It’s a pleasure to invite you to submit your best research to the 2021 Robotics: Science and Systems Conference, a virtual meeting connecting researchers working on all aspects of robotics including scientific foundations, mechanisms, algorithms, applications, and analysis of robotic systems. The paper submission deadline is March 1st.

This, the 17th edition of RSS, will be the first time it has been planned to be virtual from the get-go. The conference will preserve the single-track format, and the final program will be the result of a thorough review process to give attendees an opportunity to see the most exciting research in all areas of robotics. Submissions will be evaluated in terms of their novelty, technical quality, significance, potential impact, and clarity. The program will include invited talks as well as oral and poster presentations of accepted papers. We will also continue the RSS tradition of vibrant, engaging, and trailblazing workshops across a diverse range of topics. (The workshop submission deadline is a fortnight after that for papers: March 15th.)

-- Highlights of RSS 2021: --
Rather than weathering virtual meetings as a mere stopgap, the intention is to embrace the new opportunities that they afford. The virtual format has the advantage of reaching a wider audience than ever before, including many who may have heard of RSS but never participated previously, or for whom travel is prohibitive. We will have a focus on making openly available and retaining resources (like recorded presentations, self-contained unabridged text) so that the event will be of value to our community for far longer than a single week in July.

A strong and wide-spanning set of Area Chairs have agreed to serve in 2021. The process of handling papers will retain those traditional features of RSS which emphasize care and quality with a rigorous double-blind review process; we will continue the rebuttal format successfully introduced last time, with author rebuttals being directed to the ACs directly.

RSS will have a Best Paper Award, a Best Student Paper Award, and a Best Systems Paper Award. The latter is specifically dedicated to papers that pioneer novel robotic systems (e.g. hardware or mechatronics) or demonstrate novel behaviors on a robotic systems beyond what has been seen previously. Further, RSS 2021 will continue the Test of Time Award, along with the associated panel discussion.

The technical program will include single track oral and poster presentations of all accepted papers, as well as invited talks. Opportunities for virtual mingling and networking are planned (but you’ll have to supply your own real coffee).

-- Important Dates --
March 1st, 2021: Paper Submission Deadline
March 15th, 2021: Workshop Submission Deadline
April 5th, 2021: Workshop Acceptance Notification
May 10th, 2021 Paper Acceptance Notification
July 12th - 16th, 2021 Virtual RSS 2021
Submission information is available here.

-- Subject Areas --
We’re seeking high-quality research papers that introduce new ideas and stimulate future trends in robotics across a diverse range of areas. We invite submissions in all areas of robotics, including: mechanisms and design, robot learning, control and dynamics, planning, manipulation, field robotics, human-robot interaction, robot perception, formal methods, multi-robot systems, healthcare and medical robotics, biological robotics, mobile robotics. Also, we specifically encourage creative submissions that strike out in new directions and define new sub-areas. Excellence of ideas will be a central criterion for acceptance.

-- Special Journal Issues --
RSS maintains a strong on-going relationship with top robotics journals. In 2021, about half of the selected papers will be invited for submission to a special issue of International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR) and a special issue of Autonomous Robots (AuRo). As of late 2020, the most recently published special issues with RSS papers are International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR) and Autonomous Robots (AuRo).