IEEE RoboSoft Half-day Workshop
When: 23rd April 2025, 9:00-13:00
Where: Room 3B, SwissTech Convention Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland
Calls for Contributions
We invite you to submit a bold, high-risk, high-reward “moonshot” idea for soft robotics inspired by your research. Selected participants will have the opportunity to deliver a quickfire pitch and/or present a poster at the workshop. We will also be providing cash prizes to the top pitches!
Contributions can be submitted as a single slide summary (any form of media is allowed) of the goal and how it relates to your research. Submission form is here.
The deadline for contribution submission is March 31, 2025. The best contributions will be selected for a 2-minute flash pitch during the workshop program. Contribution acceptance will be notified by April 10, 2025.
If you have any questions and feedback, please send an email to Nana Obayashi.
Workshop Summary
The field of soft robotics has redefined traditional robotics with fully compliant, bio-inspired designs capable of thriving in diverse environments. However, research in recent years has shown mainly incremental advances, with various open questions to fundamental challenges remaining. To avoid stagnation and continue positive momentum, we must define a bold vision for the future. Our workshop focuses on leveraging embodied intelligence—a framework that emphasizes the dynamic interplay between body, brain, and environment—to tackle critical challenges and propel the field forward. We aim to establish both short-term (5-year) and long term (10 to 20-year) moonshot goals, ensuring sustainable growth and positioning soft robotics at the forefront of technological innovation.
Featuring a Shark Tank-inspired structure, where researchers will pitch their moonshot ideas to convince a panel to “invest” in their goals, sparking interactive discussions and constructive critique. Additionally, young researchers and students will have the chance to present flash talks. By bringing together diverse voices from within and beyond the field, we seek to define an Apollo moment for soft robotics, through democratization, interdisciplinarity, and a collaborative vision for the future.
Program at a Glance
All times are in Central European Standard time.
| 8:15 – 9:00 | Registration & setup | |
| 9:00 – 9:15 | Workshop start & introduction | Organizers |
| 9:15 – 10:00 | Pitching Session 1: 10-minute moonshot pitches from experts to panel of sharks | Pitching: Auke Ijspeert, Kari Love, Jeff Lipton Sharks: Adam Stokes, Jonathan Rossiter, Robert Baines, Ellen Roels |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Rising star moonshot pitches | Robert Baines, Ellen Roels |
| 10:30 – 10:50 | 5-minute flash moonshot pitches | Mohamed Irfan Refai, Haewon Jeong, Kadri-Ann Pankratov, Sareum Kim |
| 10:50 – 11:00 | Discussion | Everyone |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Coffee break & posters | |
| 11:30 – 12:15 | Pitching Session 2: 10-minute moonshot pitches from experts to panel of sharks | Pitching: Kate Devlin, Josh Bongard, Zlatka Stoeva Sharks: Adam Stokes, Jonathan Rossiter, Robert Baines, Ellen Roels |
| 12:15 – 12:40 | Summary of Pitching Session 1 & Voting | Fumiya Iida and Organizers |
| 12:40 – 13:00 | Panel with Sharks, Discussion & Concluding Remarks by Organizers | Sharks & Everyone |
Our Sharks
Main Moderator
Our Speakers Pitching Moonshot Ideas
Timetable
All times are in Central European Standard time.
9:00 – Welcome & Intro
9:15 – Auke Ijspeert: “Computational neuroscience and Robotics”
9:30 – Kari Love: “Soft Goods Innovation Design and Fabrication“
9:45 – Jeff Lipton: “Metamaterials for Soft Robotics”
10:00 – Robert Baines: “Where are the soft robots in the real world?”
10:15 – Ellen Roels: “Material Characterization and Standardization”
10:30 – Flash moonshot pitches from invited early-career researchers and students
Mohamed Irfan Refai: “Ad Astra: Wearable Soft Space Robots“
Haewon Jeong: “3D shape sensing along the fiber and textile“
Kadri-Ann Pankratov: “molecular level changes for embodiment-wide actions”
Sareum Kim: “Dead Matter, Living Machines: Foraging Bio-Joint with Embodied Mechanical Properties“
11:00 – Coffee break & Poster session
List of Posters:
Alberto Comoretto: “Physical synchronization of self-oscillating limbs for autonomous locomotion”
Johannes Frey: “Shape morphing, soft robotic grippers to push the development of sustainable multicropping in agriculture”
Nemo Hsiao: “Explore Mars with a swarm of sub-gram soft robots”
Elze Porte: “Soft functional composites: connecting fundamentals to applications”
11:30 – Kate Devlin: “Human-Robot Interaction and Intimacy”
11:45 – Josh Bongard: “Evolving Robots “
12:00 – Zlatka Stoeva: “Can advanced materials provide simple solutions to complex electronics problems in soft robotics?“
12:15 – Fumiya Iida & Organizers: Summary, Thoughts, & Voting on Pitches
12:40 – Discussion, Next Steps, & Wrap-up
Organizers
- Nana Obayashi, EPFL, Switzerland
- Dr. Kyle Walker, EPFL, Switzerland
- Niccolo Pagliarani, Scuolo Superiore Sant’Anna, Italy
- Dr. Michael Ishida, University of Cambridge, UK
- Maks Gepner, The University of Edinburgh, UK
- Dr. Arsen Abdulali, University of Cambridge, UK
- Prof. Fumiya Iida, University of Cambridge, UK
- Prof. Josie Hughes, EPFL, Switzerland
- Prof. Matteo Cianchetti, Scuolo Superiore Sant’Anna, Italy
