home-icra24 and 2024.ieee-icra.org/program/forums/ Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to reach out to the forum organizers at kwp(a)cs.miami.edu. We look forward to welcoming you to the "Enhancing Service Robots for Future Homes" forum and to the enriching discussions that lie ahead. Warm regards, Forum Organizers Justin Hart, Matteo Leonetti, Katarzyna Pasternak, Komei Sugiura, Ubbo Visser, Sven Wachsmuth

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Rulebook 2024 Release
by Johannes Kummert 08 Apr '24

08 Apr '24

Hi everybody, The final Rulebook version for the 2024 competitions is released now: https://github.com/RoboCupAtHome/RuleBook/releases/tag/2024.1 Final version means no more major changes. However wording changes and clarifications might still be made. With Eindhoven fast approaching I'd like to, again, offer a session where teams can ask any questions regarding the new rulebook and competition. This is mainly aimed at newer teams but of course open to everybody. Note, that it is also not exclusively for qualified teams, but teams participating in one the opens or planning to participate next year are also invited to sit in and ask questions. Please keep in mind that we cannot answer questions or make any promises about the specific conditions in Eindhoven. The session will be held on Friday the 15th at 14:00 GMT+1. I will send a zoom link then. If demand is high I would be willing to do a second session. If you cannot make it on Friday at that time, please message me with your time zone and I try to find a more convenient 2nd time for hopefully everybody. Regards Johannes

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Rulebook 2024 Q&A
by Johannes Kummert 15 Mar '24

15 Mar '24

Hello everybody, Rulebook Q&A document (Zoom link for later inside): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y_MfWs0nnnhYtIzp5qAV9wxTDLQhbmKomlAL4ft… Regards Johannes

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ternational Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems (TAS '24), 16-18 September 2024, Austin, Texas
by Justin W Hart 06 Mar '24

06 Mar '24

Call for Participation The Second International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems 2024 (TAS ‘24), 16-18 September 2024, Austin, Texas https://symposium.tas.ac.uk/2024/ We invite submissions on research focused on trustworthy autonomous systems (TAS), responsible and ethical artificial intelligence, and human-machine interaction. Important dates 3 May 2024: submission of poster abstracts, full papers, and workshop proposals July 2024: notifications 16 September 2024: workshops day 17-18 September 2024: conference days Autonomous systems involve software applications and machines that can take actions with little or no human supervision. We are particularly interested in socio-technical systems involving both humans and machines working together, and automated decision-making processes and the ways in which they are employed by and impacting people. Trustworthy autonomous systems (TAS) generate positive outcomes and mitigate potentially harmful outcomes for people, societies, economies, and the environment. We invite full-paper submissions, poster abstracts, and workshop proposals on research that addresses the challenges of designing, building, and deploying Trustworthy Autonomous Systems (TAS). Contributions may consider technical, social, legal, and ethical issues and their impacts on individuals, society, and the economy. Submissions may come from disciplines including, but not limited to, engineering, computer science, psychology, social sciences, law, and arts & humanities. Submissions will be selected for publication following peer review. Submission information will be released soon. The proceedings, including full papers and abstracts, will be published in the ACM Digital Library. Liz Dowthwaite, TAS Hub, University of Nottingham, UK Justin Hart, Good Systems, The University of Texas at Austin, US TAS ‘24 General Chairs

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Call for Participation RoboCup German Open 2024
by Sven Wachsmuth 29 Feb '24

