Sinergies between automation and robotics

In this IEEE ICRA 2021 Plenary Panel aimed at the younger generation of roboticists and automation experts, panelists Seth Hutchinson, Maria Pia Fanti, Peter B. Luh, Pieter Abbeel, Kaneko Harada, Michael Y. Wang, Kevin Lynch, Chinwe Ekenna, Animesh Garg and Frank Park, under the moderation of Ken Goldberg, discussed about how to close the gap between both disciplines, which have many topics in common. The panel was organised by the Ad Hoc Committee to Explore Synergies in Automation and Robotics (CESAR).

As the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE RAS) explain, “robotics and automation have always been siblings. They are similar in many ways and have substantial overlap in topics and research communities, but there are also differences–many RAS members view them as disjoint and consider themselves purely in robotics or purely in automation. This committee’s goal is to reconsider these perceptions and think about ways we can bring these communities closer.”