Digital Twins: Where Robots, Systems, AI, & XR Meet

 

Workshop at ICRA 2025 (May 19-23, 2025, Atlanta, USA)

Call for Participation

Format:

Half-day Workshop, currently welcoming requests for participation and attendance

Organizers:

(Contact Person) Imad H. Elhajj, Vision and Robotics Lab, American University of Beirut, Lebanon, ie05@aub.edu.lb,https://sites.aub.edu.lb/vrlab/

Daniel Asmar, Vision and Robotics Lab, American University of Beirut, Lebanon, da20@aub.edu.lb,https://sites.aub.edu.lb/vrlab/

Georg Thallinger, Joanneum Research, Graz, Austria

georg.thallinger@joanneum.at, https://www.joanneum.at/en/

Lucia Vadicamo, Institute of Information Science and Technologies (ISTI), National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy

lucia.vadicamo@isti.cnr.it,  https://www.isti.cnr.it/en/https://aimh.isti.cnr.it/

Abstract:

With the advent of digital twins and XR coupled with advances in several enabling technologies, including robotics, computer vision, artificial intelligence, and XR, many opportunities and research questions arise. This workshop will highlight the current progress on this front with special focus on applications and use-cases in the realm of digital twins and XR in robotics. In addition, challenges and concerns, i.e., touching on topics like updating and streaming digital twins, will be discussed. Digital twins spanning the full scale from micro (component) to macro (system), as well as XR technologies applied in intelligent robots applications systems, are within the scope of the workshop.

The objectives of the workshop are to highlight the potential of this field given the rapid progress in enabling technologies (wearables, cloud computing, instrumentation, etc…). Workshop topics will include, but are not limited to:

The objective is to bring together researchers from diverse fields and backgrounds to discuss those topics. Industry contribution is highly welcomed.

Content of the Workshop:

Objectives:

Recruitment of Speakers and Participants: We will invite top researchers in the field to submit contributions to the workshop. We are confident we will be able to get interest because several of the organizers are involved in the EU-funded DIDYMOS-XR and SUN projects, and have connections with several other such projects and consortia composed of academic and industry partners with interest in digital twins.

Exchange: The workshop format will have a format to facilitate discussions. Session will be divided in themes (applications, advances, limitations, etc…) with a significant time allocated at the end of each session for group discussions.

Diversity: The topic of digital twins is broad in the domains of research and technology needed to enable it. This includes not only robotics and computer vision but also artificial intelligence, XR, wearables, embedded systems, instrumentation, human robot (DT) interaction, in addition to ethical and legal aspects.

Anticipated Audience:

Given the breadth of the topic the workshop should appeal to a broad audience from the robotics and automation community. This also includes those interested in human factors of this technology, in addition to ethical and legal dimensions. Several TCs would be contacted and would be interested, including:

 

Overall attendance is estimated at 50 participants.

Invited Speakers:

1. Engineering Ingegneria Informatica  S.p.A. (ENG) https://www.eng.it/en/ (Speaker Vincenzo Croce, ENG participation confirmed)

Title: “XR for a personalized inclusive social experience for people with serious mobility and verbal communication diseases, SUN project Accessibility”

2. Idealworks https://idealworks.com/en/ (Speaker and Title TBD, Confirmed participation)

3. Capegemini (Pending Confirmation)

Speakers are from different regions and different industries.

Structure of the Event:

Session will be divided in themes (applications, advances, limitations, etc…) with a significant time allocated at the end of each session for group discussions. There will be a part for attendees to briefly present any relevant work they are doing through impromptu pitches. This will allow attendees especially young researchers to have visibility within the community and feel engaged in the workshop. There will be a session of contributed extended abstracts with 10-minute presentations for each contribution. Participants not able to attend in person will be able to join remotely through live streaming.

Program:

Tentative program for the workshop:

Time

Talk

Comments

8:30 – 8:45

Workshop Intro

 

8:45- 9:00

Invited Talk 1

 

9:00- 9:15

Discussion

 

9:15-9:30

Invited Talk 2

 

9:30-9:45

Discussion

 

9:45-10:00

Impromptu Pitch

3-min pitches by participants about their research

10:00 – 10:30

Coffee break

 

10:30-10:45

Invited Talk 3

 

10:45-11:00

Discussion

 

11:00-12:15

Contributed Session

(7×10 min), Q&A after each talk

12:15-12:30

Closing Remarks

 

12:30 – 13:30

Lunch

Lunch Break

 

Equipment:

Round tables or movable seating arrangements. Sound system with at least two microphones. Power supply at each desk to facilitate charging. A default projector and screen.

Plan to Solicit Participation:

Solicitation of submissions and participation through different channels:

Targeting national projects with similar interests will bring visibility worldwide to relevant audience. 1-2 page extended abstracts (excluding references) or a preprint of relevant work will be solicited. New ideas and recent advances are given priority. Accepted abstracts will be presented during the workshop but will NOT appear in official IEEE proceedings. The review process will be single-blind at least two reviews carried out by the workshop organizers. The peer review process will ensure fit and quality contributions.

Submission Deadline: 1 April 2025

Notification of Acceptance:  15 April 2025

Final Submission:  20 April 2025

Workshop Date:  19 or 23 May 2025

Dissemination:

We will disseminate the extended abstracts to relevant technical committees. Presentations and papers will be made publicly available on the workshop website. In addition, summary recommendations will be shared on social media via a blog.

Endorsement:

Organizers and invited speakers’ travel and participation covered by EU projects.

Plan to Improve Diversity and Inclusion: 

The organizers will solicit participation from diverse regions especially those underrepresented in RAS community like Africa and Middle East. We will send direct solicitations to specific researchers in those regions. The various formats of interactions will provide all participants, especially young researchers, a platform to be visible. WIE chapters in Africa and Middle East will be also targeted to increase participation from female researchers.

Required Statements:

We understand that no best paper awards are to be given at workshops, that all financial transactions related to the workshop must be routed through the conference accounts, and that solicited contributions (papers or abstracts) must use the provided IEEE RAS template. We have read and will follow the guidelines for workshop and tutorials. We understand that workshop and tutorial organizers must be present in person at the event and we will comply with the RAS Guidelines. In addition, the organizers have read and will abide by the IEEE RAS Code of Conduct.