29 Feb '24

*PLEASE NOTE THAT THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS FEB 29 2024!* * * * * *RoboCup German Open 2024 - Major Leagues* Call for Participation https://robocup.de/german-open April 17th – 21th, 2024 Messe Kassel, Germany The RoboCup German Open 2024 will be the 21st open RoboCup competition held in Germany. The event will take place in Kassel at Messe Kassel. Every regional and international Major team is cordially invited to take part in the event. --------------------- RoboCup Major Leagues (international teams) ------------------------- Competitions are from April 17 - 21 in the following Major leagues: RoboCup Soccer Standard Platform League RoboCup Soccer Humanoid League RoboCup Soccer Small Size League RoboCup Rescue Robot League RoboCup Logistics League RoboCup @Home League RoboCup @Work League The registration opens *** February 12th, 2024 ***. The registration deadline is *** February 29th, 2024 ***. Visit https://register.robocup.de to register your RoboCup Major League team. Details on the registration (fee, accommodation, rules) are available on the website. Booking of blocked accommodation with special rates is possible after your registration. The Major Leagues Organizing Committee: Patrick Göttsch (Standard Platform League) Maike Paetzel-Prüsmann (Humanoid League) Nicolai Ommer (Small Size League) Johannes Pellenz, Stefan May (Rescue Robot League) Sven Wachsmuth (@Home League) Alexander Ferrein (Logistics League) Christoph Steup (RoboCup @Work League) -------------------------- RoboCup Junior (regional teams) ------------------------------- From April 18-21 the final event of the German RoboCupJunior Championship will be held at RoboCup German Open 2024 in Kassel. The best teams that have qualified in the eight previous local tournaments will take part. The best German Junior teams will qualify for RoboCup 2024 in Eindhoven and for the European RoboCupJunior Competition 2024 in Hannover. -------------------------------- Important dates —————------------------------------------ 2024-02-12 Major teams registration starts 2024-02-29 Major teams registration deadline 2024-03-11 Invoices are sent to team leaders 2024-03-17 Registration deadline for team member updates 2024-03-31 Registration fee due 2024-04-17 Set-up day Major League teams (venue opens 9:00) 2024-04-18 Competition day (open to the public) 2024-04-19 Competition day (open to the public) 2024-04-20 Competition day, Major finals (open to the public) 2024-04-21 Competition day, Junior finals (open to the public) ----------------------------------- Contact --------------------------------------------- Please contact germanopen(a)robocup.de for any questions. See you all at the 21st RoboCup German Open 2024! Best regards, German RoboCup Committee ---------------------------------- Acknowledgement ———————————————————— The RoboCup German Open 2024 is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Research and Education (BMBF) under grant number 16ME0933. -- PD Dr.-Ing. Sven Wachsmuth CITEC CLF / COSY@Home-Lab Bielefeld University RoboCup German Open 2024 @Home LOC

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RoboCup@Home at RoboCup Portugal Open 2024 - Call for Participation
by Tiago Ribeiro 28 Feb '24

28 Feb '24

Dear RoboCup@Home Community, It is with great pleasure that we announce the 2nd edition of RoboCup@Home at RoboCup Portugal Open 2024. 🤖 The event will take place at Pavilhão Municipal in the city of Paredes de Coura, Portugal, from May 2nd to 5th, 2024. 🇵🇹 In this event we will only have OPL. However, robots from both DSPL and SSPL are welcome to participate in OPL. We will have one setup day (May 2nd) and three competition days (May 3rd -5th). For more information, visit the official event website: https://www.festivalnacionalrobotica.pt/2024-1/ . The link for registration can be accessed via website or here: https://forms.gle/fung9nuh1DtxpHMPA Important Dates: 12th of April – Registration (350€ for a team of five members + 25€ for every additional member – includes breakfast, lunch and dinner) 19th of April – Late Registration (400€ for a team of five members + 25€ for every additional member – includes breakfast, lunch and dinner) Parallel to the event, there is a scientific conference (ICARSC 2024) IEEE International Conference on Autonomous Systems and Competitions: https://www.icarsc.pt/2024/ Join the official Telegram group for participation guidelines and all information regarding to event: https://t.me/+Zb3x8rUmegBkNThk For any questions or help with the registration, feel free to send me an e-mail: tiagoribeiro80(a)gmail.com or send a message to the official Telegram group. Looking forward to seeing you in Portugal 🦾 Tiago Ribeiro PhD Student @ Laboratory of Automation and Robotics (LAR) <http://lar.dei.uminho.pt/> http://lar.dei.uminho.pt/ University of Minho

