First, there was the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Robotics, and I was the newsletter editor. That was at a time when pick-and-place robots were just starting to be used in industry, the pterodactyl had not yet evolved, and the problem of Robot Vision, on which I was working, was unsolved.
The TC on Robotics expanded to include the Controls Society and others and became the IEEE Robotics Council, and I was again the newsletter editor. Of course, I was an engineer married to a journalist, so Rosalyn ended up doing the newsletter. One of the members of the Council, Richard Paul, recognized that fact and convinced the council to hire her as newsletter editor.
The Council morphed eventually into the Robotics and Automation Society, the Newsletter turned into the Magazine, a robot pterodactyl flew, and the Robot Vision problem was still unsolved.
One of the most exciting things that happened over those years was the dramatically increased internationalization of our Society. We became a truly worldwide collection of friends and colleagues cooperating to solve the hard problems of Robotics and Automation, colleagues whose performance is judged by their technical and professional accomplishments and not by their race or background.
When I was offered the opportunity to be a general chair of ICRA, I said, “only if I can run it somewhere interesting”, and that did not mean the center of a huge city. Hey, I like big cities, but this time, this conference, I wanted natural beauty. I tried Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, and others, but only Anchorage had both the natural beauty and the large facilities that we needed. And Anchorage has been extremely supportive in developing our conference. And what a location! Have you ever seen scenery to match what you see every day here?
As I write this, Bert Tanner, the Registration Chair, is (still) dealing with all the issues of registration, including working with PaperPlaza to make sure that on-site registration runs smoothly.
The Workshops and Tutorials Chairs, Jing Xiao and Calin Belta, had the challenging job of sorting through all the proposed workshops and tutorials, organizing them, finding room, combining some, and making a strong W&T program. They did a great job.
The Publications Chairs, Ani Hsieh, and Hairong Qi, turned a collection of papers and abstracts into the Digest and the Proceedings; not to mention interfacing with the printer. Are you reading the digest? There’s a lot of work in there!
The Exhibits and Publicity Chairs, Rafael Fierro, Jim Ostrowski, and Milos Zefran, did a terrific job of selling our conference. They not only recruited a substantial set of sponsors, including Gold and Silver sponsors, they interfaced with the conference center and the contractors to get the exhibit space organized.
Local arrangements is a tough job, especially when you aren’t local, but Karl Böhringer did a great job, including trips to Anchorage, from his base in Seattle. Jeff Miller, who does live in Anchorage, joined the team late in the game, but has done a wonderful job of managing the volunteer program, including recruiting volunteers, getting them T-shirts, and scheduling them, and Bob Baldwin met the challenge of getting the Billikens carved with enthusiasm and determination.
The Finance chairs, Ron Lumia and Venkat Krovi, helped me convert my initial budget into something workable, and have done a terrific job of helping manage it. As I write this, we are just getting started on the check-writing part of the job, and the hardest part, the closeout is still ahead. It’s a lot of challenging detail, and they are doing a fine job.
Bill Smart and Mark Yim, the Robotics Challenges team leaders, not only put together this year’s new challenge, they are setting up a continuing program of challenges which should continue for years.
We are very grateful to Vita Feuerstein and the IEEE Conference staff for getting the hotel contracts in place, to Janine Amon and Glee Anderson and the other members of the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau who recruited us and helped immensely in the initial organization, and especially to Katharine Cline and her staff at PMMI, our meeting manager, for making it all happen.
Two people deserve very special thanks, and those are Vijay Kumar, our Program Chair who put in immeasurable hours and dedication to make this conference work, and my wife, Rosalyn, who put up with me.
Now, after the largest and most successful ICRA in history, we move on to our normal lives, making machines that are faster, smarter, and stronger, and to the Robot Vision problem, which is still unsolved; but unsolved at a much higher level.
Wesley Snyder, Fellow of the IEEE
North Carolina State University