Achieving robust autonomy in robotics is challenged by sensor data reliability, especially in extreme environments. Conventional sensors like RGB cameras fail in low-visibility conditions (e.g., smoke, fog, low light), while active sensors such as Radar and Lidar struggle with reflective medium and particle obscurants and often lack dense information at close range. Thermal infrared cameras […]

When you think about a robot, what comes to mind? A humanoid, quadruped, quadcopter, or a multi-degree of freedom robot arm? These standard robot morphologies have become widely commercialized and are often our go-to general purpose systems, benefiting from well-established and accessible tools for working with these robots. However, when a task falls outside of […]

Our workshop aims to facilitate discussion on construction robotics with an emphasis on perception and navigation in cluttered scenes, mapping of as-built environments, and safety-focused robot-worker interactions. This workshop will provide a venue for academics and industry practitioners to connect and create a vision for robotics in construction work and ensure equitable participation in planning […]

Robotic surgery is entering an exciting new era where robots are no longer simply mechanical tools under the direct control of a surgeon, but rather fully-fledged cyber-physical systems capable of collaborating with doctors to carry out complex procedures. Within this evolving landscape, unconventional surgical instruments such as lasers, radiofrequency, and ultrasound probes are taking an […]

The Robotics Startup Bootcamp, hosted by MassRobotics, is an immersive, full-day workshop designed to equip early-stage robotics startups — or those considering the commercialization of their research — with the essential knowledge and practical skills necessary to thrive in a competitive and fast-paced market. Whether you're in the early stages of developing a product or […]

In the field, we throw robots into the wild to achieve what seems a simple task, that quickly ends up being arduous. As experts, we continuously loop through designing, developing, deploying, and analyzing our autonomous systems until it meets some level of success. From marine to forestry, from mining to agriculture, no matter the various […]

Recent advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) have enabled assistive robots to realize many activities alongside and with humans in shared environments. This physical proximity has introduced novel, complex tasks for the robotics community to address, which can be clustered into three main areas: Personal care robots that facilitate humans in physical activities of […]

The field of robotics has experienced significant growth through the integration of machine learning models, particularly with the rise of foundation models, neuro-symbolic AI, generative models (such as large language models and diffusion models), and other emerging techniques. While these methods have transformed areas like computer vision, natural language processing, and computer graphics, their application […]

Robot and automation systems are expected to carry out increasingly sophisticated tasks in complex environments. This places stringent expectations on their autonomy stack to enforce operational constraints and safety guarantees. Safe control synthesis methods, including model predictive control, reachability analysis, and control barrier functions, commonly rely on explicit mathematical definitions of safety constraints with known […]

Emerging robotic exoskeletons have the potential to enhance performance of non-disabled users, restore normative leg biomechanics to impaired users, or rehabilitate limb function after neurological disorders. However, these devices have not been widely adopted due to their rigidity, bulkiness, acoustic noise, cost, battery life, and/or non-intuitive control. While parallel industries are providing powerful, lightweight, and […]

This workshop explores the potential of Rust programming language in addressing current challenges in robotics software development. Bringing together industry leaders, academics, and open-source contributors, the workshop will cover Rust's value proposition for robotics, its ecosystem, its role in research and education, adoption challenges, and potential in emerging fields. Through presentations, panel discussions, demos, and […]