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IROS 2025 @Hangzhou, China
October 24th, 2025 | 8:30-12:30
Climbing robots and vertical locomotion capabilities are essential for hazardous or hard-to-reach tasks, including search and rescue, planetary exploration, construction, and infrastructure maintenance. Despite their promise, these robots face intricate challenges involving coupled locomotion, manipulation, and grasping, which require various locomotion mechanisms, specialized end-effectors, motion planning, control, and detailed contact dynamics modeling. Additionally, climbing robots must effectively manage uncertainties through robust perception and accurate state estimation. This unique combination of challenges provides an exciting opportunity to design robotic systems and mechanisms with practical constraints for real applications.
We propose a dedicated workshop at IROS to advance the practical application of climbing robots. This workshop will convene researchers and engineers from various backgrounds, from academia to industry, to discuss cutting-edge advancements in climbing robotics, along with different opportunities for climbing robots. It will provide a forum for exchanging ideas on mechanical design, gripper technologies, sensing, control methodologies, and planning strategies, facilitating the transition from theoretical innovations to real-world implementations. Renowned experts and emerging innovators will share insights into recent progress in vertical mobility technologies, including novel grasping end-effectors, actuation systems, tactile sensing, and diverse climbing locomotion mechanisms. We also plan on hosting panel discussions with industry partners and researchers, which will actively engage participants from multidisciplinary backgrounds to explore unconventional applications and foster original thinking.
The workshop will include live robot demonstrations, poster sessions, and presentations from early-career researchers, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration and the potential for climbing technologies in novel application domains.
Schedule
Schedule
8:30 – 8:40 Welcome Remarks
8:30 – 8:40 Welcome Remarks
8:40 – 9:10 Talk #1
8:40 – 9:10 Talk #1
9:10 – 9:40 Talk #2
9:10 – 9:40 Talk #2
9:40 – 10:00 Robot Exhibitions/Coffee break
9:40 – 10:00 Robot Exhibitions/Coffee break
10:00 – 10:30 Talk #3
10:00 – 10:30 Talk #3
10:30 – 11:00 Talk #4
10:30 – 11:00 Talk #4
11:00 – 11:20 Early Career Talks
11:00 – 11:20 Early Career Talks
11:20 – 11:50 Talk and Poster Session
11:20 – 11:50 Talk and Poster Session
11:50 – 12:20 Industry panel and discussion
11:50 – 12:20 Industry panel and discussion
12:20 – 12:30 Closing
12:20 – 12:30 Closing
Speakers
Speakers
Osaka University
Univirsity of Nevada
Climbing Robotic Systems for Bridge and Steel Structure Inspection
IROS2025 Workshop Abstract and Bio JimLa.pdf
Robot Demos
Robot Demos
UCLA
Call for Contributions!
Call for Contributions!
Call for Abstract
Call for Abstract
Poster
Robot Demos
Early Carrier Talks
- We are looking for extended abstract submissions that covers climbing robotics and technologies.
- Accepted abstracts will be provided with a poster/robot demo/early carrier talks session slots.
Abstract formats:
Abstract formats:
IEEE IROS double column format up to 4 pages (excluding references and supplementary materials).
Submissions can include original research, ongoing research, and previous research.
Abstract must cover the topics that is related to climbing robotics, such as but not limited to:
Climbing and vertical locomotion
Field robotics
Climbing mechanisms: wheeled, legged, morphing, sensing, and end-effector mechanisms
Climbing control and planing: contact-rich motion planning, locomotion as manipulation, control of climbing morphology
Contact sensing, forceful loco-manipulation
Learning-based / model-based planning, estimation, control, and design for climbing robots
Gripper design and grasping technologies
Hardware-software integration
All accepted contributions will be presented in interactive poster sessions and/or robot live demo sessions.
Timeline: (All due at 23:59 PST)
Timeline: (All due at 23:59 PST)
Aug. 1: Call for contributions open
Sep. 25: Regular submission deadline
Sep. 30: Regular submission acceptance notification
For any questions, please feel free to contact Yusuke Tanaka: yusuketanaka"at"g.ucla.edu .
Confirmed Sponsor
Confirmed Sponsor
Become a Valued Sponsor of the Climbing Robotics Workshop
Become a Valued Sponsor of the Climbing Robotics Workshop
We invite you to become a valued sponsor of the upcoming Climbing Robotics Workshop during IROS 2025, where leading experts from industry and academia will gather to discuss groundbreaking research and development in climbing robotics.
All sponsors will receive a hyperlinked logo on this website, a logo on the partnership acknowledgement slide prior to starting the workshop, and during coffee break, poster sessions, and robot demo sessions. Furthermore, depending on the level of partnership, the additional benefits are as follows.
Gold ($500): 5-minute talk during the workshop, company poster, and company brochure.
Silver ($300): company poster and company brochure.
Bronze ($100): Acknowledgement as a sponsor.
Sponsorship funds will be used to support best poster/demo awards, travel grants, and coffee catering.
The Organizers
The Organizers
UCLA
Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories
Georgia Institute of Technology
Tohoku University
Workshop Archives
Workshop Archives
All of the workshop contents, robot demos, posters, abstracts will be posted on this website.
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