Recent advancements in soft robots have introduced a paradigm shift in the field of robotics by leveraging compliant materials and flexible structures to enable versatile and adaptable machines. However, the inherent morphological complexity and compliance of soft robots present unique challenges for traditional sensing and control techniques. To maximize the utility of soft robots, there is a pressing need to develop intelligent learning algorithms that can capture and exploit the rich dynamics and compliance of these systems. By incorporating learning algorithms, soft robots may acquire new skills, adapt to varying environments, and interact seamlessly with humans and the world around them.

This hybrid workshop aims to bring together researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplines to explore the growing intersection of soft robotics and machine learning. The workshop will provide a platform to discuss recent advancements, share insights, and foster collaboration in the area of learning for soft robots. Additionally, we will discuss the broader impact potential of these soft robotic systems in fostering accessible robotics education and sustainability. 

8:25 - 9:00: Introduction

8:25 - 8:30: Opening Remarks

8:30 - 9:00: Edward Adelson

9:00 - 9:30: Josie Hughes

9:30 - 10:00: Robert Katzschmann

10:00 - 10:30: Oliver Brock

10:30 - 11:00: Coffee Break

11:00 - 11:30: Zeynep Temel

11:30 - 12:00: Panel discussion 1

Panelists: Edward Adelson, Josie Hughes, Robert Katzschmann, Oliver Brock, Zeynep Temel

12:00 - 12:30: Poster Session

12:30 - 1:30: Lunch Break

1:30 - 2:00: Thomas Thuruthel

2:00 - 2:30: Kostas Bekris

2:30 - 3:15: Spotlight Talks

3:15 - 3:30: Coffee Break

3:45 - 4:15: Ram Vasudevan

4:15 - 4:45: Chuang Gan

4:45 - 5:15 [30 min]: Panel discussion 2

Panelists: Thomas Thuruthel, Kostas Bekris, Ram Vasudevan, Chuang Gan

5:15 - 5:20 [5 min]: Closing remarks

1. DEFT: Dexterous Fine-Tuning for Hand Policies

2. COMPOSER: Scalable and Robust Modular Policies for Snake Robots

3. Visual Servoing for Pose Control of Hybrid Continuum Manipulator in an Unstructured Environment

4. DeRi-Bot: Learning to Collaboratively Manipulate Rigid Objects via Deformable Objects

5. Thin-Shell Object Manipulations With Differentiable Physics Simulations

6. Plan-Guided Reinforcement Learning for Whole-Body Manipulation

7. Differentiable Fluid-Structure Interaction Solver for Free-Floating Robots

8. Multimodal Learning of Soft Robot Dynamics using Differentiable Filters

9. Object Recognition and Force Estimation with the GelSight Baby Fin Ray

Important Dates: 

• Submission Deadline: October 09, 2023 23:59 GMT

• Decisions: October 16, 2023

• Camera Ready: November 5, 2023

• Workshop: November 6, 2023

We invite researchers working on any intersection of learning and soft robotics to share with our diverse community their projects.  

Topics of interest include but are not limited to: 

• Learning Soft Body Dynamics

• Soft Sensors and Embodied Perception

• Soft Robot Control and Applied Reinforcement Learning

• Soft Robot Manipulation

• Adaptive and Resilient Soft Robots

• Human-Robot Interaction with Soft Robots

• State Estimation of Soft Robots

• Soft Simulation and Virtual Environments

• Smart Wearables and Soft Haptic Devices

We solicit up to 4 page (excluding references) submissions conforming to the CoRL 2023 Template. The review process will be double-blind and will use OpenReview.

Submissions can include: late-breaking results, material under review, archived, or previously accepted work (please make a note of this in the submission).

Please note the accepted contributions will be presented in an interactive poster format (non-archival). A small set of these will be featured as spotlight talks. The accepted contributions and posters will be posted on the workshop website upon author approval.

We do encourage participants to bring their robots for demonstration purposes during the poster sessions and spotlight talks. *Details TBD*

Submission website: OpenReview