AIRoA Participates in the IROS 2026 Workshop “Industrial Applications of Robot Learning”

AIRoA will participate in “The 1st International Workshop on Industrial Applications of Robot Learning (IARL 2026),” to be held on September 27, 2026, in Pittsburgh, USA, as part of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2026).

The workshop brings together researchers from both academia and industry to discuss the latest research, technologies, and challenges surrounding the industrial applications of robot learning and its deployment in real-world environments.

From AIRoA, President Tetsuya Ogata will join the workshop as an Invited Speaker, while Kei Ota, Head of AI and Robotics, is contributing to the planning and organization of the workshop as an Organizer. AIRoA is also supporting the workshop as a sponsor.

Bringing Robot Learning from the Lab to Industry and the Real World

Recent advances in deep reinforcement learning, imitation learning, large-scale simulation, and foundation models have accelerated research into robots that can learn tasks from data and adapt to environments that are more complex and dynamic than those addressed by conventional robotic systems.

At the same time, deploying these technologies in real industrial settings requires them to meet stringent requirements for accuracy, reliability, safety, and robustness.

IARL 2026 is organized around a central question:

“Has robot learning reached the level of accuracy, reliability, safety, and robustness required for industrial applications, and how can we bridge the remaining gaps?”

The workshop will explore the research and technologies needed to bring robot learning into industrial applications.

Topics include dexterous manipulation, long-horizon tasks, sim-to-real transfer, data-efficient learning, foundation models for industrial robots, human-robot collaboration, and the safety, reliability, and robustness of learning-based robotic systems.

President Tetsuya Ogata to Give an Invited Talk

Tetsuya Ogata, President of AIRoA and Professor at Waseda University, will give an invited talk titled:

“Building an Ecosystem for Industrial AI Robotics: Data Sharing and Foundation Models”

The talk will address the development of an ecosystem for industrial AI robotics, with a focus on data sharing and foundation models.

Ogata is also scheduled to participate in a panel discussion following the invited talks.

Head of AI and Robotics Kei Ota Joins as an Organizer

Kei Ota, Head of AI and Robotics at AIRoA, is participating as an Organizer of the workshop alongside researchers from AIST, The University of Osaka, Amazon Industrial Robotics Group, and the University of Edinburgh.

The workshop program will feature invited talks by researchers from institutions including the University of Cambridge, AIST, The University of Osaka, ETH Zurich, Amazon Robotics, Waseda University, and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), as well as contributed talks, poster discussions, and panel discussions.

Supporting the Research Community through Research Awards

The workshop will also present Research Awards recognizing outstanding research in the industrial applications of robot learning:

• Best Paper: USD 1,000
• Best Student Paper: USD 1,000
• Best Poster Presentation: USD 500

Through opportunities for presenting and discussing research, as well as initiatives such as these awards, the workshop aims to support researchers working on the industrial applications of robot learning and contribute to the growth of the research community.

AIRoA aims to develop and openly release robot foundation models for global use and accelerate their deployment in real-world environments. We will continue to contribute to an open robotics research and development ecosystem through collaboration with researchers and companies in Japan and abroad, as well as active participation in the international research community.

Workshop Information

Workshop
The 1st International Workshop on Industrial Applications of Robot Learning (IARL 2026)

Conference
2026 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2026)

Date
September 27, 2026

Location
Pittsburgh, USA

Room
Room 407

Workshop Website
https://aistairc.github.io/IROS2026-workshop/