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[meetings] [CFP] [TAHRI] Technological Advances in Human-Robot Interaction
by TAHRI Organizers 28 Feb '24

28 Feb '24

FINAL CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS AND PARTICIPATION - What: International Symposium on Technological Advances in Human-Robot Interaction (TAHRI) - When: March 9–10, 2024 - Where: Boulder, Colorado, USA - Web: https://tahri.org — Want to present <https://www.tahri.org/program#community-and-career-fair>? It’s not too late to contribute to TAHRI! Pitch a paper, project, or position you wish to share, then discuss it with the community in our Community and Career Fair <https://www.tahri.org/program#community-and-career-fair>. Want to promote a previously published or soon-to-be published paper from a different venue (e.g. HRI conference or workshop)? Want to show off some software or hardware you’re developing? Want to find a job or collaborators? Apply in as little as five minutes by March 1st! Want to attend <https://www.tahri.org/attendees>? Discounts are available for students and 2024 HRI conference attendees, and complimentary registration is available to volunteers or upon special request! Want to connect <https://www.tahri.org/#connect>? Follow us on social media or email us (info(a)tahri.org)! Want to learn more <https://tahri.org/>? Keep reading! — TAHRI: BY THE NUMBERS 1 GOAL <https://www.tahri.org/about> To “build bridges between builders” by gathering HRI researchers and practitioners from academia, industry, government, and other research groups who are developing the underlying technologies enabling interactions between robots and humans 2 KEYNOTES <https://www.tahri.org/people#speakers-and-panelists> - Andra Keay <https://www.tahri.org/people#andra-keay> (Silicon Valley Robotics) - Brian Scassellati <https://www.tahri.org/people#brian-scassellati> (Yale University) 20 PANELISTS <https://www.tahri.org/people#speakers-and-panelists> - Andra Keay <https://www.tahri.org/people#andra-keay> (Silicon Valley Robotics) - Andres Milioto <https://www.tahri.org/people#andres-milioto> (Embodied, Inc.) - Bahar Irfan <https://www.tahri.org/people#bahar-irfan> (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) - Brian Scassellati <https://www.tahri.org/people#brian-scassellati> (Yale University) - Carolina Parada <https://www.tahri.org/people#carolina-parada> (Google DeepMind Robotics) - Casey Kennington <https://www.tahri.org/people#casey-kennington> (Boise State University) - Cynthia Matuszek <https://www.tahri.org/people#cynthia-matuszek> (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) - Dan Grollman <https://www.tahri.org/people#dan-grollman> (Plus One Robotics) - Gabriel Skantze <https://www.tahri.org/people#gabriel-skantze> (KTH / Furhat Robotics) - Hae Won Park <https://www.tahri.org/people#hae-won-park> (MIT Media Lab / Amazon Lab126) - Ian Bernstein <https://www.tahri.org/people#ian-bernstein> (NewCo) - James Kennedy <https://www.tahri.org/people#james-kennedy> (Disney Research) - Katherine Tsui <https://www.tahri.org/people#katherine-tsui> (Toyota Research Institute) - Laura Hiatt <https://www.tahri.org/people#laura-hiatt> (U.S. Naval Research Laboratory) - Mark Yim <https://www.tahri.org/people#mark-yim> (University of Pennsylvania) - Matthias Scheutz <https://www.tahri.org/people#matthias-scheutz> (Tufts University) - Sean Andrist <https://www.tahri.org/people#sean-andrist> (Microsoft Research) - Séverin Lemaignan <https://www.tahri.org/people#severin-lemaignan> (PAL Robotics) - Tesca Fitzgerald <https://www.tahri.org/people#tesca-fitzgerald> (Yale University) - Tony Belpaeme <https://www.tahri.org/people#tony-belpaeme> (Universiteit Gent) 21 PAPERS <https://www.tahri.org/authors> Novel, high-quality, peer-reviewed technological HRI research papers presented orally and in poster sessions, with full papers indexed in archived ACM proceedings! 13 PARTNERS <https://www.tahri.org/partners> - CU Robotics <https://www.tahri.org/partners#cu-robotics> (Community) - Disney Research <https://www.tahri.org/partners#disney-research> (Silver) - Embodied, Inc. <https://www.tahri.org/partners#embodied> (Platinum) - Furhat Robotics <https://www.tahri.org/partners#furhat-robotics> (Platinum) - Futronics <https://www.tahri.org/partners#futronics> (Platinum) - Hello Robot <https://www.tahri.org/partners#hello-robot> (Platinum) - KISS Institute for Practical Robotics (KIPR) <https://www.tahri.org/partners#kipr> (Community) - Microsoft Research <https://www.tahri.org/partners#microsoft-research> (Community) - National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) <https://www.tahri.org/partners#nist> (Organizer) - Navel Robotics <https://www.tahri.org/partners#navel-robotics> (Platinum) - PAL Robotics <https://www.tahri.org/partners#pal-robotics> (Community) - Semio Community <https://www.tahri.org/partners#semio-community> (Organizer) - Toyota Research Institute <https://www.tahri.org/partners#toyota-research-institute> (Platinum) 8 ORGANIZERS <https://tahri.org/people#organizers> - Ross Mead <https://www.tahri.org/people#mead> (Semio) - Shelly Bagchi <https://www.tahri.org/people#bagchi> (NIST) - Willie Wilson <https://www.tahri.org/people#wilson> (Franklin & Marshall College) - Emmanuel Senft <https://www.tahri.org/people#senft> (Idiap Research Institute) - Reuth Mirsky <https://www.tahri.org/people#mirsky> (Bar-Ilan University) - Daniel Hernández García <https://www.tahri.org/people#hernandez-garcia> (Heriot-Watt University) - Jeremy Marvel <https://www.tahri.org/people#marvel> (NIST) - Megan Zimmerman <https://www.tahri.org/people#zimmerman> (NIST) 1 PROGRAM <https://www.tahri.org/program> Coming soon! -- TAHRI Organizers <https://www.tahri.org/people#organizers> *organizers(a)tahri.org <organizers(a)tahri.org>* * <ross.mead(a)tahri.org>* * <https://tahri.org>*

