Australasian Conference on Robotics and Automation 2018
This event is jointly organised by the Australian Robotics and Automation Association (ARAA) and the National Science Challenge Robotics Spearhead Project and proudly hosted by Lincoln Agritech.
Clive Marsh (General Chair) and Ian Woodhead (Programme Chair)
Event details:
4-6 December, 2018
Lincoln University, Lincoln, Canterbury, New Zealand
Registration includes a conference registration pack with your name tag and conference proceedings. It is a catered event – there will be session breaks and refreshments on offer. Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea will be provided. If you have dietary requirements, please contact Melissa Wong (melissa.wong@lincolnagritech.co.nz).
Registration costs (NZD):
Early bird – register by 11 pm (NZ time), 7 November 2018
General admission $575.00
Student admission $402.50
Regular price – register by 1 December 2018
General admission$632.50
Student admission $460.00
Key dates:
Paper Submission Deadline: Extended till 3 October 2018 at 5.00 pm (NZ time)
Notification of Acceptance: 17 October 2018
Final manuscript Deadline: 20 November2018
Submission of papers
All full papers submitted to ACRA 2018 will undergo a peer-review process. Each manuscript will be reviewed by at least two reviewers who will give detailed comments. If the submission is accepted, the authors will submit a revised (“camera-ready”) version that takes into account this feedback. The review process is managed by the program chair of the conference.
All papers are reviewed using a single-blind review process: authors declare their names and affiliations in the manuscript for the reviewers to see, but reviewers do not know each other’s identities, nor do the authors receive information about who has reviewed their manuscript.
Australasian Conference on Robotics and Automation 2018
4-6 December 2018, Lincoln University
Kia ora, welcome to the Australasian Conference of Robotics and Automation (ACRA) 2018. Proudly hosted by Lincoln Agritech, this is the first time the conference is being held in South Island, New Zealand on the Lincoln University campus. Lincoln University and its subsidiary, Lincoln Agritech, are specialists in land-based activities specifically agriculture, horticulture and environmental management. In addition to the usual topics at ACRA, we plan to give this conference a land-based flavour.
Lincoln University campus is easily accessible from the Christchurch International Airport (20-minute commute). The attractive campus is set in a rural setting and is an easy walking distance to the Lincoln township, full of shops, amenities, and cafes. Accommodation is available on the university grounds, in Lincoln and the surrounding townships.
We welcome you to the South Island and look forward to meeting you at ACRA 2018.
Best directions to venue
For those that are traveling to the campus the first time from Christchurch, the best gate to enter by is via Gate 3 from Springs Rd. Enter the Lincoln University campus and park in the Orchard Car Park. There will be signs to guide you from the car park to the ACRA conference (located in the Commerce Building).
ACRA conference
The conference starts around 9.00 am each day in the Commerce Building, Lecture Room C1 (Building 10 on the map).
As part of the conference package, all ACRA conference participants receive beverages upon arrival, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinners.
Presentations & access to wifi
If you are delivering a conference presentation, please have it ready on a USB stick.
Wifi access: log into “Open Campus” and follow the prompts.
