IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation — 2026
June 1-5, 2026
Messe Wien Exhibition and Congress CenterVienna, Austria
Important Dates
| Submission deadline | September 15, 2025 |
| Notification of acceptance | January 31, 2026 |
The IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) is the flagship annual event of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and the largest gathering of robotics researchers in the world, consistently drawing more than 8,000 attendees. The program spans manipulation, locomotion, aerial and underwater robotics, human-robot interaction, autonomous vehicles, surgical robotics, perception, planning, and control, with thousands of peer-reviewed paper presentations complemented by workshops, tutorials, and live robot demonstrations on the exhibition floor. ICRA 2026 takes place at Messe Wien, placing the conference in one of Europe’s most historically rich and well-connected capital cities, with direct flights from major hubs worldwide and a compact, walkable city centre.
Venue
Messe Wien Exhibition and Congress Center
Messeplatz 1, 1021 Wien, Austria
🔗 View full venue details
Agricultural Robotics and Automation
Focuses on robotics for agriculture including crop monitoring drones, autonomous harvesting, precision spraying, soil sensing, and the challenges of deploying...
AI-Driven Soft Robotics
Explores how machine learning and AI are advancing soft robotic systems - covering data-driven control of compliant actuators, learning from...
Dexterity with Multi-Fingered Hands
Dedicated to dexterous manipulation research using multi-fingered robotic hands, covering tactile sensing, grasp planning, in-hand re-orientation, and learning from human...
Field Robotics
Long-running ICRA workshop on robots operating in unstructured outdoor environments - covering terrestrial, aerial, and marine field robots with applications...
Foundation Models for Robot Autonomy
Explores the use of large pre-trained models - LLMs, vision transformers, and world models - as general-purpose components in robotic...
Generalization in Autonomous Driving
Examines how autonomous driving systems can generalize across diverse environments, weather conditions, and edge cases - covering domain adaptation, sim-to-real...
Geometry in the Age of Data-Driven Robotics
Examines the role of geometric structure and symmetry in data-driven robot learning - covering equivariant neural networks, geometric deep learning...
Human-Robot Interaction for Social Robots
Focuses on the social and cognitive aspects of HRI for robots deployed in homes, hospitals, and public spaces - covering...
Humanoid Robot Locomotion and Whole-Body Control
Dedicated to bipedal and humanoid locomotion research - covering reinforcement learning for walking and running, whole-body motion planning, contact-rich manipulation...
Long-Term Robot Deployments in the Wild
Focuses on the practical challenges of operating robots outside the lab over extended periods - covering maintenance, continual learning, failure...
Multi-Modal Spatial AI for Robots
Addresses spatial understanding in robotics using multiple sensing modalities - fusing vision, LiDAR, depth, and language for 3D scene understanding,...
Neuro-Robotics and Brain-Inspired Control
Bridges neuroscience and robotics by examining how neural circuit models, spiking networks, and cognitive architectures can inform robot perception and...
Planetary Exploration Robotics
Covers robotics for planetary exploration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond - addressing terrain traversal, autonomous science operations, communication-constrained...
Robots and AI in Manufacturing and Industry
Covers the application of robotics and AI in industrial settings, including flexible manufacturing cells, quality inspection, human-robot collaboration on the...
Robotics for Environmental and Climate Technologies
Focuses on applying robotics to climate and environmental challenges - ocean plastic collection, reforestation drones, infrastructure inspection for renewable energy,...
Space Robotics
Covers robotic systems for on-orbit servicing, in-space assembly, and lunar surface operations - addressing zero-gravity manipulation, radiation-tolerant hardware, autonomous rendezvous...
Synthetic Data for Robot Learning
Examines the role of synthetic data generation in training robot learning systems - covering photorealistic simulation, procedural asset generation, domain...
Uncertainty in Open-World Robotics
Addresses how robots should represent and act under uncertainty in open-ended real-world settings - covering epistemic uncertainty quantification, safe exploration,...
VLA Pipelines for Real Robots
Explores end-to-end vision-language-action models for robot control - covering training pipelines, data curation, real-world evaluation, and the gap between large-scale...
Robot Ethics in Practice
Brings together roboticists, ethicists, and policymakers to examine ethical considerations in deploying robots in healthcare, logistics, and public spaces -...
Our picks for IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation attendees
A curated selection of hotels chosen for location, value, and fit for conference travellers.
Hotel Erzherzog Rainer
Wiedner Hauptstrasse 27-29, 1040 Vienna
Traditional Viennese hospitality: Open for over 100 years, this historic hotel combines imperial charm with modern conveniences. Rooms include bath or shower,...
Hotel Beethoven Wien
Papagenogasse 6, 1060 Vienna
Artistic boutique hotel: This renovated townhouse on a quiet street near Naschmarkt and Theater an der Wien blends classical charm with modern...
Hotel Bristol, a Luxury Collection Hotel
Kaerntner Ring 1, 1010 Vienna
Landmark five-star hotel adjacent to the Vienna State Opera, combining historic elegance with modern amenities including a spa and acclaimed restaurant -...
Hotel Imperial, Luxury Collection Hotel
Kaerntner Ring 16, 1015 Vienna
Palatial luxury in a former palace: This opulent hotel occupies a 19th-century palace on the Ringstrasse. Best suited for dignitaries and luxury...
Hotel Papageno
Wiedner Hauptstrasse 23-25, 1040 Vienna
Mid-range hotel in a historic 1920s building with spacious rooms, balconies or terraces, and minibars, a short walk from the Vienna State...
Hotel Secession an der Oper
Getreidemarkt 5, 1060 Vienna
Friendly hotel near Naschmarkt: This 4-star hotel offers a warm welcome with 24-hour reception and a cosy bar. Best suited for families...
Hotel Johann Strauss
Favoritenstrasse 12, 1040 Vienna
Viennese charm with a musical touch: This boutique 4-star hotel celebrates the legacy of Johann Strauss with elegantly furnished rooms, sustainable comfort...
Hotel Kaiserhof Wien
Frankenberggasse 10, 1040 Vienna
Classic elegance with modern comfort: This family-run hotel sits on a quiet street near the State Opera and Karlsplatz, offering elegantly appointed...
Motel One Wien-Staatsoper
Elisabethstrasse 5, 1010 Vienna
Design-focused budget hotel just behind the Vienna State Opera with compact contemporary rooms and easy metro access - ideal for cost-conscious attendees...
Related reading
-
Pittsburgh Conference Travel Guide: IROS 2026 and CHI 2027
Pittsburgh is having a significant moment on the academic conference calendar. The city...
-
CVPR 2026 Denver: Travel Guide and Where to Stay
The IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition returns to Denver fo...
-
ICLR 2026 Rio de Janeiro: Travel Guide and Where to Stay
The International Conference on Learning Representations heads to South America for 202...