Dr. Nick Gans, Principal Research Scientist and Head of the Automation and Intelligent Systems division, hosted a workshop on October 1, 2023, at the Intelligent Robots and Systems conference (IROS). Along with Dr. William Beksi, and Dr. Katherine A. Skinner, Gans organized the workshop “Photorealistic Image and Environment Synthesis for Robotics (PIES-Rob).”
The purpose was to engage experts and researchers on the synthesis of photo-realistic images and virtual environments, particularly in the form of public datasets, software tools, or infrastructures, for robotics research. Such public datasets, software tools, and infrastructures will lower entry barriers by enabling researchers that lack expensive hardware (e.g., complex camera systems, robots, autonomous vehicles, etc.) to simulate and create datasets representative of such hardware and scenarios.
Eight invited speakers, as well as a keynote speaker discussed their related research, thoughts, and experiences on the needs and directions of creating public datasets, software tools, and infrastructures for synthesizing photorealistic images and environments.
IROS is a large and impactful forum for the international robotics research community to explore the frontier of science and technology in intelligent robots and smart machines, emphasizing future directions and the latest approaches, designs, and outcomes. This year’s IROS theme was “The Next Generation of Robotics,” in that the conference aims to particularly highlight the contributions of younger researchers and to help accelerate the future contributions of all those just entering the field.