February 2026 - RoboCup-worldwide

ICIST 2026 – Call for Papers
by Nian Ashlee Zhang 28 Feb '26

28 Feb '26

The 16th International Conference on Information Science and Technology (ICIST 2026) will be held in Coimbra, Portugal, October 1-6, 2026. Topics include intelligent control and automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, information processing, computer vision, networking, and information security. Submission deadline: May 15, 2026. Technically supported by IEEE SMC. Accepted papers are expected to be included in IEEE Xplore. Conference website & submission: https://conference.cs.cityu.edu.hk/icist/ Please feel free to share with interested colleagues.

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Postdoctoral Position at UT Austin
by Saar-Tsechansky, Maytal 27 Feb '26

27 Feb '26

Postdoctoral Position at UT Austin We have openings for postdoctoral positions in use-inspired AI research, offering opportunities to advance AI that strengthens human–AI teaming and decision-making. We seek researchers motivated to lead an impactful agenda at the frontier of productive, reliable, and grounded decision support. The start date for the position can be immediate or anytime through August 2026. This project is in collaboration with a leading university-based medical center. The postdoctoralresearcher will join an interdisciplinary team of faculty and PhD students across UT Austin, benefit from strong mentorship, and work closely with decision-makers through unique access to real-world settings. Successful candidates will also become part of UT Austin’s vibrant AI research community, with opportunities to engage in affiliated AI labs and institutes. Ideal candidates hold a PhD in a relevant field (e.g., Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science or related areas), have a track record and interest in use-inspired AI research, and bring the independence and initiative to start and drive projects while collaborating effectively in an interdisciplinary environment. How to Apply? Please use this link to apply<https://utaustin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UTstaff/job/UT-MAIN-CAMPUS/Postdocto…>. Required materials to apply: * A statement of research, including accomplishments (1-2 pages) * 2 representative publications * Contact information for 3 individuals who can provide a letter of reference Feel free to reach out to me with questions at maytal(a)mail.utexas.edu<mailto:maytal@mail.utexas.edu>. - Maytal Saar-Tsechansky. Maytal Saar-Tsechansky (she/her/hers) | Mary John and Ralph Spence Centennial Professor Information, Risk, and Operations Management | The Maytal Saar-Tsechansky (she/her/hers) | Mary John and Ralph Spence Centennial Professor Information, Risk, and Operations Management | The McCombs School of Business | The University of Texas at Austin Affiliated: The Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, Transplant Center, The University of Texas Science Center at San Antonio The Oden <https://oden.utexas.edu/> Institute<https://oden.utexas.edu/> Machine Learning Lab<https://ml.utexas.edu/>, Scientific Advisory Board Member Personal webpage: maytals.com<https://www.maytals.com/> --

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ICRA26 Workshop on Shared Challenges in Human-Centered and Resilient Robotic Autonomy
by Katarzyna Pasternak 24 Feb '26

24 Feb '26

Dear RoboCuppers, We invite submissions to the workshop *“Shared Challenges in Human-Centered and Resilient Robotic Autonomy <https://sites.google.com/cs.miami.edu/scr-icra26/call-for-contributions>”*, to be held in conjunction with *ICRA 2026*. Robots are increasingly expected to operate various complex environments such as homes, factories, and disaster environments. While these domains differ in context and constraints, they share fundamental challenges such as robust autonomy in dynamic and uncertain settings, natural interaction with non-expert users, perception in cluttered or degraded environments, and reliable manipulation of diverse objects. Recent advances in AI and learning create new opportunities for adaptation and cross-domain transfer, while safety, ethics, and benchmarking remain central concerns for responsible deployment. This workshop brings together researchers from *domestic service robotics, smart manufacturing, and disaster response* to discuss cross-cutting challenges, transferable solutions, and unifying principles for resilient, human-centered robotic systems. *Topics of Interest (including but not limited to)* - Human–Robot Interaction and communication with non-expert users - Navigation, perception, and mapping in dynamic, unstructured, or degraded environments - Mobile manipulation and grasping in real-world contexts - Learning and adaptation for cross-domain transfer and task planning under uncertainty - Safety, ethics, and evaluation frameworks for long-term robust autonomy We especially encourage contributions reflecting on the transferability of skills and systems between different areas of robotics and contributions that reflect on *societal needs and implications* of deploying robotic systems in real-world settings such as homes, clinics, factories, and disaster sites. Papers may include short work-in-progress and position papers (2–4 pages) as well as long-format integration and experimental papers (4–8 pages). Each submission will undergo independent review by at least two reviewers. All submissions will be considered for both oral presentations and poster sessions. Selected high-quality submissions may be invited to a *special journal issue*. *Best Paper Award* will be presented at the workshop. *Important Dates* - *Submission deadline:* April 1, 2026 - *Decision notification:* April 15, 2026 - *Camera-ready deadline:* May 15, 2026 - *Workshop date:* June 1 or June 5, 2026 (TBD) *Submission Site* https://easychair.org/my2/conference?conf=scr2026 We warmly encourage participation from researchers across robotics, AI, and HRI communities, and we look forward to fostering a lively, cross-disciplinary discussion. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the workshop organizers. Best regards, *The SCR 2026 Workshop Organizing Committee*

