London wins bid for world-leading robotics and AI conference

London has been selected ahead of other European cities to host IEEE Robotics and Automation Society’s (RAS) flagship International Conference on Robotics and Automations (ICRA) in 2023. The city will welcome over 4,000 of the world’s top experts and researchers in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics for a four-day conference to be held at ExCeL London between, 29 May and 2 June 2023. ICRA will be the first major international robotics and automation congress to be hosted in the UK and is expected to bring over £13m economic benefit to London. In a highly competitive bidding process, London was chosen ahead of other shortlisted cities, Vienna and Copenhagen. The city’s bid was fronted by Professor Kaspar Althoefer from Queen Mary University of London with the support of the London Convention Bureau, ExCeL London and MCI UK. Additional backing for the congress was gathered from across the public and private sector with an impressive line-up of supporters including: The Mayor of London, Department for Business, The Alan Turing Institute, Cognition X, as well as some of London’s top AI and robotics companies such as DeepMind and Shadow Robot. The wide-ranging programme will see delegates take part in interactive workshops, tutorials and networking events hosted at some of London’s most iconic venues. The congress programme will also feature outreach activities including a robot competition between schools in England, aimed at children aged 7 to 12 years old to raise enthusiasm for STEM subjects. Suzanne Singleton, head of associations at London Convention Bureau said: “London is a global hub for innovation and technology and its great news for the city that ICRA has decided to bring its flagship automation and robotics conference to London in 2023. We look forward to welcoming some of the best experts and researchers to London and hope they will enjoy all the great venues and experiences our city has to offer.” “Our world-class universities, research facilities, and a highly-skilled talent pool have helped Britain to become the European capital of Artificial Intelligence, making London a natural choice to host such a prestigious AI and robotics congress.” Professor Kaspar Althoefer from Queen Mary University of London and project lead for London’s bid added: “We are delighted to have won the bid to bring the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) to London in 2023. Undoubtedly a massive boost for UK Robotics, considering that this is the first time ever that a major international robotics conference will come to the country.”