Frontiers of optimization for robotics

This workshop is organized in response to the great advances in optimization for robotics and by roboticists and the resulting need for an in-depth treatment of this topic. The workshop has three central motivations, which are outlined below. 

Exchange ideas across fields

Optimization is ubiquitous in robotics and the tools developed in one application area can foster innovation in other areas. This workshop brings people from different fields together, creating an environment where people can learn from each other and find common ground in the optimization tools and theories developed in all fields of robotics.

Establish future directions for optimization

Optimization research is moving fast! Recent developments in the machine learning community have become competitive with classical model-based methods in robotics. At the same time, theoretical concepts from non-convex optimization and other advanced fields in mathematics have found applications in robotics in recent years. New methods seek to combine learning and model-based methods to capitalize on their combined strengths. This workshop aims to contextualize and summarize these advances and provide a platform for establishing consensus in terms of the future of optimization in robotics.

Foster community and distribute Open Code

Openly distributed code can help both the robotics and optimization communities move forward, interact, and learn from each other. This workshop provides a platform to showcase open-source tools that can benefit both researchers and practitioners, promoting transparency and reusability.