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Call for Participation - ICRA 2026 Legged Robot Challenges (Deadline 03/15/2026)
by Kim, Dongbin 20 Feb '26

20 Feb '26

Dear Colleagues We are pleased to announce "Call for Participation - ICRA 2026 Legged Robot Challenges" Website: https://quadruped-robot-challenges.notion.site/ICRA-2026-Legged-Robot-Chall… Information: The IEEE RAS Legged Robot Challenges (LRC) evaluate remotely-operated and autonomous legged robots using standard terrains, obstacles, and tasks to quantitatively measure and compare capabilities. These challenges inspire innovation in legged robot mobility and have evolved to include embedded dexterity tasks for onboard manipulators. Any type of legged robot can participate, including quadrupeds, bipeds, or others. Each robot’s performance can be directly compared to similar implementations and sizes to identify best-in-class capabilities. Safety belays over top of each lane catch falling robots so increasingly difficult settings can be attempted without risk to the robots. These Legged Robot Challenges are hosted at major robotics conferences each year to facilitate interactions between robotics researchers, commercial manufacturers, and various user communities that need capable and easy-to-use autonomous robots to perform tasks in complex and often hazardous environments. In addition to demonstrating the state-of-the-science in robotics for unstructured environments, these Legged Robot Challenges help validate and disseminate standard test methods that emergency responders and others worldwide can use to objectively evaluate and compare commercial robots for purchasing, support training with quantitative measures of remote operator proficiency, and compare results no matter where or when the evaluations are conducted. ICRA 2026 LRC is a key opportunity for Legged Robots to qualify for a spot in RoboCup Rescue for RoboCup 2026! (https://rrl.robocup.org/) Competition Registration Deadline: March 15, 2026 (Extended) For Competition Registration: * Fill out the competition registration form<https://forms.gle/sJj1cYQUzzn3eiBDA> (This is not for the conference registration). * Teams that registered for the competition may need to register ICRA 2026 separately at $300/person (early). The conference registration information will be updated later. Contact for Questions: If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at icra2026lrc(a)gmail.com<mailto:iros2025qrc@gmail.com>. Sincerely, Dongbin Kim, Ph.D. Assistant Professor College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA) University of Hartford Office: +1-(860)-768-5808 Email: dbk(a)hartford.edu<mailto:donkim@hartford.edu> [cid:6032de9d-7af8-4cfa-818a-b4fbdd04594a]

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[meetings] Hands-on Humanoid Robot Reinforcement Learning
by YUHONG LIN 19 Feb '26

