2023 Foundational Research in Robotics (FRR) - National Robotics Initiative (NRI) Principal Investigators’ (PI) Meeting; Arlington, Virginia; 1-3 May 2023

Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN

Investigators

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to plan, organize, and execute the 2023 National Science Foundation (NSF) Foundational Research in Robotics-National Robotics Initiative (NRI) and the Foundational Research in Robotics (FRR) Principal Investigator (PI) Meeting. This meeting will convene all PIs of active awards of the NSF FRR and NRI Programs for the eighth time since the NRI Program began in 2011. The PI Meeting is scheduled for the Spring of 2023 in Arlington, Virginia. The program agenda is community-driven and features project talks, poster sessions, and “live” demonstrations from researchers, reports of past year program activities, special topic workshops, panel discussions, keynote talks, and Federal agency program updates from leaders in the research community. This two-day meeting will be the first full in-person PI meeting since the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. The annual PI Meeting will be a major national event for the NSF FRR and NRI research communities and serves as an annual forum where Principal Investigators will have opportunities to meet and share their research and best practices; discuss new research opportunities, successes, and challenges; and explore new ideas and partnerships; and to interact with Federal agency representatives, industry, and other stakeholders with vested interests in NSF robotics research and development. NSF Robotics PI Meetings have played a major role in community-building across a broad range of robotics topics, sectors, and technologies and with promoting best practices in education, technology transfer, and outreach to others who have interest in learning about the program and participating as future proposers, transition partners, or sponsors. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.