SYROCO 2006, Proceedings 8th IFAC Symposium on Robot Control

Welcome to SY.RO.CO.'06! This is the Eight of the IFAC series of triennial Symposia on Robot Control started in 1985. Previous editions were held in Barcelona (E), Karlsruhe (D), Vienna (A), Capri (I), Nantes (F), Vienna (A), and Wroclaw (PL). SY.RO.CO.'06 is held from September 6 to 8, 2006 in Bologna, Italy. Bologna is known for its long history (first settlements are three thousands years old), its University (the oldest in the western culture), the quality of food and also for the numerous industries. Nowadays, Bologna is a wealthy and cosmopolitan city —with an excellent quality of life— and one of Italy's leading centres of industry and business. The Symposium site is the Convento di Santa Cristina located in the heart of Bologna, an ancient nunnery funded in the XIII Century by a group of Camaldolese nuns. The renovated environment constitutes the ideal venue for stimulation and interchange of ideas among scientists. We would like to thank the Members of both the International Program Committee and of the National Organizing Committee for their time and endeavours to handle the 166 submitted papers and videos. Reviews have been handled electronically, under the supervision of the Members of the IPC and NOC, and for each paper three independent reviews have been collected. We feel indebted to all Reviewers for their precious assistance in guaranteeing professional reviews of the papers. All this was of vital importance to ensure the high quality of the Symposium. The final selection has lead to the 130 papers in the Technical Program. This consists of 33 sessions disposed in 3 parallel tracks for the 3 days of the Symposium, bringing together contributions from 335 leading researchers representing 25 different countries. The Preprints are provided in a CD-ROM and, in addition, the Final Program booklet contains the abstracts of all the papers. The papers cover a range of topics relevant to the field of robot control, including Modelling and Identification, Control Design and Implementation, Motion and Force Control, Computational Aspects, Grasp Control, Haptic Systems, Telemanipulation, Autonomous Robots, Nonholonomic Robotic Systems, Space Robotics. The Symposium features three invited plenary speakers: Dr. Torgny Brogardh from ABB Robotics, Sweden, presents a lecture entitled Present and Future Robot Control Development – An Industrial Perspective, Professor Vincent Hayward from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, presents a lecture entitled Haptic Synthesis, and Professor Yoshi Nakamura, from University of Tokyo, Japan, presents a lecture entitled Humanoid Robots. In addition, a related event is scheduled on the afternoon of September 5. A Round Table on Research Networks and Technology Transfer in Robotics and Related Technologies has been organized by Professor Claudio Bonivento from University of Bologna. To balance the technical side and to provide pleasing opportunities of interaction among participants, we have put together a rich social program, with the possibility of visiting other famous Italian cities, such as Venice, Florence, or Rome. Our deep gratitude goes to the Scientific Organizations that kindly agreed to sponsor the Symposium as well as to the several Financial Supporters for their generous contributions that have ultimately made the Symposium come true. SY.RO.CO.'06 owes its success to the Authors, Session Chairs, and Attendees. On behalf of the International Program Committee and the National Organizing Committee, we would like to thank you all for participating in the Symposium and we hope that you enjoy both the technical and social program.