KAUST Research Conference on Robotics and Autonomy

The KAUST Research Conference on Robotics and Autonomy brings together leading international and in-Kingdom robotics researchers and government and industry representatives from the robotics industry to discuss robotics and its applications

To watch video recordings of the KAUST Research Conference on Robotics and Autonomy, see the RobotoKAUST events page.

KAUST Research Conference on Robotics and Autonomy 2023

Monday, May 08 - Wednesday, May 10.

Organized in partnership with:

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After the success of #RobotoKAUST 2022 (check talks and posters here) and #RobotoKAUST 2021 (check talks here), we are excited to organize the 3rd #RobotoKAUST conference in May 2023. We invite you to join us on this exciting journey!

Over the past seven decades, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been supplying a major share of the oil used to power the world's economies for transportation of people and goods, electricity production, and a myriad of synthetic materials that most of us could not live without at this point in time. As of today, the Kingdom is investing heavily in food production, on the one hand, and tourism development, on the other hand. Food production is a challenge in a country often associated with the word "desert". Tourism is a big opportunity for a country whose beautiful marine environment, which comprises more and healthier coral reefs than anywhere else, easily competes with the most famous natural sites worldwide.

None of the foregoing activities can become significant without achieving significant economies of scale enabled, for the most part, by robotics and automation. The KAUST Research Conference on Robotics and Autonomy 2023 (#RobotoKAUST 2023) brings together leading scientists and engineers to present and discuss their work devoted to robotics as it pertains to marine and agricultural applications. While speakers are expected to talk about their preferred area of application, they will also be encouraged to think about the other area, hoping that successful technology transfers may happen from one to the other, with worldwide dissemination. By doing so, #RobotoKAUST 2023 will encourage the development of novel ideas where they are most commonly found, that is, at the interface between two essential fields of interest.

RobotoKAUST 2023: Short Robotics Story and Video Contest

Deadline: March 12, 2023 The winners will be announced during the RobotoKAUST Gala Event on May 9, 2023, at 5 pm. Prizes will be announced later! Short Story, Video, and Comics Contest organized during the KAUST Research Conference on Robotics and Autonomy 2023 #RobotoKAUST 2023 Organizers of the KAUST Research Conference on Robotics and Autonomy 2023 would like to invite you to take part in the third edition of the Robotics Contest. This time we welcome submissions in three different categories: short stories, comics, and video animations. The overall theme will be " Robots & Emotions". So

RobotoKAUST 2023: Call for Abstracts

#RobotoKAUST 2023: Call for Abstracts (Oral Presentation) We are excited to announce the KAUST Research Conference on Robotics and Autonomy 2023 ( #RobotoKAUST), which will be held on May 08 - May 10, 2023, at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. The #RobotoKAUST 2023 will bring together leading scientists and engineers to present and discuss their work devoted to robotics as it pertains to marine and agricultural applications. New in this conference, we are accepting abstract submissions for oral presentations which are submitted by postdoctoral

RobotoKAUST 2023: Call for Poster Abstracts

#RobotoKAUST 2023: Call for Poster Abstracts We are excited to announce the KAUST Research Conference on Robotics and Autonomy 2023 ( #RobotoKAUST), which will be held on May 08 - May 10, 2023, at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. The 2023 #RobotoKAUST will bring together leading scientists and engineers to present and discuss their work devoted to robotics as it pertains to marine and agricultural applications. As part of this event, we are accepting poster abstract submissions. Final posters will be displayed digitally during the #RobotoKAUST

Orginizing Committee

Eric Feron

With 31 years of teaching and research experience, Professor Feron’s work utilizes elementary concepts of control systems, optimization and computer science to address critical issues in modern aerospace engineering and robotics.

Shinkyu Park

Professor Park advances robotic science by building on individual robots’ core sensing, actuation and communication capabilities in distributed information processing, decision-making and manipulation.

Raquel Peixoto

Associate Professor, Marine Science
Raquel Peixoto is a Associate Professor of Marine Science. She is affiliated with the Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE) and the Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC). She is the Principal Investigator of the Marine Microbiomes Lab (M&Ms). Education Profile Ph.D. Microbiolgy, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2005 M.S. Biotechnology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2001 B.S. Biological Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1998 Research Interests Prof. Peixoto's research has outlined the protocols and

KAUST Research Conference on Robotics and Autonomy 2022

Following on from our successful online conference in Spring 2021, the KAUST RISC Lab hosted the KAUST Research Conference on Robotics and Autonomy 2022 (#RobotoKAUST 2022) from February 28 to March 2, 2022.

During the #RobotoKAUST conference,  presentations and discussions of systems, items, and methods related to robotics and autonomy took place. As part of this event, we accepted poster abstracts for digital posters.
Posters were displayed digitally in KAUST Library during the RobotoKAUST Gala Meeting on March 1, allowing discussion among presenters and interested attendees. 

The KAUST RISC Lab announced a brand new story contest, the RobotoKAUST: Short Robotics Story & Video Contest 2022.
The contest was open to children, teenagers (TKS G1- G12 level), and adults.

The RobotoKAUST: Short Robotics Story & Video Contest 2022 welcomed entries in three different formats: stories, videos, and animated videos. The winning stories were turned into video animations and are published on our YouTube Channel.

RobotoKAUST 2022: Call for Abstracts: Scientific Posters

RobotoKAUST 2022: Short Robotics Story and Video Contest

Organizing Committee

Eric Feron

With 31 years of teaching and research experience, Professor Feron’s work utilizes elementary concepts of control systems, optimization and computer science to address critical issues in modern aerospace engineering and robotics.

Shinkyu Park

Professor Park advances robotic science by building on individual robots’ core sensing, actuation and communication capabilities in distributed information processing, decision-making and manipulation.

Michael Berumen

Professor, Marine Science
Education Profile ​​​​​​Ph.D. Marine Biology, James Cook University, Australia, 2007 B.S. (summa cum laude), Zoology, University of Arkansas, 2001 Research Interests Larval connectivity and dispersal of reef fishes Movement ecology of reef organisms Biodiversity and evolutionary biology of Red Sea fauna Selected Publications ​Berumen, M & M Pratchett. Recovery without resilience: Persistent disturbance and long-term shifts in the structure of fish and coral communities at Tiahura Reef, Moorea. Coral Reefs 25: 647-653, 2006. Almany, G, M Berumen, S Thorrold, S Planes, & G Jones. Local

KAUST Research Conference on Robotics and Autonomy 2021

The KAUST Research Conference on Robotics and Autonomy 2021, #RobotoKAUST, brought together leading international and in-Kingdom robotics researchers and government and industry representatives from the robotics industry to discuss robotics and its applications.

The conference topics have included: research on foundational robotics topics, planning and learning, locomotion, assured autonomy, human-robot interaction, swarm robotics, and the application areas of modern robotics, such as urban mobility, agriculture, marine, wearable robotics.

The recordings of the talks are listed below. To visit our YouTube Channel: KAUSTRISCLab follow the link. 

The KAUST RISC Lab Team organized the Short Story Competition for KAUST Community and met with TKS KG students. The youngest members had a chance to learn about the drones and observe them in action.