IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2023 - 5

PR ES I D E N T ' S M E S S AG E
Robotics and Automation Practice
By Frank Park
I am pleased to report that,
on 16 June 2023, the IEEE
Technical Activities Board
approved the phase 1 proposal
for our Society's latest
journal, IEEE Robotics and
Automation Practice (RAP).
If things go as planned, RAP
will begin soliciting submissions
early in 2024, and its first issue
will be published shortly thereafter.
RAP will be a venue where practitioners
can find research that is explicitly
directed toward their interests and concerns,
with results that can be deployed
in actual robotics and automation settings
immediately or in the near term.
Such results might include algorithms,
code, methodologies, and designs that
clearly demonstrate either verifiable and
replicable improvements over the state
of the art or a new practical application
within the broad context of robotics
and automation. The journal might also
consider empirical studies, in-depth
case studies, and other experimental
works that contribute to the latest body
of knowledge in robotics and automation
engineering.
Why launch this journal now? Robotics
and automation, as a field, is in the midst of
explosive growth-a fact apparent to anyone
who attended ICRA this past May in
London. This growth includes applicationsoriented
research carried out in industry,
in government labs, and in research
institutes. Applications now often extend
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2023.3293337
Date of current version: 11 September 2023
1070-9932/23©2023IEEE
far beyond industrial robots
performing the same repetitive
tasks in structured
settings; increasingly, we
see commercial applications
of robots performing
highly sophisticated tasks
in warehouses, factories,
hospitals, restaurants, and
other diverse workplaces. In the years
to come, the center of gravity in robotics
will shift f r om a c a d em i a to
industry, and the number
of robotics and
automation practitioners
will increase rapidly. We
envision RAP becoming
the go-to resource for
practitioners to publish
and read about the state
of the art in robotics and
automation applications.
This is important research,
but it currently
lacks a venue among
IEEE Robotics and Automation
Society (RAS)
periodicals. Our current
periodicals focus on
conveying academic research outcomes,
with a heavy emphasis on
originality and research significance.
Here are some possible sample article
topics for RAP:
■ New field-tested algorithms and code
for tasks ranging from sensing to planning
and control, as found in the Robot
Operating System (ROS), or a comparative
analysis of algorithms and code
in specific real-world settings
■ The design and empirical analysis of
grippers made of soft materials-
which break down easily, and which
are more robust?
■ When building a mobile manipulator
using off-the-shelf and custom parts,
what are some of the challenging
system integration issues?
Indeed, the range of possible topics
is limitless.
"
ROBOTICS AND
AUTOMATION, AS
A FIELD, IS IN THE
MIDST OF EXPLOSIVE
GROWTH-A FACT
APPARENT TO ANYONE
WHO ATTENDED
ICRA THIS PAST
MAY IN LONDON.
„
Results of an RAS readership survey
on interest in RAP were overwhelmingly
positive: 33% of respondents
identified themselves
as being employed
in practitioner roles, 83%
said they were likely to
read this publication,
66% said they were likely
to submit to this publication,
and 76% indicated
that the publication would
be useful to them professionally.
By providing the
growing community of
robotics and automation
practitioners a periodical
focused on their interests,
we hope to foster synergy
with robotics researchers seeking more
practical applications for their own work.
Much work remains to be done, but
I would like to thank Vice President of
Publications Todd Murphey and RAS
Publications Staff Dr. Paul Goldberg as
well as Torsten Kroeger and Brian Gerkey
of Intrinsic for their many contributions
in bringing RAP one step closer to
being a reality.
SEPTEMBER 2023 IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE
5
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IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2023

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