Upcoming Event · 2–4 June 2026
IEEE ICRA 2026
Johannesburg Satellite Conference Center
AARC is proud to host an official Satellite Conference Center for the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation 2026 in collaboration with the University of the Witwatersrand — bringing the world’s flagship robotics conference to South Africa, live from Vienna.
About
Bringing ICRA to Africa
The IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) is the world’s largest and most influential gathering of robotics researchers and practitioners. ICRA 2026 takes place 1–5 June 2026 in Vienna, Austria, and for many African researchers, attending in person is prohibitive due to cost, visa logistics, and travel time.
ICRA’s Satellite Conference Center programme exists to close that gap. AARC is hosting Johannesburg’s satellite center at the University of the Witwatersrand — offering live-streamed access to keynote, panel and plenary sessions.
This builds on AARC’s previous successful collaboration with IEEE — the ICRA@40 Africa Satellite Event hosted at Wits in 2024.
At a Glance
- When: 09:00 to 18:15, 2–4 June 2026
- Where: TW Kambule Mathematical Sciences Building, West Campus, University of the Witwatersrand, Enoch Sontonga Avenue, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
- Format: Live-streamed ICRA sessions
- Cost: Free to attend
- Open to: Researchers, students, engineers, and industry practitioners
Registration
Attendance is free but places are limited — please register before 22 May 2026. Registered attendees will receive the detailed programme and any schedule updates directly by email.
Register now →Programme
What you’ll experience
Attendees will have direct access to ICRA’s flagship sessions, broadcast live from Vienna. Sessions run 09:00–18:15 daily (SAST, UTC+2).
Full details for each session are available on the ICRA 2026 website: keynote sessions and plenary sessions.
From Humanoid Robotics Research to Startup Creation: The Role of Public Funding
- Johannes Betz — Learning to Handle Autonomous Vehicles at the Limits: Lessons Learned from Real-World Autonomous Motorsport
- Michael Milford — From Neuroscience to Autonomous Vehicle Navigation
- Aniket Bera — Toward Behaviorally-Intelligent Robots: Safe Navigation in Unstructured and Human-Centered Environments
- Hesheng Wang — Learning to Navigate: From Scene Understanding to Decision Making
Ken Goldberg — Can GOFE and Code-as-Policy Close the 100,000-Year “Data Gap” in Robot Manipulation?
Advancing Sustainability in Robotics: From Green Design to Real-World Impact
- Eric Diller — Using Magnetic Fields to Control Tiny Robots in the Gut and Brain
- Fanny Ficuciello — From Bioinspired Design to Safe Control: Emerging Challenges in Medical Robotics
- Tiantian Xu — Magnetically Actuated Microrobots for Precision Medicine
- Haoyong Yu — Towards Wearable Robotics with better Portability, Safety, and Comfort
Why Attend
Reasons to be there
Access without the airfare
ICRA is the most important conference in robotics, and historically the cost of attending in person has kept it out of reach for most African researchers and students. Our satellite center brings the same sessions — live, in real time — to Johannesburg, for free.
Connect with the African robotics community
Streaming ICRA from your laptop is one thing. Watching it alongside other African roboticists — and joining the conversations that happen between sessions — is entirely another. Expect to leave with new collaborators, mentors, and friends across the continent.
Venue
Hosted at Wits University
The satellite event will be held at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg — home to the RAIL Lab, the MIND Institute, and one of the largest robotics and machine learning communities on the continent. Wits previously hosted AARC’s ICRA@40 Africa satellite event in 2024.
Specific room and arrival details will be shared with registered attendees closer to the date.
Register your interest
Be part of ICRA 2026 — in Africa.
Spaces at the satellite center are limited. Join our Discord to stay across speaker announcements and programme updates.