In this talk, we will describe the system development approach followed by researchers and engineers of the team NAIST-RITS-Panasonic (Japan) for our participation in international robotics competitions such as the Future Convenience Store Challenge (2018 to 2022). In particular, this international competition is about the development of robotic capabilities to execute complex tasks for retail automation. The team built four different robots with multiple end effectors, as well as different technologies for mobile manipulation, vision, and HRI. In this talk, we will also introduce the research projects related to the competitions and discuss how the diversity of the tasks and the competitiveness of the challenges allowed us to template our philosophy and delineate our path to innovation.

Speakers:
•    Gustavo GARCIA, Associate Prof., Ritsumeikan University: garcia-g@em.ci.ritsumei.ac.jp (LinkedIn / Google Scholar):
Gustavo A. Garcia Ricardez received his MEng and PhD degrees from the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), Japan, in 2013 and 2016, respectively. He is currently an Associate Professor at Ritsumeikan University, a Visiting Associate Professor at NAIST, and a Research Advisor at the Robotics Hub of Panasonic Corporation, where he leads numerous research projects and teams in international robotics competitions. His research interests include human-safe, efficient robot control, human-robot interaction, manipulation, and task planning. He is also the recipient of multiple research awards and competition prizes, an active member of RSJ and IEEE, and the CEO of G-ROBO KK.

•    Lotfi EL HAFI, Assistant Prof., Ritsumeikan University: lotfi.elhafi@em.ci.ritsumei.ac.jp (LinkedIn / Google Scholar):
Lotfi El Hafi received his MScEng from the Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium, and his PhD from the Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Japan, in 2013 and 2017, respectively. His thesis focused on STARE, a novel eye-tracking approach that leveraged deep learning to extract behavioral information from scenes reflected in the eyes. Today, he works as a Research Assistant Professor at the Ritsumeikan Global Innovation Research Organization, as a Specially Appointed Researcher for the Toyota HSR Community, and as a Research Advisor for Robotics Competitions for the Robotics Hub of Panasonic Corporation. His research interests include service robotics and artificial intelligence. He is also the recipient of multiple research awards and competition prizes, an active member of RSJ, JSME, and IEEE, and the President & Founder of Coarobo GK.