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1st Call for Participation: WRS Future Convenience Store Challenge in CyberSpace (at ICRA2024)
by Tetsunari Inamura 20 Feb '24

20 Feb '24

######################################################## Call for Participation WRS Future Convenience Store Challenge in CyberSpace (ICRA 2024 Competition) May 13th - 15th, 2024 Yokohama, Japan ######################################################## The Future Convenience Store Challenge in CyberSpace, which is a new type of robot competition in cyberspace will be held at ICRA 2024, Yokohama Japan. Every regional and international Major team is cordially invited to take part in the event. Visit https://sites.google.com/view/fcsc-cyberspace/home for more detailed information. Details on the registration (rules, software systems) are available on the website. Organizers Tetsunari Inamura (Tamagawa University, Japan) Kazuyoshi Wada (Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan) Yukiyasu Domae (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan) -------------- Future Convenience Store Challenge in Cyberspace ---------------- The aim of this competition is to enhance the quality of customer service provided by intelligent robots in environments such as retail stores and shopping malls, and to realize new forms of services. Specifically, the competition will assess the ability of robots to engage in natural and friendly communication in the context of customer service, as well as their capability for cooperative work with human staff. While conventional competitions have primarily evaluated physical functionalities such as object recognition, human behavior recognition, navigation, and object manipulation using real robots, there have been limitations in smoothly conducting competitions when focusing on intellectual interactions, such as intention recognition, natural language understanding, conversation control, and resolving ambiguity. Therefore, this competition aims to improve the quality of dialogue systems for service robots collaborating with humans in retail stores and to achieve new interactive service systems by focusing on tasks that emphasize dialogue intelligence rather than physical functionality. Furthermore, this competition features a unique structure where robots in cyber space engages in dialogue with humans in real-world environments. We also welcome proposals that contribute to the realization of new services through the integration of metaverses, digital twins, cyber-physical systems, and robotics. As such, the competition is designed based on the simulator "SIGVerse," which enables robots to engage in embodied and social interaction in virtual reality (VR) environments. Participants will benefit from focusing solely on software development without the need to develop physical robots. -------------------------------- Important dates ------------------------------------ 2024-02-15 Team registration starts 2024-02-29 1st Call: Participation declaration 2024-03-14 First on-line meeting (tentative schedule) 2024-03-31 2nd Call: Participation declaration deadline (detailed team information should be fixed) 2024-04-17 Second on-line meeting (tentative schedule) 2024-05-13 Set-up day 2024-05-14 Competition Day 1 2024-05-15 Competition Day 2 , Award Ceremony ------------------------------ Competition Tasks -------------------------------------- This competition focuses on realizing robots that provide customer service in a conversational format at convenience stores. The emphasis is on the interaction capabilities with customers. Task 1: Interactive Customer Service In this task, functionalities such as image recognition, human state recognition, and location identification, which involves recognizing the customer's location in the store, their gestures, and the placement of items, are not evaluated. Instead, the focus is on engaging in accurate dialogue with customers in response to ambiguous requests and delivering the desired products to them. Customers convey their desired purchases to the service robot and request them to be placed in the shopping basket, using both natural language expressions and image presentation. The participants should build software to realize such an intelligent dialogue system for customer service robots. The participants can use OpenAI API or related LLM tools; however, we cannot guarantee the Internet connection quality at the competition site. If you use such an external cloud calculator, you must manage the risk yourself. Please note that installing your own wireless router will not be allowed. Task 2: Future Convenience Store Visionary Design In this competition, instead of completing tasks according to predefined rules, participants will propose possibilities for customer service and intelligent human-robot collaboration systems in future convenience stores in a presentation format based on their own creative ideas. The novelty, feasibility, and technical challenges of their ideas will be evaluated. The evaluation will focus on intelligent systems, service systems, and other systems mainly involving human interaction, which are expected to be useful in future convenience stores. Tasks involving no interaction with humans, such as autonomously cleaning toilets, are not included. Teams are encouraged to demonstrate the latest research and development on new approaches and applications related to customer service and employee support systems in a cyber environment. Specific examples of systems/proposals subject to evaluation include but are not limited to: - Planning systems that dynamically change and optimize the roles of service robots and employees. - Interactive service robot systems that recognize customer intentions and provide accurate services. - Training systems that determine appropriate training menus based on the skill levels of new employees. - Algorithms that observe customer purchasing behavior/movement paths and determine the optimal display layout. - Planning systems that dynamically change tasks to be executed based on the congestion status inside the store. Participants can use various types of systems and devices, including actual robot systems, but the primary focus of the final demonstration is on utilizing virtual spaces or Cyber-Physical Systems for the realization of intelligent service robots. Examples include digital twin systems supporting customer service action planning by intelligent robots and information presentation systems using wearable devices for efficient employee tasks. ------------------------------ Awards --------------------------------------------- Based on the ranking, the top three teams will be awarded certificates and prize money as follows: 1st place: 100,000 JPY + certificate 2nd place: 50,000 JPY + certificate 3rd place: 30,000 JPY + certificate ------------------------------ How to apply -------------------------------------------- Please access the following form to input detailed information about your team and team leader. The first deadline is the end of February; however, a tentative declaration of participation is welcome. We would appreciate you deciding the details of the team members by the end of March. Required information - Team name - Name/Affiliation/Grade/Email address of the team leader - Optional information - Estimated number of team members - Past experience and achievements in AI/Robot competitions - Web page of the team Please input the above information in the Google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zkfZG-fcxOt_emXUkZRTylih8J45a70TcPnM2a7Amp… 1st participation declaration: 28th Feb. (Tentative application is welcome) 2nd participation declaration: 31st Mar. (Confirmation of detailed team information) ----------------------- Contact --------------------------------------- Please contact fcsc-info-ml(a)ml.tmu.ac.jp for any questions. See you all at ICRA 2024 in Yokohama! Best regards, ------------------------------------------------ Tetsunari Inamura Professor, Brain Science Institute, Tamagawa University, JAPAN TEL : +81-42-739-8679 URL : http://researchmap.jp/inamura/?lang=english Email : inamura(a)lab.tamagawa.ac.jp

