Robots on the march to Brisbane following bid win

AUSTRALASIA – Self-driving cars, robotic assistants or robotics that fly or swim are likely to take centre stage at a major conference booked in by Brisbane. Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC) won its bid for the Robotics and Automation Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in May 2018. The six-day conference – plus three days of workshops and tutorials – is expected to attract more than 1,500 of the world’s leading robotics researchers and innovators delivering an estimated AUS$5.5m (US$1.07m) in economic benefit to Brisbane and the Queensland economy. It will be the first time this leading international forum will have been held in Australia. Organisers also hope the Brisbane event will provide a global platform to showcase the strength of Queensland’s robotics research expertise and, in particular, its achievements in the area of field robotics and agriculture. Conference programme chair, Professor Peter Corke, director of the Centre for Robotic Vision at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), acknowledged the successful bid to host the conference in Brisbane was largely the result of the strong work in robotics currently taking place in Brisbane and Australia with the support of a strong local organising committee. “Certainly the strength of the local sector, the wide appeal of Brisbane and the world class facilities of the BCEC were all factors in the decision making process,” he said. Professor Corke said the successful hosting of the 2014 G20 Leaders Summit by BCEC had helped secure the choice of Brisbane for the 2018 meeting. “The fact that BCEC was the host venue for the 2014 G20 Leaders Summit – the largest and most influential meeting in Australia’s history – gave the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Administrative Committee further confidence in the destination,” he added. Professor Corke and conference general chair, Dr Alex Zelinsky Australia’s chief defence scientist, in collaboration with the team at the BCEC, prepared and presented the winning bid to the IEEE.