This NSF project provides travel funds to assist approximately 25 US researchers to participate in the 2008 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), in a time where airfare costs are increasing. This meeting has served as a forum gathering international researchers together for the exchange of ideas on technical problems and their solutions. One distinguishing aspect of IROS, setting it apart from its sister conference ICRA, is the increased presence of participants from Asia. The conference is held in Nice, France, and the transatlantic flight will incur a significant portion of the whole cost of attendance for US participants.
The purpose of this Group Travel Grant Proposal is two-fold: - To assist US participation in this key international conference, and - To stimulate collaborations between US researchers and their international colleagues.
A strong participation and presence of US researchers at IROS 2008 is expected to facilitate the exposure of US scientists to ideas from around the world, promote their own work, and increase their opportunities for international collaborations and visits. The financial support provided by this NSF project stimulates interaction between US scientists with their colleagues abroad, and contributes to the professional development of the former.