19 Feb '26

Dear Roboticists, We’re excited to announce a new *hands-on, on-site training* focused on *reinforcement learning for humanoid robots*. This training is designed for engineers, researchers, and teams who want to understand *how humanoid robots are actually controlled today* — beyond demos and simulations. During the training, you will: - Work directly with the Unitree G1 EDU development PC and Unitree’s SDK to command, monitor, and control the robot at a low level - Build and train reinforcement learning pipelines for humanoid locomotion and motion control in simulation - Deploy learned policies on real humanoid robots and integrate them into a ROS 2 system for autonomy, perception, and navigation The training combines high-fidelity simulation, real robot execution, and hands-on debugging of simulation-to-real gaps that commonly appear in humanoid systems. *Training details* - *Location:* Barcelona (on-site) - *Dates:* April 8–10, 2026 - *Format:* Small cohorts · Hands-on · Real robots - *Seats:* Limited per cohort - *Registration link: * https://www.theconstruct.ai/humanoid-robot-reinforcement-learning-training/ *Humanoid Platforms Used in the Training:* - Unitree G1 Edu - PAL Robotics Kangaroo *Training Schedule:* - Day 1. RL for Humanoid Locomotion and Teleoperation You will work on: - Reinforcement learning based walking control for the Unitree G1 humanoid robot - Teleoperation and imitation learning using Isaac Lab Mimic - Day 2. RL for Humanoid Whole-Body Control You will work on: - Full-body control from motion tracking using reinforcement learning - Deployment of learned policies using ros2_control - Day 3. Vision-Language-Action Models and MuJoCo Lab You will work on: - Vision-Language-Action models for generalized humanoid skills using Gr00t - Training and validation of humanoid behaviors in MuJoCo Lab *Questions?*Contact info(a)theconstruct.ai [image: Logo] <https://www.theconstruct.ai/> Yuhong Lin Product & Project Manager | The Construct E: ylin(a)theconstruct.ai | theconstruct.ai [image: Banner] <https://www.theconstruct.ai/robotics-developer/?utm_source=email&utm_medium…>

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ICAPS 2026 Summer School: Call for Participation
by Scott Sanner 19 Feb '26

19 Feb '26

[Apologies for cross-posting!] *ICAPS 2026 Summer School* [TL;DR: FCFS Registration for the summer school will go live at 9:00am ET on Feb 20th at https://icaps26-dublin-ss.github.io/ICAPS-2026-Summer-School/ ] The ICAPS 2026 summer school will be held from *June 22nd to 25th* at the *University College Dublin, Ireland*. The summer school is being organized as a one-stop-shop for the next generation of students to learn about contemporary research approaches in all forms of planning and sequential decision making. *Registration Information *Space at the summer school is limited by venue constraints and registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants can choose to sign up for the summer school registration only, or for the summer school with accommodation at the UCD campus. Please visit the summer school website <https://icaps26-dublin-ss.github.io/ICAPS-2026-Summer-School/> for more details including registration costs and policies, current schedules, tutorial sessions, speakers, and topics. The link for registration will be available at this website starting Feb 20th at 9:00 am ET. *Confirmed Speakers* Chris Beck, University of Toronto Blai Bonet, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Augusto B. Corrêa, Oxford University Michael Katz, IBM Research Nir Lipovetsky, University of Melbourne Calarina Musliman, University of Alberta Gabriele Roeger, University of Basel Naman Shah, Ai2 Tom Silver, Princeton University Ayal Taitler, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Matthew Taylor, University of Alberta Florent Teichteil-Königsbuch, Airbus Amy Zhang, UT Austin *Organizers* Rem Collier, University College Dublin Scott Sanner, University of Toronto Siddharth Srivastava, Arizona State University Please feel free to reach out to the Summer School Organizing team with any questions or comments at icaps-2026-summer-school(a)googlegroups.com.

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Call for Participation: Rescue Agent Simulation World Competition 2026 (RoboCup JapanOpen2026)
by Nobuhiro Ito 18 Feb '26

