Welcome to SIMPAR 2016

Robotics and machine learning are two vastly growing domains with more and more synergies in research and product developments. Key elements that connect these two domains are modeling, simulation, and programming – the very core elements of IEEE SIMPAR 2016.

Initiated in 2008, held in even years, the fifth edition of SIMPAR is held on the North American continent for the first time. Celebrating the achievements of the field, the 2016 edition focuses on leveraging simulation and machine learning for robotics bringing a wide coverage of its subfields and diverse communities. SIMPAR 2016 was designed to achieve the highest quality in technical content and to promote discussion and social interactions.

With three selected workshops and one tutorial, SIMPAR 2016 starts with a full day of diverse interactions and discussions. All workshops feature presentations by some of the most successful researchers of our community.

SIMPAR 2016 has received 78 submissions. The international program committee headed by Hanna Kurniawati, Katja Mombaur, and Marco Pavone has carried out a detail-oriented review process. 46 papers were accepted, and authors were given concrete feedback that was incorporated in the final version of the papers that are presented at the conference.

SIMPAR 2016 features a vibrant social program including three events: a Cruise on the San Francisco Bay, a welcome reception right after the workshops and tutorials, and a farewell reception on Thursday. This program and the venue are designed to provide an atmosphere for fruitful discussions and meaningful interactions among the participants.

Three plenary presentations by pioneers in their fields – Emo Todorov, Erwin Coumans, and Luis Sentis – kick off the technical sessions of each day. Before boarding San Francisco's Hornblower Empress, Andy Ruina will give a pre-boarding keynote.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks and appreciations to all the members of the Organizing Committee for the effort they devoted to the program and organization of this conference. Our special thanks go to the volunteers and staffs for the long hours and hard work they have generously given to the conference. Above all, SIMPAR 2016 is the result of its technical contributions, and we would like to thank all the authors, speakers, and participants for taking part in and contributing to this conference. We warmly welcome you to San Francisco!


Torsten Kroeger, General Chair
Samir Menon, General Co-chair