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[jobs] One full-time PhD position in Interpretable AI and robotics @Chalmers
by Karinne Ramirez-Amaro 08 Feb '24

08 Feb '24

Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to announce one PhD research position at the Chalmers Institute of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. The application deadline is March 10, 2024. We are looking for a highly motivated researcher who would like to pursue a PhD in the areas of Interpretable AI (IAI) and Autonomous Decision-Making to study and make significant contributions to the emerging field of Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC). HRC studies the most effective algorithms to enable robots to work safely and efficiently alongside with humans in shared spaces. Join our multidisciplinary team to further investigate and propose innovative solutions to empower robots with the ability to make informed decisions in collaborative environments. If you are passionate about Interpretable AI, autonomous decision-making, and the future of human-robot collaboration, we strongly encourage you to apply! More information about the position: https://www.chalmers.se/en/about-chalmers/work-with-us/vacancies/?rmpage=jo… **Application deadline: March 10, 2024** Please, do not hesitate to contact me for further information. Best regards, Karinne --------------------- Karinne Ramirez Amaro Associate Professor Chalmers University of Technology Department of Electrical Engineering Systems and Control Division SE-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden Member of IEEE-RAS Administratite Committee (AdCom) IEEE-RAS Associate Vice Presidents of the Member Activity Board (MAB) E-mail:karinne@chalmers.se Website: https://sites.google.com/view/craft-laboratory/home Office Room: Edit, 5437 Office telephone: +46-31-772-1074 www.chalmers.se<http://www.chalmers.se>

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[Meetings] Second Call for Participation | RoboCup@Home 2024 (DSPL · OPL · SSPL)
by Sven Wachsmuth 06 Feb '24

06 Feb '24

Second Call for Participation RoboCup@Home 2024 (DSPL · OPL · SSPL) July 15 to 21, 2024 (Eindhoven, Netherlands) https://2024.robocup.org https://athome.robocup.org/ https://athome.robocup.org/2024-cfp2-all/ https://github.com/RoboCupAtHome/RuleBook RoboCup is an international scientific initiative with the goal to advance the state of the art of intelligent robots through competitions (RoboCup@Home, RoboCup Soccer, RoboCup Rescue, RoboCup@Work and RoboCup Junior). The RoboCup@Home league aims to develop service and assistive robot technology with high relevance for future personal domestic applications. It is the largest international annual competition for autonomous service robots and is part of the RoboCup initiative. A set of benchmark tests is used to evaluate the robots’ abilities and performance in a realistic home environment setting. Focus lies on the following domains but is not limited to: Human-Robot-Interaction and Cooperation, Navigation and Mapping in dynamic environments, Computer Vision and Object Recognition under natural light conditions, Object Manipulation, Adaptive Behaviors, Behavior Integration, Ambient Intelligence, Standardization and System Integration. Important dates: Jan. 09, 2024 Publication of the 2nd Call for Participation Feb. 12, 2024 Deadline for submission of qualification material (Team Description Paper, Team Video, Team Website). Feb. 29, 2024 Qualification announcement Mar. 12, 2024 Deadline for Participation Confirmation Further information is published in the Call for Participation: https://athome.robocup.org/2024-cfp2-all/ With kind regards, and looking forward to see your team in Eindhoven, The 2024 RoboCup@Home Organizing and Technical Committees

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