[Meetings][CFP] Xplore @ ICRA 2026, Workshop on Exploration in Robotics, RL and Search

[Zlatan Ajanovic]

Dear Colleagues,

We are excited to announce the Call for Papers for Xplore @ ICRA 2026 — a workshop on cross-disciplinary aspects of exploration in robotics, reinforcement learning, and search, to be held on June 5, 2026 in Vienna, Austria.

Exploration is a fundamental capability for intelligent agents, enabling them to operate effectively under uncertainty, gather information, and adapt to new environments. Despite being studied extensively across reinforcement learning, search algorithms, and robotics, these research communities remain largely disconnected. This workshop aims to bridge them by developing a unified perspective on exploration — examining shared principles and domain-specific challenges, and catalyzing new cross-disciplinary approaches toward more adaptive, resilient, and autonomous agents.


🎤 INVITED SPEAKERS

- Steve LaValle (University of Oulu)
- Jen Jen Chung (The University of Queensland)
- Peter Auer (Montanuniversität Leoben)
- Hermann Blum (University of Bonn)
- Antonin Raffin (DLR)
- Bakir Lacevic (University of Sarajevo)
- Julie Shah (MIT)

- Jens Kober (University of Stuttgart)

- Sebastian Tschiatschek (University of Vienna)

📅 IMPORTANT DATES (all AoE)

Submission Deadline:    April 20, 2026 (23:59 AoE)

Camera Ready:              May 20, 2026 (23:59 AoE)

Workshop Day:               June 5, 2026

Submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis.


📄 SUBMISSION

We accept two types of submissions:
1. Traditional submissions — preliminary or ongoing work, including negative results and open problems (long papers up to 6 pages, extended abstracts up to 2 pages, excluding references).
2. Already published papers — journal or conference papers from Robotics, ML, or AI venues where community discussion would add value.

Both tracks are managed separately with no competition between them.

Submit via OpenReview: link

Note: Submission requires an OpenReview account. Accounts without an educational or institutional email may take up to two weeks to be approved — please plan accordingly.

For the full list of topics and details, visit: https://xplore-workshop.github.io/submissions/

For questions: xplorew...@gmail.com

We look forward to your submissions!

Best regards,
Zlatan Ajanovic, Marija Popovic, Pulkit Verma
Xplore @ ICRA 2026 Organizing Committee
https://xplore-workshop.github.io/