18 Feb '26

RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation World Competition 2026 Otsu, Japan - April 24-27, 2026 Held as part of RoboCup JapanOpen2026 https://www.robocup.or.jp/JapanOpen2026/english.html Beginning in 2026, the RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation League will organize its official World Competition independently from the RoboCup World Championship (RoboCup 2026 Incheon). In 2026, the official World Competition of the RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation League will be held as part of RoboCup JapanOpen 2026 in Otsu, Japan. This event will bring together teams from around the world to advance research in large-scale disaster response, multi-agent coordination, and decision-making systems for urban search and rescue scenarios. Teams from all countries are warmly invited to participate in this global competition. On-site participation is strongly encouraged in order to foster active engagement and collaboration within the RoboCup Rescue community. However, teams facing unavoidable travel constraints may request remote participation. Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and must be discussed in advance with the Organizing Committee. * IMPORTANT DATES * Pre-Registration................................: March 20, 2026 (23:55 UTC) Teams requiring a visa to enter Japan are strongly encouraged to contact the Organizing Committee as early as possible. Team Registration Deadline............................: March 27, 2026 (23:55 UTC) Member Registration & Optional TDP Submission Deadline: April 3, 2026 (23:55 UTC) Notification of TDP Review Results (if applicable)....: April 17, 2026 Camera-ready TDP Submission (if applicable)...........: April 23, 2026 (23:55 UTC) Registration Fee Payment Deadline (Japan-based teams only): April 3, 2026 Overseas teams: Registration fee must be paid in cash at the venue during the competition. Overseas teams requesting remote participation: Please contact the Organizing Committee regarding registration fees and participation arrangements. Tournament Dates.....................................: April 24-27, 2026 Team setup day : 24 April, 2026 Competition days: 25-27 April, 2026 * AGENT SIMULATION COMPETITION * The RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation Competition promotes research in Artificial Intelligence for large-scale disaster response, focusing on teamwork coordination and decision-making in post-disaster urban environments. The league maintains a computer-based simulation platform capable of realistically representing natural disaster scenarios. Within this environment, Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) strategies can be designed, tested, and evaluated. The simulation serves as a comprehensive testbed for: - Coordination strategies of USAR teams - Coalition formation among heterogeneous agents - Large-scale exploration under limited resources - Civilian search and rescue planning - Disaster response policy evaluation The competition evaluates the performance of teams of autonomous agents based on their distributed coordination and planning algorithms in earthquake scenarios. Specifically, the effectiveness of Ambulance Team, Police Force, and Fire Brigade agents is assessed in terms of civilian rescue, fire suppression, and infrastructure management. ** Research Challenges ** Participants may address, among others, the following research challenges: - Decision-making algorithms - Task allocation and resource management - Multi-agent coordination and team formation - Path planning and navigation - Search and exploration strategies * GETTING STARTED GUIDE * The following resources may help teams get started with agent development: ** Development Frameworks ** - ADF (Java) Documentation: https://roborescue.github.io/adf-sample-agent-java/ Quick Start Example: https://github.com/roborescue/adf-sample-agent-java - ADF (Python) Documentation: https://roborescue.github.io/adf-core-python/ Quick Start Example: https://github.com/adf-python/adf-sample-agent-python Java ADF modules can be reused within the Python ADF framework. Teams are strongly encouraged to develop new modules using the Python-based ADF to leverage modern machine learning libraries and tools. - Docker Environment (Optional) Repository: https://github.com/roborescue/rcrs-docker Docker usage is optional and provides a pre-configured development environment for teams who prefer a standardized setup. * PRE-REGISTRATION (Intent to Participate) * Teams intending to participate in the RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation World Competition 2026 are requested to complete a brief pre-registration form: https://forms.gle/W9ydHVomZZ4xMeTd6 Pre-Registration Deadline: March 20, 2026 (23:55 UTC) Pre-registration is non-binding and is intended to: - Estimate the expected number of participating teams - Identify teams requiring a confirmation letter for visa application purposes - Identify teams considering remote participation Teams requiring a visa to enter Japan are strongly encouraged to complete the pre-registration as early as possible and contact the Organizing Committee to request a confirmation letter. Please note that the Organizing Committee can issue only a confirmation letter. All other visa application procedures and required documents must be arranged by the respective teams. If access to Google Forms is restricted in your country or region, please contact the Organizing Committee directly at: rrs2026(a)maslab.aitech.ac.jp Pre-registration does not replace the official Team Registration and Member Registration procedures described below. * REGISTRATION (TBA) * Teams wishing to participate in the RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation World Competition 2026 must complete the registration procedure through the official RoboCup JapanOpen 2026 registration system: