The ANA Avatar XPRIZE was an international, $10 million competition
to build a telerobotic “avatar” system that allows human operators to
transport their senses, actions, and presence across long distances.
Potential applications of avatars are diverse and include
telecommuting, emergency response, service, healthcare, space, and
tourism sectors.
Telepresence through avatars is a relevant and topical area in robotics
research because avatars represent a next generation of telecommuting
devices that enable workers to not only communicate through audio and
video, but also navigate remotely and manipulate objects in the distant
environment. The process of developing a robotic avatar touches on many
areas of robotics research, including telerobotics, haptics, tactile
sensing, robot hands, VR/AR, and human robot-interaction.
In November 2022, 17 teams from ten countries competed
in the ANA Avatar XPRIZE Finals. The workshop is an opportune time for
XPRIZE teams, observers, and researchers in related areas to discuss
and reflect on their perspectives on the current state of avatar
technology, as well as future research challenges in the areas of
telerobotics, haptics, VR/AR, and human-robot interaction. The program
will consist of invited presentations, contributed talks and demos, and
a panel discussion.
We are soliciting contributed presentations and demonstrations
on
all aspects related to robotic avatars, including but not limited to:
Submission deadline: March 31st, 2023
Acceptance notification: April 15th, 2023
Final version due: April 30th, 2023
Workshop date: June 2nd, 2023
Presentation or demonstration proposals must be submitted as a PDF
in
2+n format (at most 2 pages of content and n pages of references in the
ICRA double column format). Templates are available here.
All
submissions must be made through EasyChair
and will be
peer-reviewed.
Final versions of accepted presentations and demonstrations will be
made available on the workshop website.
The workshop will take part in the Exhibition Centre London (ExCeL) in the program of the 2023 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA).
9:00 – 9:10 Welcome and introduction
9:10 – 10:00 2 Invited talks
10:00 – 10:30 Contributed presentations and demonstrations
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break
11:00 – 11:50 2 Invited talks
11:50 – 12:20 Contributed presentations and demonstrations
12:20 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 14:40 4 Invited talks
14:40 – 15:10 Contributed presentations and demonstrations
15:10 – 15:40 Coffee break
15:40 – 16:30 2 Invited talks
16:30 – 17:20 Panel discussion
17:20 – 17:30 Farewell