RSS 2009 Workshop on Algorithmic Automation Sunday, June 28, 2009
A V-trap for Feeding 3D Parts on a Vibratory Track Onno C. Goemans and A. Frank van der Stappen Utrecht University	Organizers Ken Goldberg UC Berkelely Vijay Kumar University of Pennsylvania Todd Murphey Northwestern University Frank van der Stappen U Utrecht	The Stable Poses of Objects Supported by Multiple Contact Elon Rimon, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology

This web page is an older version of the schedule (a server error and administrator error led to the most current version being lost).

Our goal is to bring together researchers and students to present "algorithmic" approaches to automation and discuss open research questions that can benefit the quality and productivity of manufacturing. Algorithms are a fundamental component of automation systems: they control or reason about motion and perception in the physical world. They receive input from noisy sensors, consider geometric and physical constraints, and perform repetitive operations using imprecise actuators. Unfortunately, automation for manufacturing today is where computer technology was in the early 1960's, a patchwork of ad-hoc solutions lacking a rigorous scientific methodology. Computer aided design (CAD) has progressed a long way toward elegant modeling of mechanical parts and behavior. What's needed is a framework for the systematic design of automated manufacturing systems that handle these parts. Automation is amenable to formal specification, analysis, and synthesis. The abstraction of these operations and resulting analysis can facilitate improving the integrity, reliability, interoperability, and maintainability of manufacturing systems.

More details on the workshop can be found in our workshop proposal.

We welcome participation from researchers, students, and industrial experts and look forward to lively discussion among all participants.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Robot Learning Algorithms for Mfg Operations
• Robust, Realistic Mechanics Simulation Algorithms for Mfg
• Algorithms for Repetitive Sensing
• Grasping, Fixturing, Caging
• Feeding, Sorting, Singulating
• Casting, Molding
• Assembly and Disassembly
• Part Behavior Modeling (Friction, Dynamics, Deformation, Tolerancing)
• Machining and Tool Path Generation
• Rapid prototyping
• Part Design for Feeding/Casting/etc.
• Modular Hardware Devices and Systems
• Foundations
  • computational geometry
  • data structures
  • controllability
  • complexity and completeness

The current schedule is roughly as follows.