https://www.robocup.or.jp/JapanOpen2026/english.html (Registration site details will be announced) The registration process consists of two steps: 1. Team Registration Deadline: March 27, 2026 (23:55 UTC) During Team Registration, teams must provide: - Participating league name (RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation) - Team name - Institution - Preliminary list of team members - Contact information of the team leader 2. Member Registration Deadline: April 3, 2026 (23:55 UTC) All team members must complete Member Registration to confirm their participation. The final team roster will be determined based on the completed Member Registration. Both steps must be completed by the respective deadlines in order to participate. In principle, all registered teams will be accepted to participate. However, in the unlikely event that the number of teams exceeds the capacity of the venue, participation may be limited at the discretion of the Organizing Committee. ** Registration Site (Peatix) ** All on-site participants must obtain a ticket via the Peatix registration system: https://robocupjapanopen2026.peatix.com/view (Under construction) On-site participants must select the free ticket option. No payment should be made through Peatix. Teams approved for remote participation must contact the Organizing Committee at: rrs2026(a)maslab.aitech.ac.jp and follow the payment procedures provided. Japanese teams should follow the payment instructions provided separately by the Organizing Committee. ** Registration Fee ** - Faculty, Advisors, Mentors, and General participants 30,000 JPY - Students (18 years old and older) 20,000 JPY - Students (under 18 years old) 15,000 JPY ** Payment Method ** - Japanese domestic teams: Registration fees must be paid by bank transfer no later than April 3, 2026. Payment instructions will be provided by the Organizing Committee. - Overseas teams (on-site participation): Registration fees must be paid in cash at the competition desk during the event. - Teams approved for remote participation: The registration fee is the same as for on-site participants. Payment procedures will be communicated directly by the Organizing Committee after participation approval. ** Team Description Paper Submission (Optional) ** In previous editions of the RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation Competition, submission of a Team Description Paper (TDP) was mandatory for participation. For the 2026 edition, TDP submission will be optional. Teams may participate in the competition without submitting a TDP. Submitted TDPs will undergo a review process and, if accepted, will be published on the official RoboCup Rescue Simulation League website. In addition, we are considering recommending selected outstanding TDPs for oral presentation at an international conference. *** How to submit your TDP *** TDPs must be submitted by email to: rrs2026(a)maslab.aitech.ac.jp Email subject: RRS2026 TDP submission File format: PDF File name: Agent_[TeamName].pdf where [TeamName] should be replaced with the official team name. The submission deadline is April 3, 2026 (23:55 UTC). *** Formatting Requirements *** TDPs must follow the IEEE Conference Publishing Services (CPS) format: https://www.ieee.org/conferences/publishing/templates The paper length must be 6–8 pages, including figures and references. *** Review Process *** Submitted TDPs will undergo a review process by members of the Rescue Simulation Committee. - Notification of review results: April 17, 2026 - Camera-ready submission deadline: April 23, 2026 Revised (camera-ready) versions must be submitted by email to the same address. Accepted TDPs will be published on the official RoboCup Rescue Simulation League website. Selected outstanding TDPs may be recommended for oral presentation at an affiliated international conference (subject to confirmation). ** Presentation ** Teams submitting a TDP are expected to give an approximately 15-minute presentation during the competition. ** References ** Previous TDPs can be found at: https://rescuesim.robocup.org/past-events/past-competitions/ For inquiries, please contact: rrs2026(a)maslab.aitech.ac.jp * RULES * The RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation World Competition 2026 will follow the official RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation Rules (2025 version). All teams must comply with the rules specified in the following document: https://roborescue.github.io/rcrs-rules/rcrs-agent-rules.pdf * ABOUT THE ROBOCUP RESCUE AGENT SIMULATION LEAGUE * Natural disasters cause significant economic, human, and environmental losses worldwide. Their unpredictable and complex nature requires effective disaster management strategies to mitigate their impact and support coordinated response efforts. The mission of the RoboCup Rescue Agent Simulation League is to advance research and development in intelligent systems for large-scale disaster response, with a particular focus on multi-agent coordination and decision support. To achieve this mission, the league pursues three primary objectives: 1. To provide a realistic simulation platform capable of modeling urban disaster scenarios in which rescue strategies can be designed and evaluated. 2. To establish evaluation benchmarks for disaster response plans and coordination strategies. 3. To promote innovation and knowledge exchange by organizing international competitions that bring together researchers and practitioners. Through these activities, the league contributes to the development of more robust, scalable, and formalized approaches to disaster response, ultimately aiming to reduce the societal impact of large-scale emergencies. Best Regards Nobuhiro Ito and Kazunori Iwata on behalf of RoboCup Rescue Simulation League Local Organizing Committee E-mail: rrs2026(a)maslab.aitech.ac.jp Rescue Simulation League International Committee

