Agri-food robotics is a key element for precision agriculture (and precision food production) which has been identified as a solution to the increasing demands for agri-food products due to the population growth and raised labour shortage. One of the critical challenges of agri-food robotics is grasping and manipulation of agri-food objects. This workshop aims to bring together world-leading experts in robotic grasping/manipulation applied in the agri-food sector to discuss challenges and possible approaches of agri-food manipulation, ranging from agriculture (e.g. robotic harvesting) to food production (e.g. sandwich making). The challenges involved in the agri-food tasks, such as differentiating between items (e.g. toppings) when making a sandwich or picking ripe fruits from clusters,  create many interesting research questions for the robotics community. In TIG-I and TIG-II, we brought together frontiers in control and perception to discuss the general robotic manipulation problem.
This workshop, instead, will mainly focus on the research challenges, e.g. motion planning and control, robot perception, task scheduling, soft robotics and human-robot interaction in the agri-food sector. The workshop will therefore overview the state-of-the-art in agri-food robotics through invited research talks, paper and poster presentations to raise awareness about the scientific and societal challenges in the community.

• Agri-food manipulation,
  
• Mobile manipulation,
• Data-driven manipulation for agri-food applications,
  
• Grasping and manipulative movements in cluttered environments,
• Motion planning and control challenges for agri-food robotics
• Tactile sensing and enhanced manipulation
• Agri-food sensing technologies
• Robotic vision challenges in agri-food applications
• Soft-Robotics for agri-food applications
• Task-oriented end-effectors: requirements and specifications
  
• Benchmarks and datasets for grasping and manipulation in cluttered environments
  

Call for Papers

Deadline: 7 May 2021 (no extension)

Notification of acceptance: 16 May 2021

We invite researchers to submit their recent work on/around the topics of interest mentioned above. All papers must be original and not simultaneously submitted to another journal or conference. The organisers will ensure no affiliation relations exist between the authors of the submitted papers and the reviewers. The accepted papers will be placed on our website.

The following paper categories are welcome:

• Extended abstract (maximum 2 pages) will be accepted for poster presentation at this workshop. 
• Full papers Contributed papers (maximum 6 pages) will be accepted based on their quality, originality, and relevance to the workshop. Submitted papers should not be under consideration for publication anywhere else. Submissions should follow the IEEE/RAS format.

Please submit your paper by emailing it to  workshop.tig@gmail.com

Programme 

Schedule — virtual event

Schedule — physical event (talks definite title will follow up soon)

Accepted papers:

Invited Speakers (updates will follow soon):

Matthew Howard	Title:  Abstract:  Bio: Senior Lecturer at King’s College London, UK.
Pieter Abbeel	Title:  Abstract:  Bio: Professor of electrical engineering and computer science, Director of the Berkeley Robot Learning Lab, and co-director of the Berkeley AI Research Lab at the University of California, Berkeley.
Bruno Siciliano	Title:  Abstract:  Bio: Professor of Automatic Control at the University of Naples Federico II, Director of the ICAROS Center, and Coordinator of the PRISMA Lab at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology.
Robert Katzschmann	Title:  Abstract:  Bio: Assistant Professor of Robotics at ETH Zürich where he founded the Soft Robotics lab.
Salah Sukkarieh	Title:  Abstract:  Bio: Professor of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at the University of Sydney, and is the CEO of Agerris, a new Agtech startup company  from the ACFR developing autonomous robotic solutions to improve agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability.
Achim Walter	Title:  Abstract:  Bio: Professor in Crop Science at the institute of agricultural sciences at ETH Zurich
Manoj Karkee	Title:  Abstract:  Bio: Associate Professor in the Biological Systems Engineering Department, Center for Precision & Automated Agricultural Systems, at Washington State University.
Fei Chen	Title:  Abstract:  Bio: Assistant Professor of Robotics at The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Zhuoling Huang	Title:  Abstract:  Bio: PhD Candidate at King’s College London, UK.
Lorenzo Jamone	Title:  Abstract:  Bio: Senior Lecturer in Robotics at Queen Mary University of London, UK.
Peter Allen	Title:  Abstract:  Bio: Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University. His current research interests include robotic grasping, 3-D vision and modeling, and medical robotics.
Marc Hanheide	Title:  Abstract:  Bio: Professor of Intelligent Robotics & Interactive Systems in the School of Computer Science at the University of Lincoln, UK.
Maximo Roa	Title:  Abstract:  Bio: Research scientist and Group Leader on Robotic Planning and Manipulation in the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics at German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Lewis Anderson	Title:  Abstract:  Bio:  Co-Founder & CEO at Traptic Inc., California

Organisers

Sariah Mghames, PhD. Postdoc Research Fellow School of Computer Science University of Lincoln, United Kingdom
Tommaso Pardi, PhD Candidate School of Metallurgy and Materials University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Fumiya Iida, PhD. Reader in Robotics Department of Engineering University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Mehmet Dogar, PhD. Associate Professor School of Computer Science University of Leeds, United Kingdom
Amir Masoud Ghalamzan Esfahani, PhD.  Associate Professor Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology – Lincoln Agri Robotics University of Lincoln, United Kingdom