ICRA 2026 Workshop
Synthetic Data for Robot Learning
1 June (Monday), 2026 @Strauss 3
1 June (Monday), 2026 @Strauss 3
This workshop explores the use of synthetic data as a catalyst for robotic learning, enabling progress across reinforcement learning, system identification, evaluation, and reasoning. By bringing together methodologies from control, machine learning, and computer graphics, the workshop highlights how synthetic data can accelerate development, improve robustness, and expand the versatility of embodied AI systems. Discussions will address both the opportunities and challenges of leveraging synthetic data, including domain transfer, realism tradeoffs, and alignment with real-world deployment. The scope spans a broad spectrum of applications, from manipulation to legged robots, with invited speakers offering diverse perspectives on how synthetic data can shape the future of reliable, adaptable, and trustworthy robotic intelligence.
News: All videos are public now!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUAde3OG7bq8
We invite submissions on topics related to synthetic data for robot learning, including but not limited to:
Physics-based simulation and synthetic data generation
Sim-to-real transfer and domain adaptation
Reinforcement learning with synthetic data
System identification and calibration
Evaluation and benchmarking using synthetic environments
Deformable and rigid body simulation for robotics
Synthetic data for perception, manipulation, and locomotion
We welcome the abstract submissions and present by posters:
Extended abstracts (2-4 pages): Work in progress or previously published work
Morning Session
09:00 – 09:10 Opening Remarks
09:10 – 09:35 Justin Carpentier (INRIA Paris): Accelerating Physical Simulation in Robotics
09:35 – 10:00 Ming Lin (University of Maryland & Amazon): Data Challenges in Robot Learning
10:00 – 10:25 Jiajun Wu (Stanford University): Understanding the Visual World Through Physical Intrinsics
10:25 – 10:55 Coffee Break and Poster Session
10:55 – 11:20 Sergey Zakharov (Toyota Research Institute): Closing the Loop: Synthetic Worlds for Scalable Robot Learning
11:20 – 11:50 Panel Discussion
11:50 – 12:30 Poster Flash Presentations (2 minutes each)
12:30 – 13:40 Lunch Break
Afternoon Session
13:40 – 14:05 Angela Schoellig (Technical University of Munich): Beyond Training: Synthetic Data for Reliable Robot Learning from Benchmarking to Real-Time Decision-Making
14:05 – 14:30 Jason Peng (Simon Fraser University & NVIDIA): Synthetic Motion Data for Versatile Humanoid Control
14:30 – 14:55 Yunzhu Li (Columbia University): Structured World Models as Scalable Data Engines for Robot Policy Training and Evaluation
14:55 – 15:20 Hugo Talbot (INRIA Nancy): Interactive Mechanical Simulation for Control and Learning in Robotics
15:20 – 15:40 Closing Remarks and Awards Announcement
Please submit your paper via the OpenReview Submission Link
Submission Period: 3 - 17 April 2026
All papers must follow the official IEEE ICRA format.
Accepted papers will be presented as posters, accompanied by a 2-minute lightning talk.
For poster preparation guidelines, please refer to the official IEEE ICRA instructions
INRIA Paris
University of Maryland & Amazon
Stanford University
Technical University of Munich
Simon Fraser University & NVIDIA
Toyota Research Institute
INRIA Nancy
Columbia University
National University of Singapore
Simon Fraser University
ETH Zurich & NVIDIA
National University of Singapore