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RoboCup Smart Manufacturing 2026: Call for Participation
by Asad Norouzi 17 Feb '26

17 Feb '26

Call for Applications for Participation RoboCup 2026 – Smart Manufacturing League https://2026.robocup.org Venue: Incheon, South Korea Tuesday, June 30th through Monday, July 6th, 2026 The Smart Manufacturing League (SML) is a league of the RoboCup competition, focusing on embodied autonomous robotic systems for next-generation industrial and manufacturing environments. The Smart Manufacturing League (SML) is formed through the merger of the RoboCup Logistics League and the RoboCup@Work League, combining their complementary strengths to create a unified league that addresses end-to-end smart manufacturing challenges. The league aims to foster research and development in autonomous mobile manipulation, flexible automation, and intelligent logistics within realistic industrial scenarios. The goal of SML is to advance innovative robotic solutions that integrate mobility, manipulation, perception, planning, and human–robot interaction for cutting-edge industrial applications. These applications span manufacturing processes, flexible assembly and disassembly, parts handling, intra-logistics, warehouse and factory logistics, and safe collaboration with human workers. The SML competition is characterized by an abstracted realistic smart manufacturing environment, designed to enable diverse robotic platforms and research approaches. This environment includes manipulation objects such as parts, containers, and tools; infrastructure elements such as shelves, workstations, bins, and platforms of varying sizes; machines, and production stations. The environment is designed to reflect modern, interconnected factory and logistics settings. Competition challenges are defined through a set of structured tests and scenarios that evaluate key capabilities including but not limited to autonomous navigation, object perception, manipulation, transportation, precision placement, planning, task sequencing, communication, and coordination within dynamic industrial workflows. A rulebook, benchmarks descriptions, and technical details of the Smart Manufacturing League will be published on the official SML GitHub organization. We invite all interested parties to have a look and discuss using issues. The first competition of the new SML aims for the following: - Welcomes all teams and robot platforms, including humanoid ones. - Allows participation with existing systems, including former RC@Work and RCLL robots - Gaps in capability of teams and robots may be filled by human interaction - Encourages incremental improvements toward higher autonomy (less human intervention is preferred) Participation in the Competition All teams that intend to participate in the competition have to perform the following steps: 1. Submission of qualification materials including a Team Description Paper and a video of their robots performance. Details are below. 2. Final registration (qualified teams only) Qualification The qualification process serves a dual purpose: It should allow the Technical Committee (aka TC) to assess the safety of the robots a team intends to bring to the competition, and it should allow ranking teams according to a set of evaluation criteria in order to select the most promising teams for a competition, if not all interested teams can be permitted. The TC will select the qualified teams according to the qualification materials provided by the teams. The evaluation criteria will include: - Team description paper - Relevant scientific contributions/publications - The professional quality of the robot and software - Novelty of approach - Relevance to industry - Performance in previous competitions - Contribution to the SML League or the former RC@Work or RCLL, e.g. by Organization of events and/or provision and sharing of knowledge - The quality of the robot's performance of a task (selected by the team) shown in a video, e.g. a previous competitions of RC@Work or RCLL. - Team website Team Description Paper The Team Description Paper (TDP) is a central element of the qualification process and has to be provided by each team as part of the qualification process. The TDP should at least contain the following information in the author/title section of the paper: - Name of the team (title) - Team members (authors), including the team leader - Link to the team website - Contact information The body of the TDP should contain information on the following: - the focus of research/research interests - a description of the hardware, including an image of the robot(s) - a description of the emergency stop concept and its implementation - a description of the software, esp. the functional and software architectures - innovative technology (if any) - reusability of the system or parts thereof - applicability and relevance to industrial tasks - usage of components (software or hardware) developed by other RoboCup teams The team description paper should cover the technical and scientific approach in detail, while the team website should be designed for a broader audience. Both the website and the TDP have to be in English. All TDPs must be written using the following template: https://www.overleaf.com/latex/templates/springer-lecture-notes-in-computer… Submission and Evaluation All applications with the qualification material must be submitted by March 20th, 2026 through the following online form: https://forms.gle/1TsxcAB52gyToCWv9 Qualified teams will be tentatively announced by March 27th, 2026. Important Links of the Smart Manufacturing League (SML) Discord: https://discord.gg/RBTmHc3zMP GitHub: https://github.com/robocup-sml Mailing List: https://lists.robocup.org/mm/lists/robocup-sml.lists.robocup.org/ Regards, On behalf of the SML-Organizers

