Call For Special Forums

The Organizing Committee of IROS 2025 invites proposals for Special Forums to be held during the IROS 2025 conference in Hangzhou, China, from October 19th to 25th, 2025. Special Forums provide a platform for in-depth discussions on important topics related to robotics policies, development strategies, and research funding from governments, regional authorities, and other organizations.

These forums will be scheduled during the middle three days of the conference, running concurrently with the technical sessions. Please note that while other forum tracks will address industry-specific topics and women in robotics, Special Forums are specifically dedicated to policy-driven discussions, funding-related matters, and other widely relevant hot topics in robotics.

If you are interested in organizing a Special Forum at IROS 2025, we invite you to submit a proposal. The special forum proposal should be submitted through PaperCept. Your proposal should include the following details:

l Title: The name of the Special Forum.

l Organizers: Names, affiliations, and contact information of the individuals or groups organizing the forum.

l Abstract: A concise description of the forum’s focus, objectives, and significance. This abstract will be published on the IROS website if the forum proposal is accepted.

l Speakers: A list of confirmed speakers along with their affiliations and brief bios. If applicable, indicate any invited speakers who are pending confirmation.

l Tentative Schedule: A structured outline of the forum, including session formats (e.g., keynote talks, panel discussions, Q&A sessions), the planned sequence of topics, and approximate time allocation for each segment.

l Equipment Requirements: A list of any specific equipment needed, such as projectors, microphones, whiteboards, or video conferencing tools for remote participation.

l Expected Number of Participants: An estimate of the anticipated audience size.

l Plan to Solicit Participants: Strategies for attracting attendees, such as outreach through professional networks, social media promotion, mailing lists, or collaborations with industry and academic institutions.

l Website (Optional): If you plan to host a dedicated website for the Special Forum, please provide the URL.

l Sponsorship (Optional): If you already have sponsors supporting your forum, please provide the sponsors' names.

Please ensure that your proposal is well-structured and clearly outlines the forum’s relevance, engagement strategy, and anticipated impact. We look forward to receiving your proposals and to an exciting series of Special Forums that will contribute to the advancement of robotics.

Important Dates

Contact

If you have any questions, please contact the Special Forum Chairs:

l Shugen Ma, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou): shugenma@hkust-gz.edu.cn

l XingjianLiu, Dalian University of Technology: xjliu@dlut.edu.cn

l Long Wang, Stevens Institute of Technology: lwang4@stevens.edu

l Huichan Zhao, Tsinghua University: zhaohuichan@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn

l Yasuhisa Hirata, Tohoku University Japan: yasuhisa.hirata.b1@tohoku.ac.jp