Intelligent robots take centre stage at conference

Intelligent robots that play a role in improving human life will be discussed at a conference hosted at Massey University this week.

The fifth International Conference on Automation, Robotics and Applications will be held from December 6-8 at the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor, Wellington.

The biennial conference is organised by the School of Engineering and Advanced Technology.

The conference’s general co-chair Dr Gourab Sen Gupta says it will provide a stimulating forum for researchers, scientists, engineers and practitioners to present their latest research findings, ideas, developments and applications in the area of automation and robotics.

“Miniaturisation is the flavour of the present times,” he says. “Nanorobots are attracting the attention, and biorobotics and biomechatronic systems are also making tremendous progress and have a significant role to play in improving human life.

“More and more research will be centred on building robots that can make a difference in the quality of human life. The days are not far when humanoid robots will be common in many homes. Development of robots for edutainment, personal care and companionship is the next growth area.”

Approximately 100 delegates from 25 countries will participate in the conference. Papers will be presented in 14 oral sessions and 1 poster session.

There are two keynote addresses from world-renowned robot scientists – Professor Toshio Fukuda from Nagoya University, Japan and Professor Jong-Hwan Kim of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

Professor Fukuda will talk about advanced service robotics and automation while Professor Kim will speak about cognitive architecture to implement intelligence technology for robots that think.

The conference was last held in 2009 and has established itself as the largest conference in Australasia in the area of automation and robotics.

Conference homepage: http://icara.massey.ac.nz/