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RoboCup International Symposium 2026 first call for papers
by Matteo Leonetti 16 Feb '26

16 Feb '26

Call for papers RoboCup International Symposium 2026 https://2026.robocup.org/symposium/ Monday 6 July 2026 Incheon, Republic of Korea. The 29th RoboCup International Symposium will be held on 6 July 2026, at the Songdo ConvensiA, Incheon, Republic of Korea. The symposium will be in conjunction with RoboCup 2026 (30 June to 6 July 2026). We call for submissions of papers reporting innovative, original research with relevance to areas of robotics and artificial intelligence as listed below. Within the described scope of topics, we also encourage submissions of high-quality overview articles, papers describing real-world research, and papers reporting theoretical results. Researchers are invited to submit their work independently of whether they participate in the RoboCup competitions or have a RoboCup team. In addition to the main track, this year introduces an Open Platforms & Tools Track focusing on interactive tools, hardware, and software frameworks with a high degree of usability. IMPORTANT DATES Submission of full papers: 8 April 2026 Notification to authors: 29 May 2026 Submission of camera-ready copies: 19 June 2026 RoboCup Symposium 2026: 6 July 2026 (RoboCup on 30 June - 5 July 2026) SUBMISSION AND PROCEEDINGS All papers will be peer-reviewed and evaluated by members of the program committee. The proceedings of the RoboCup International Symposium will be published and archived within the Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNCS/LNAI) series by Springer-Verlag after the conference. Papers should be formatted following the LNAI author guidelines (https://www.springer.com/gp/computer-science/lncs/conference-proceedings-gu…) and must be electronically submitted through EasyChair (https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=rcs26) Submission Types: 1. Main Track: Submissions are limited to 12 pages (including references). 2. Open Platforms & Tools: Submissions are limited to an Extended Abstract of max 4 pages, including a mandatory URL to a tutorial website (see track details below). OPEN PLATFORMS & TOOLS TRACK To foster practical exchange within the robotics community, the former Development Track has been reimagined for 2026 to focus on usability and interactivity. We invite submissions of open-source hardware designs, software frameworks, tools, datasets, and benchmarks that other teams can use. The goal of this track is to reward the creation of solutions that lower the barrier to entry or accelerate research for others. Submission Requirements: • Extended Abstract: A maximum 4-page paper describing the tool, its innovation, and its application to RoboCup or general robotics. • Tutorial Website: The abstract must include a link to a publicly accessible website containing documentation and a step-by-step tutorial. The tutorial must be sufficient to guide a new user through installing the software or building the hardware. Presentation Format: Accepted contributions will be presented at an Interactive Demonstration Session (replacing the traditional poster). Authors will be provided with a table and power to demonstrate their tool live to Symposium attendees. MAIN TRACK TOPICS Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: * Robot Hardware and Software - mobile robotics - humanoid robotics - sensors and actuators - embedded and mobile devices - robot construction and new materials - robot system integration - robot software architectures - robot programming environments and languages - real-time and concurrent programming - robot simulators - sim2real learning * Perception and Action - 3D perception - distributed sensor integration - sensor noise filtering - real-time image processing and pattern recognition - motion and sensor models - sensory-motor control - robot kinematics and dynamics - high-dimensional motion control * Robot Cognition and Learning - world modelling and knowledge representation - learning from demonstration and imitation - localisation, navigation, and mapping - planning and reasoning - decision making under uncertainty - neural systems and deep learning - complex motor skill acquisition - reinforcement learning and optimisation - motion and sensor model learning * Human-Robot Interaction - robot social intelligence - fluency of interaction - speech synthesis and natural language generation - natural language recognition - explainable robot behaviours - emotion recognition and reaction - understanding human intent and behaviour - safety, security and dependability - enabling humans to predict robot behaviour * Multi-Robot Systems - team coordination methods - communication protocols - learning and adaptive systems - teamwork and heterogeneous agents - dynamic resource allocation - adjustable autonomy * Education and Edutainment - robotics and artificial intelligence education - educational robotics - robot kits and programming tools - robotic entertainment * Applications and Benchmarking - search and rescue robots - robot surveillance - service and social robots - robots at home, at work and in public spaces - robots in the real world - performance metrics - human-robot interaction PROGRAM CO-CHAIRS Matteo Leonetti (King’s College London, UK) Asad Norouzi (Seneca Polytechnic, Canada) Jaeseo Park (Incheon Technopark, Republic of Korea) CONTACT You can contact the PC chairs at rcs26(a)easychair.org. On behalf of the program committee, Matteo Leonetti King's College London https://www.sensiblerobotsresearch.org/ https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/matteo-leonetti

