Entering the Top Robotics Conferences: A Guide to the General Agenda and Highlights of ICRA and IROS
This article is based on a recent in-depth interview conducted by NOKOV Motion Capture with Professor Hesheng Wang from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Chair of IROS 2025.
In the global robotics community, ICRA and IROS are widely recognized as the two most influential “flagship robotics conferences.” As Professor Wang mentioned in the interview, while there is no strict official definition of a “flagship conference,” their academic influence, scale, and broad recognition among researchers have established ICRA and IROS as the annual premier events for both the academic community and the industry.
For researchers, students, and industry professionals, understanding the overall structure and highlights of top conferences like ICRA and IROS is crucial. This knowledge helps attendees plan their schedules, make the most of the various conference resources, and grasp the latest industry trends and networking opportunities.
Top robotics conferences like ICRA and IROS typically last about five days, usually from Monday to Friday. The content covers a wide range of activities, including academic discussions, paper presentations, industry exhibitions, competitions, and networking events.
IROS 2024 Abu Dhabi
Workshops & Tutorials (Monday and Friday)
The first and last days of the conference are usually dedicated to Workshops and Tutorials. These are a core component of ICRA and IROS, providing opportunities for in-depth technical discussions and research training, making them excellent venues for participants to advance their academic knowledge.
ICRA 2024 Workshop
Workshops: Workshops often focus on hot topics and invite renowned scholars to give in-depth presentations on new directions. Emerging fields like "Large Models and Their Integration with Robotics" are frequently popular workshop topics, with presentations lasting 30 minutes to an hour to share the latest research findings.
Tutorials: Tutorials are more instructional, providing a systematic introduction to fundamental knowledge and cutting-edge developments in a specific research area. They help young scholars and students quickly get up to speed on the latest information.
Professor Wang specifically advises young scholars to attend these sessions, as they offer a chance to learn systematic knowledge and engage in direct, face-to-face communication with experts.
IROS 2025 Workshop sponsored by NOKOV
Core Conference Agenda (Tuesday to Thursday)
The three core days of the conference are dedicated to the Technical Program. This is the academic heart of top robotics conferences like ICRA and IROS, and it includes various forms of academic presentations:
Plenary Talks: These are a highlight of the conference, featuring 3-5 internationally renowned scholars. Each talk lasts 40 minutes to an hour and showcases the latest breakthroughs and findings in robotics, covering recent advancements, technological trends, and future research directions.
Keynotes: Keynote sessions are larger in scale, typically featuring 8-16 speakers, each with 30 minutes to speak. The content is more focused on specific topics. ICRA and IROS keynotes often zero in on a particular hot issue within a field.
Panel Sessions (Parallel Presentations): These are traditional parallel sessions. Flagship conferences like ICRA and IROS usually have about 20 parallel tracks, with each paper presentation lasting 15 minutes (including Q&A). They cover a wide range of fields such as perception, control, planning, and human-robot interaction. These sessions not only demonstrate the academic frontier but also reflect the diversity of robotics as an interdisciplinary field. The key characteristic of these presentations is their diversity and specialization, ensuring nearly every attendee can find a technical area of interest and hear about its latest progress.
Competitions and Challenges
Top robotics conferences like ICRA and IROS often feature various concurrent competitions, such as drone flying or robot cross-country challenges. These events, designed by the competition committee, not only test a team's research outcomes but also validate the technology's applicability in real-world environments, serving as a platform to showcase the latest technical achievements. The atmosphere is intense and enthusiastic, making it an important stage for research teams to demonstrate their capabilities.
ICRA 2024 Robot Parade
Exhibition
The exhibition is a significant feature of ICRA and IROS. Many well-known robotics companies and startups participate to showcase their latest technologies and products, such as motion capture systems, autonomous driving platforms, and service robotics solutions. Scholars can learn about tools needed for their experiments, while companies can explore potential collaborations, fostering a healthy cycle of academic-industry interaction.
Networking Events
In addition to academic and industry agendas, ICRA and IROS place great emphasis on social activities:
Welcome Reception: A welcome event for all attendees, usually held on the first day or the evening before. It's often a Western-style reception with a relaxed atmosphere, helping participants quickly build connections.
Banquet: A formal dinner that reflects the culture of the host country. All attendees can participate, sitting together to network and strengthen academic ties and friendships.
Farewell Party: A large social event, usually held at the end of the conference. The format varies and has unique characteristics depending on the organizers.
VIP Dinner: An exclusive dinner for organizing committee members, journal editors, and invited guests.
New Generation Star Project (NGSP): The New Generation Star Project, jointly initiated by NOKOV Motion Capture and the IROS 2025 organizing committee, is designed for young global robotics scholars. Its goal is to promote academic exchange, expand professional networks, and showcase cutting-edge research. Each year, the project selects about 20-25 outstanding young scholars at top robotics conferences like ICRA and IROS. The selected scholars are invited to the IROS 2025 Appreciation Dinner for all Editors and Associated Editors, where they will present their academic achievements and receive a certificate. They will also be deeply involved in promotional activities, such as "Star Talk" online academic live streams for robotics scholars and the recording and release of promotional videos for their accepted IROS papers, all aimed at enhancing their academic influence.
This project has been held for two editions.Learn more about NGSP events, please click here:
ICRA2024 New Generation Star Project
IROS2024 New Generation Star Project
Call For IROS2025 New Generation Star Project
Special Events & Awards
Special Events: The conference also features an Industry Forum and a Government Forum, inviting CTOs and policymakers to share the latest corporate achievements and government policy directions. Additionally, some conferences have special events like the "Women in Robotics Forum" to support female robotics professionals and "Young Scholars Lunches."
Awards: The awards ceremony is usually held during a lunchtime. Attendees can participate while having lunch. ICRA has a large number of awards, making the awards ceremony a major part of the conference.
Recent Trends in Academia-Industry Collaboration at ICRA and IROS
In recent years, both ICRA and IROS have begun inviting more industry representatives as plenary speakers. This trend reflects the growing collaboration between the robotics academic and industrial communities, which accelerates the practical application of research findings. ICRA and IROS are placing greater emphasis on the exchange between industry and academia and on the real-world application of robotics research.
As Professor Wang said, "The characteristic of the robotics field is its grounded nature. We don't just do theoretical research; we hope our findings can benefit everyone, that we can build robots that help ordinary workers and free them from dangerous or heavy labor."
The agendas of ICRA and IROS cover a wide range of aspects, including Workshops, Tutorials, technical presentations, robot competitions, industry exhibitions, networking events, and awards. They not only showcase the academic frontier but also promote industry collaboration. For scholars, it is a crucial stage for academic exchange and learning; for companies, it is an international window to showcase their achievements and find partners. As robotics technology continues to be applied, major robotics conferences like ICRA and IROS are also evolving, becoming a vital force in driving the industry's development.
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