The opening ceremony for IROS 2016 took place on Monday at the Daejeon Convention Center (DCC). A great deal of moral and financial support from the City of Daejeon went into preparations for this event.
Mayor of Daejeon Sun Taik Kwon began the ceremony with a congratulatory talk that focused on the city’s position as the epicenter of Korea’s technological and scientific innovation, as shown by KAIST’s win at the DARPA Robotics Challenge. “I am more delighted with IROS 2016 than any other event,” Mayor Kwon said. He expressed hope that it would “provide ample opportunities to professionals, businesses and students.” He encouraged experts in robotics to share their knowledge at this event and create “unforgettable memories.”
Chairman Kyoung-hun Kim, Chairman of the Daejeon Metropolitan City Council also spoke about his enthusiasm for IROS 2016 being held in Daejeon and talked about looking forward to living in harmony with robots.
Along with the Metropolitan City of Daejeon, this conference was heavily supported by the Korean government. Director Jeong-Hwan Kim, Chief Policy Director of the Ministry of Trade represented the government by speaking about the importance of this event. “IROS has played a huge role in world robotics. To overcome hurdles, experts need to share knowledge,” he explained.
The Program Chair of IROS 2016, Dong-Soo Kwon gave a rousing welcome to the participants. He stressed the “academically rich” nature of the conference by pointing out that the 1719 submitted papers came from 57 countries -- almost half of the world. With a 48% acceptance rate, the participants should “feel very proud,” he remarked. In addition, twenty papers were recommended by the SPC as being one of the best. The Lifetime talks are a first he said, but were included as a way for participants to hear “wisdom from wise men in robotics society.”
The Program Chair stressed the cultural and social aspect of the meetings. Although the conference is at heart an academic one, based on and raising serious academic issues, every effort was made to provide an enjoyable experience. Whether sampling Korean tea, trying on Korean traditional attire, participating in the Dragon Boat race and Golfzon’s Longest-Drive Golf challenge, and generally feted with food and drinks, the participants are encouraged to have fun, and the organizers have tried to create a feeling of an academic festival.
When asked about why such a focus on socializing and cultural activities, Dong-Soo Kwon replied, “the intent is to give Korean Robotics a boost, but human interaction is important for collaborations and networking and exchange of knowledge and information.”