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Call for participation: RoboCup JapanOpen2026
by Wataru UEMURA 13 Feb '26

13 Feb '26

Dear RoboCuppers, We are pleased to announce that RoboCup JapanOpen 2026 will be held at SHIGA Daihatsu Arena from April 24th to 27th, 2026. RoboCup JapanOpen 2026 -- Call for Participation -- https://www.robocup.or.jp/JapanOpen2026/english.html We plan to have the following leagues: - RoboCup Soccer - small size (wheel) - RoboCup Soccer - small size (humanoid challenge) - RoboCup Rescue - robot - RoboCup Rescue - simulation - RoboCup @Home - open platform - RoboCup @Home - domestic standard platform - RoboCup @Home - bridge competition - RoboCup @Home - simulation open platform - RoboCup Industrial - logistics (not SML) - @Space challenge = Event dates = Team setup day : 24 April, 2026 Competition days: 25-27 April, 2026 Organizer: RoboCup Japan Regional Committee More details will be announced by each league organizer. = Important dates = Team registration deadline: 27 March, 2026 Member registration deadline: 3 April, 2026 * Please note that no refunds will be provided for cancellations made after 3 April 2026. = Registration Fees = - Faculty, Advisors, Mentors, or General Participants: 30,000 JPY - Students (18 years old and older) : 20,000 JPY - Students (under 18 years old) : 15,000 JPY * Important Note: All attendees, including faculty, advisors and mentors, must complete the registration and pay the fee to enter the team arena/competition areas. Those who have not registered will not be permitted access to these areas. = Contact = Secretary office of The RoboCup Japanese Regional Committee office[at]robocup.or.jp = League Organizers = Soccer small size - wheel : Ryoma Okada Soccer small size - humanoid challenge : Yasuhiro Masutani Rescue robot : Noritaka Sato Rescue simulation : Nobuhiro Ito @home open platform and domestic standard platform: Hakaru Tamukoh @Home simulation open platform : Tatsunari Inamura Industrial logistics : Wataru Uemura @Space challenge : Yoshinobu Hagiwara --- Best regards, Wataru Uemura ==================== Wataru UEMURA, Dr. Eng. Associate Professor, Ryukoku University Chairperson, RoboCup Japanese Regional Committee https://friede.elec.ryukoku.ac.jp/~wataru ====================

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