Awards

Conference Awards

  • Best Conference Paper Award
  • Best Student Conference Paper Award
  • Best Automation Paper Award
  • Best Cognitive Robotics Paper Award (Sponsored by KROS)
  • Best Medical Robotics Paper Award (Sponsored by Intuitive Surgical)
  • Best Robotic Manipulation Paper Award (Sponsored by Ben Wegbreit)
  • Best Robotic Vision Paper Award (Sponsored by Ben Wegbreit)
  • Best Service Robotics Paper Award (Sponsored by KUKA)
  • Best Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) Paper Award (Sponsored by ABB)
  • ICRA CEB award for Best Associate Editors
  • ICRA CEB award for Best Reviewer

Note that the handling of all conference awards at ICRA 2016 will make no distinction between ICRA-only papers and RA-L papers with ICRA option.

Best Conference Paper Award

Description: To recognize the most outstanding paper presented at the annual IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)

Basis for Judging: Technical merit, originality, potential impact on the field, clarity of the written paper, and quality of the oral or other presentation.

Winner:

A Convex Polynomial Force-Motion Model for Planar Sliding: Identification and Application: Jiaji Zhou, Robert Paolini, James Bagnell, Matthew T. Mason

Finalists:
  • * 3D Dynamic Walking with Underactuated Humanoid Robots: A Direct Collocation Framework for Optimizing Hybrid Zero Dynamics: Ayonga Hereid, Eric Cousineau, Christian Hubicki, Aaron Ames
  • Cooperative Multi-Quadrotor Pursuit of an Evader in an Environment with No-Fly Zones: Alyssa Pierson, Armin Ataei, Ioannis Paschalidis, Mac Schwager
  • Reduced Dynamical Equations for Barycentric Spherical Robots: Matthew Burkhardt, Joel Burdick
  • Neural-based Underwater Surface Localization through Electrolocation: Yannick Morel, Vincent Lebastard, Frédéric Boyer
  • * Robust Learning from Demonstration Using Leveraged Gaussian Processes and Sparse-Constrained Optimization: Sungjoon Choi, Kyungjae Lee, Songhwai Oh
  • * A Convex Polynomial Force-Motion Model for Planar Sliding: Identification and Application: Jiaji Zhou, Robert Paolini, James Bagnell, Matthew T. Mason

Best Student Conference Paper Award

Description: To recognize the most outstanding paper authored primarily by a student at the annual IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA).

Basis for Judging: Technical merit, originality, potential impact on the field, practical significance of the applications, clarity of the written presentation in the proceedings, and quality of the oral presentation at the conference.

Winner:

Supersizing Self-supervision: Learning to Grasp from 50K Tries and 700 Robot Hours Pinto, Lerrel Joseph; Gupta, Abhinav

Finalists:
  • What Lies Behind: Recovering Hidden Shape in Dense Mapping: Michael Tanner, Pedro Pinies, Lina María Paz, Paul Newman
  • Cluster-Based Loop Closing Detection for Underwater SLAM in Feature-Poor Regions: Pep Lluis Negre Carrasco, Francisco Bonin Font, Gabriel A. Oliver
  • Supersizing Self-supervision: Learning to Grasp from 50K Tries and 700 Robot Hours Pinto, Lerrel Joseph; Gupta, Abhinav

Best Automation Paper Award

Description: To encourage research in Automation by annually recognizing the Best Automation Paper at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) systems that operate autonomously in predictable environments over extended periods, or the explicit structuring of such environments.

Basis for Judging: Factors that will be considered are originality, depth, quality, presentation, and significance as related to automation, emphasizing efficiency, productivity, quality, and reliability, focusing on systems that operate autonomously in predictable environments over extended periods, or the explicit structuring of such environments.

