Surveying biotic and abiotic factors in the Earth's system is vital for addressing sustainability, climate change, and biodiversity loss. However, collecting comprehensive ecological data at relevant scales remains challenging, as it is often labor-intensive, expertise-dependent, and invasive, necessitating trade-offs between accuracy and resolution. Robotics offers a promising solution by enabling access to complex environments and facilitating the efficient collection of diverse data and samples.

This workshop aims to bridge the gap between robotics and environmental science, creating a platform for interdisciplinary exchange. Participants will discuss the challenges of monitoring aerial, terrestrial, aquatic, and cryosphere environments with robots and identify opportunities for innovation. The goal is to foster dialogue between roboticists and environmental scientists, paving the way for new technologies and methodologies that can enhance our understanding of the Earth system and contribute to more effective environmental monitoring and management. 

The REaCT workshop at ICRA 2025 will feature world-renowned speakers who have made significant contributions to climate robotics, offering attendees the highest quality content. These experts have actively developed or deployed robotic technologies to monitor and address pressing environmental challenges, representing the state-of-the-art in this critical field. The workshop will host two panel discussions to create interdisciplinary dialogue on how to address real-world issues. Questions, doubts and challenges will be openly debated and the participation of everyone is strongly encouraged. In addition, an extended poster session will provide ample time for participants to engage in in-depth discussions with presenters, ensuring rich exchanges of the latest ideas in the field. Thanks to the high involvement of environmental scientists, this workshop is intended to catalyze collaborations aimed at tackling climate change through innovative robotics solutions.  

Please register here for information and results regarding the workshop.

We invite interested authors to submit extended abstracts (2 pages) of relevant works that will be peer-reviewed. Accepted abstracts will be posted on the workshop website and will presented during the poster session of the workshop. The best extended abstract and associated poster will be selected for a best poster award. In addition, we are planning to organize a journal special issue, and selected extended abstracts will be invited for submission.

• 30 March 2025: Submission deadline for poster + extended abstracts

• 15 April 2025: Acceptance notification

• 1st May 2025: Best abstract notification

• Workshop: 19 May 2025

The REaCT workshop will be held in room TBD.

For further questions please send an email to raphz@mit.edu