Programme outline
Tuesday 4 December
| 8.45am – 9.00am |
Opening welcome: Ian Woodhead, Lincoln Agritech |
| 9.00 am– 9.30am |
Keynote 1: David Howard, CSIRO |
| 9.30am – 10.30am |
Session 1; four paper presentations |
| 10.30am – 11.00am |
Morning tea |
| 11.00am – 12.30pm |
Session 2; six paper presentations |
| 12.30 pm – 1.30pm |
Lunch |
| 1.30pm – 2.00pm |
Keynote 2: Bruce McDonald, University of Auckland |
| 2.00pm – 3.15pm |
Session 3; five paper presentations |
| 3.15pm – 3.45pm |
Afternoon tea |
| 3.45pm – 5.00pm |
Session 4; five paper presentations |
| 7.00pm |
Evening meal |
Wednesday 5 December
| 9.00 am– 9.30am |
Keynote 3: Johan Potgeiter, Massey University |
| 9.30am – 10.00am |
Keynote 4: Alvin Reed, Dairy Farmer, South Canterbury |
| 10.00am – 10.30am |
Morning tea |
| 10.30am – 12.30pm |
Session 5; eight paper presentations – Best paper awards session |
| 12.30 pm – 1.30pm |
Lunch |
| 1.30pm – 2.30pm |
Marketplace 1; 12 x 5 minutes presentations from industry – Invert Robotics, C-Dax, Crown Forklifts, Talbot Plastics, Pastoral Robotics, Waratah NZ, LIC, IOSYS, GEA +++ |
| 2.30pm – 3.30pm |
Afternoon tea and industry networking |
| 3.30pm – 4.00pm |
Marketplace 2; 20 x 1.5 minutes presentations from researchers |
| 4.00pm – 5.00pm |
Marketplace discussions and networking |
| 7.00pm |
Banquet |
Thursday 6 December
| 9.00 am– 9.30am |
Keynote 5: Manoj Karkee, Washington State University |
| 9.30am – 10.30am |
Session 6; four paper presentations |
| 10.30am – 11.00am |
Morning tea |
| 11.00am – 12.00pm |
Session 7; four paper presentations |
| 12.30 pm – 1.30pm |
Lunch |
Proceedings
ISBN: 978-0-9807404-9-3 ISSN: 1448-2053
Conference proceedings, download here – contain links to papers (PDF) and associated videos.
Accommodation
Below is a list of recommended accommodation options suitable for all types of budgets:
Lincoln University, Halls of Residence, Stevens Hall and Quarter Blocks
Located in the heart of the university campus, these single rooms have shared bathroom facilities, a common room, and a kitchenette.
$85/night (not including processing fees). This rate includes cooked breakfast.
If you wish to stay an extra night (pre- or post-conference) please let Melissa know the exact day so she can liaise with Lincoln University Hospitality. Email Melissa (melissa.wong@lincolnagritech.co.nz) if you have any queries.
Lincoln Motel, 6 Maurice St, Lincoln
This motel is located in the Lincoln township, close to all the local shops, restaurants, pubs and amenities. It is an easy 20 min walk to/from the university campus.
Rates are from $135/night (depending on room booking). Accommodation includes free wifi, TV and parking. Visit the website for bookings and details.
The Famous Grouse Hotel, 2 Gerald St, Lincoln
This hotel is located in the Lincoln township, close to all the local shops and amenities. It is an easy 20 min walk to/from the university campus. Accommodation includes free wifi, TV and parking. Pub and food options available onsite.
Rates $130/night. Visit the website for bookings and details.
Silverstream Lodge, 214 Englishs Rd, Lincoln
This lodge is a 5 min drive to/from the university. The picturesque countryside accommodation has free wifi, TV with Sky movies and sport.
Rates from $150 (depending on room booking) and includes breakfast. Visit the website for bookings and details.
Rolleston Highway Motel, 10D Chaucer St, Rolleston
This motel is located within a 10 min drive to/from the university. Located in the Rolleston township it is close to local shops, restaurants, pubs and amenities. Accommodation includes free wifi, TV with Sky movies and parking.
Rates from $140 (depending on room booking).
Christchurch city centre accommodation options
If you wish to stay in Christchurch, it is a 30 min drive to/from Lincoln University. Click on this link for a list of accommodation options.
Things to do
If you are choosing to stay in Christchurch (before or after the conference) and are looking for entertainment and sightseeing options, here is a list of recommendations:
Submissions
Key Dates:
Paper Submission Deadline: Extended till 3 October 2018 at 5.00 pm NZ time
Click here to submit your paper.
Notification of Acceptance: 17 October 2018
Final manuscript Deadline: 31 October 2018
Paper Format:
ACRA papers must be 6-10 pages in length (including text, references, figures and acknowledgements). Papers that do not follow these guidelines may be rejected without review.
Use this example paper as a guide, Exploiting Parallax in Panoramic Capture to Construct Light Fields by Donald Dansereau, David Wood, Sebastian Montabone and Stefan Williams (ACRA 2014).
Paper Templates:
LaTeX: style file: acra.sty, template: acra.tex, bibtex: named.bst
Microsoft Word | Star/OpenOffice: template: acra.rtf or acra.odt.
Presentation Format:
15 min in total (12 min presentation; 3 min question time).
Acceptance of all work at the conference is based on the quality of the submitted paper.
Attendance of a presenter at the conference is required for accepted papers to appear in the proceedings.