Winner:

Beyond Layers: A 3D-Aware Toolpath Algorithm for Fused Filament Fabrication: Samuel Lensgraf, Ramgopal Mettu

Finalists:
  • Live-Fly, Large-Scale Field Experimentation for Large Numbers of Fixed-Wing UAVs: Timothy H. Chung, Michael Clement, Michael A. Day, Kevin Jones, Duane Davis, Marianna Jones
  • Robust Control of Automated Manufacturing Systems with Assembly Operations using Petri Nets: Nan Du, Hesuan Hu
  • Beyond Layers: A 3D-Aware Toolpath Algorithm for Fused Filament Fabrication: Samuel Lensgraf, Ramgopal Mettu
  • * Control of Microstructures Propelled via Bacterial Baths: Elizabeth Hunter, Nathaniel Chodosh, Edward Steager, Vijay Kumar
  • Sweet Pepper Pose Detection and Grasping for Automated Crop Harvesting: Christopher Lehnert, Inkyu Sa, Christopher Steven McCool, Ben Upcroft, Tristan Perez
  • A Passivity-Based Approach for Trajectory Tracking and Link-Side Damping of Compliantly Actuated Robots: Manuel Keppler, Dominic Lakatos, Christian Ott, Alin Albu-Schäffer

Best Cognitive Robotics Paper Award (Sponsored by KROS)

Description: This award is established to promote interdisciplinary research on cognition for technical systems and advancements of cognitive robotics in industry, home applications, and daily life. Up to one award will be given annually at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) conference.

Basis for Judging: Factors to be considered are: the significance of cognitive behavior and cognitive capabilities, interdisciplinary work, creativity, technical merits, originality, potential impact in applications in industry and at home, and clarity of presentation.

This Award was not given 2016 due to a lack of qualified papers.

Best Medical Robotics Paper Award (Sponsored by Intuitive Surgical)

Description: This award will recognize outstanding work in the area of medical robotics and computer-assisted interventional devices and systems. Relevant topics may include the design and development of novel devices and robotic systems, and their integration with navigation and imaging technologies for enhanced clinical efficacy.

Basis for Judging: A selection committee will be appointed by the conference Awards Committee with members who have appropriate expertise in the field of medical robotics.

Winner:

Image-Based Robotic System for Enhanced Minimally Invasive Intra-Articular Fracture Surgeries: Giulio Dagnino, Ioannis Georgilas, Paul Köhler, Sanja Dogramadzi

Finalists:
  • Investigation of Effects of Dynamics on Intrinsic Wrench Sensing in Continuum Robots: Rajarshi Roy, Long Wang, Nabil Simaan
  • Image-Based Robotic System for Enhanced Minimally Invasive Intra-Articular Fracture Surgeries: Giulio Dagnino, Ioannis Georgilas, Paul Köhler, Sanja Dogramadzi
  • Hybrid Control of an Epicardial Parallel Wire Robot: Adam D. Costanza, Macauley S. Breault, Nathan Wood, Michael J. Passineau, Robert J. Moraca, Cameron N. Riviere

Best Robotic Manipulation Paper Award (Sponsored by Ben Wegbreit)

Description: For the best paper relating to manipulation presented at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA).

Basis for Judging: Technical merit, originality, potential impact on the field, clarity of the written paper, and quality of the oral or other presentation.

Winner:

Optimal Control with Learned Local Models: Application to Dexterous Manipulation: Vikash Kumar, Emanuel Todorov, Sergey Levine

Finalists:
  • * Dex-Net 1.0: A Cloud-Based Network of 3D Objects for Robust Grasp Planning Using a Multi-Armed Bandit Model with Correlated Rewards: Jeffrey Mahler, Florian T. Pokorny, Brian Hou, Melrose Roderick, Michael Laskey, Mathieu Aubry, Kai Kohlhoff, Torsten Kroeger, James Kuffner, Ken Goldberg
  • * Optimal Control with Learned Local Models: Application to Dexterous Manipulation: Vikash Kumar, Emanuel Todorov, Sergey Levine
  • * Tying Knot Precisely: Weifu Wang, Devin Balkcom
  • * Learning Manipulation Tasks with Tied Gaussian Mixture Models: Ajay Kumar Tanwani, Sylvain Calinon
  • Visual Cues Used to Evaluate Grasps From Images: Cindy Grimm, Ravi Balasubramanian, Matthew Sundberg

Best Robotic Vision Paper Award (Sponsored by Ben Wegbreit)

Description: For the best paper relating to vision presented at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

Basis for Judging: Technical merit, originality, potential impact on the field, clarity of the written paper, and quality of the oral or other presentation.

