[Meetings] Optimization for Robotics Summer School 2025 - Still time for early bird registration fee!
Konstantinos Chatzilygeroudis
Dear colleagues,
(Apologies for cross-posting)
There is still time to benefit from early bird registration to participate in our summer school (deadline April 1st 2025)! Please share with colleagues and students.
Optimization for Robotics Summer School Announcement
We are excited to announce the Optimization for Robotics Summer School 2025, organized by the IEEE RAS Technical Committee on Model-Based Optimization for Robotics and the IEEE RAS Technical Committee on Whole Body Control. The first iteration of the summer school will be held from July 14 to July 18, 2025, at the University of Patras in Patras, Greece.
About the Summer School
The program aims to provide roboticists with a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of optimization and its role in connecting many topics in robotics to encourage the cross-pollination of ideas across subfields. The curriculum includes:
Fundamental Mathematics and Numerical Algorithms of Optimization: Providing a solid grounding in optimization techniques.
Robotics Applications from a Unified Optimization Perspective: Covering areas such as learning, control, state estimation, and simulation.
Hands-On Coding Exercises: Instructor-guided sessions to gain practical experience.
We encourage applications from master students, PhD students, early-career researchers, and faculty members with a background in robotics, mechatronics, or related fields. No specialized background in optimization is expected of attendees.
Organizers
Konstantinos Chatzilygeroudis – University of Patras
Brian Plancher – Barnard College, Columbia University
Zachary Manchester – Carnegie Mellon University
Shivesh Kumar – Chalmers University and DFKI GmbH
Enrico Mingo Hoffman – INRIA Nancy Grand-Est
Patrick Wensing – University of Notre Dame
Confirmed Speakers
The program features lectures and hands-on sessions led by experts in the field, including the organizers and additionally:
Hae-Won Park – Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST)
Andrea Del Prete – University of Trento
Yuval Tassa – Google DeepMind
Tom Erez – Google DeepMind
Serena Ivaldi – INRIA Nancy Grand-Est
Kostas Alexis – Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Schedule Highlights
Each day will consist of a mix of foundational topics, hands-on examples, and research talks from leaders in the field. Highlights include:
Day 1: Optimization Background
Day 2: Optimal Control
Day 3: Reinforcement Learning and Simulation
Day 4: State Estimation and SLAM
Day 5: Hardware Hackathon
For a detailed schedule and list of speakers, please visit our website: http://optimizationforrobotics.org
Registration and Fees
Early-bird Registration: €350 (until April 1st 2025)
Standard Registration: €450
Late/On-site Registration: €500
Travel awards and/or fee waivers will be given to selected students. Please see the website and application for more details.
How to Apply
For more details on the program, speakers, and application process, please visit: http://optimizationforrobotics.org
Feel free to share this announcement with colleagues and students who may be interested. We look forward to your participation!
Best regards,