Winner:

Multi-Type Activity Recognition in Robot-Centric Scenarios: Ilaria Gori, J.K. Aggarwal, Larry Matthies, Michael S. Ryoo

Finalists:
  • * Learning Binary Features Online from Motion Dynamics for Incremental Loop-Closure Detection and Place Recognition: Guangcong Zhang, John Mason Lilly, Patricio Vela
  • Articulated Dense Fusion: Matt Klingensmith, Siddhartha Srinivasa, Michael Kaess
  • From Feature Detection in Truncated Signed Distance Fields to Sparse Stable Scene Graphs: Daniel Ricao Canelhas, Todor Stoyanov, Achim J. Lilienthal
  • Exploring Representation Learning with CNNs for Frame to Frame Ego-Motion Estimation: Gabriele Costante, Michele Mancini, Paolo Valigi, Thomas Alessandro Ciarfuglia
  • Multi-Type Activity Recognition in Robot-Centric Scenarios: Ilaria Gori, J.K. Aggarwal, Larry Matthies, Michael S. Ryoo

Best Service Robotics Paper Award (Sponsored by KUKA)

Description: To promote between robotics science research and industry R&D advancement in the area of service robotics applications (both professional and domestic).

Basis for Judging: Factors to be considered are: the significance of the new applications, technical merits, originality, potential impact on the field, and clarity of presentation.

This Award was not given 2016 due to a lack of qualified papers.

Best Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) Paper Award (Sponsored by ABB)

Description: This award recognizes the best paper on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) presented at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA).

Basis for Judging: A selection committee will be appointed by the ICRA Awards Committee with members who have appropriate expertise in the field of human-robot interaction. Papers are judged based on technical merit, originality, relevance to human-robot interaction, potential impact on the field, clarity of the written paper, and quality of the conference presentation.

Winner:

A Highly Sensitive Dual Mode Tactile Proximity Sensor Using Carbon Microcoils for Robotic Applications: Hyo Seung Han, Junwoo Park, Tien Dat Nguyen, Uikyum Kim, Canh Toan Nguyen, Hoa Phung, Hyouk Ryeol Choi

Finalists:
  • * A Highly Sensitive Dual Mode Tactile Proximity Sensor Using Carbon Microcoils for Robotic Applications: Hyo Seung Han, Junwoo Park, Tien Dat Nguyen, Uikyum Kim, Canh Toan Nguyen, Hoa Phung, Hyouk Ryeol Choi
  • * SHIV: Reducing Supervisor Burden using Support Vectors for Efficient Learning from Demonstrations in High Dimensional State Spaces: Michael Laskey, Samantha Staszak, Wesley Hsieh, Jeffrey Mahler, Florian T. Pokorny, Anca Dragan, Ken Goldberg
  • Human-Robot Collaborative High-Level Control with Application to Rescue Robotics: Philipp Schillinger, Stefan Kohlbrecher, Oskar von Stryk
  • A Hybrid Hydrostatic Transmission and Human-Safe Haptic Telepresence Robot: John Peter Whitney, Tianyao Chen, John Mars, Jessica Hodgins

ICRA CEB award for Best Associate Editors:

Margarita Chli, ETH Zurich

Jason Corso, University of Michigan

ICRA CEB award for Best Reviewers:

Jan Rosell, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

Xiaolong Zhou, Zhejiang University of Technology

Klaus Strobl, German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Giuseppe Loianno, University of Pennsylvania