12th IEEE Workshop Robot and Human
Interactive Communication

RO-MAN 2003

October 31 - November 2, 2003
Silicon Valley, California USA

There are a number of things to see and to do while in the Bay Area.

Hotel info:

IMPORTANT: Please make a reservation at the conference hotel, the Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel, before October 10, 2003. Mention that you are coming for the RO-MAN 2003 conference to receive the special room rate of $105.00, plus a 10% sales tax and a $1.50 "tourism fee".

Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel
1 Old Bayshore Highway
Millbrae, California 94030 U.S.
Phone +1-650-692-3500, Fax +1-650-872-8111

For reservations from the U.S. or Canada, call 1-888-625-5144
For reservations from other countries, please click here for phone numbers.
General information can be found on their main web site.


Transportation info:
If arriving at San Francisco Airport, take the Westin Hotel Courtesy Shuttle bus, which departs from the island on the Departure (upper) level.

If arriving at San Jose Airport, the most economical way to get tothe hotel is by taking the train north to the Millbrae station. Then take BART to the San Francisco airport, and then the shuttle bus to the Westin.

If driving a car, take Highway 101 to the Millbrae exit, which is one exit south of the San Francisco Airport, and go east. Go right at the first traffic light. The Westin Hotel is on the right at the next traffic light. Park in the "self-park" lot and get a parking sticker for your windshield at the conference regstration desk, so you do not have to pay for parking.


Keynote Speakers:
On Friday evening, the keynote speaker, Mr. Akira Kaneuji, of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, will give a live lecture from Japan using videoconferencing technology. He will talk about his company's project to develop a humanoid robot, named Wakamaru.

On Saturday morning, our keynote speaker is Prof. Günter Niemeyer, of Stanford University. He will talk about the role of haptics in medical, and especially medical training, applications.

On Saturday afternoon, the keynote speaker will be Ty Boyce, the VP of Engineering and Operations for the Silicon Valley company, Edge Innovations, Inc. They are renowned for their incredible animatronics, or, robots for the entertainment industry, for movies such as Anaconda, Free Willy and The Perfect Storm, among many. Ty Boyce will bring a very fresh perspective to the topic of robot-human interface design.

Dinner Cruise:
Right after the plenary speech, we will all travel by bus to San Francisco, where we will board a cruise ship, the California Hornblower for a 2-hour dinner cruise around San Francisco Bay. We will return by bus to the hotel by about 10PM.

Travel Fellowships:
Travel Fellowship Awards The RO-MAN'2003 Conference is pleased to announce the availability of a small number of first-come, first-served travel fellowships for students who are authors of RO-MAN'2003 manuscripts. A total of US $5,000 has been generously donated for this purpose. We encourage applicants to keep their requests to a minimum so that more students can also benefit from this gift. The maximum amount of each stipend will be US $1,000, which can be used to pay for expenses incurred for airfare, hotel and ground transportation. Students who receive a stipend will also benefit from a complimentary registration. To qualify, applicants (a) must be full-time university students, (b) submit their request along with an itemized budget and written quote from an airline, and (c) submit a copy of their university credentials and a letter from their advisor verifying the financial hardship. All of the items must be sent by email and/or fax to the RO-MAN'2003 secretariat to be considered for the travel fellowship award. After the conference, the student must submit all receipts in writing along with an invoice, and a reimbursement check will be mailed.

Tour info:
On Monday, November 3, 2003, the day following the conference, there will be a tour of several companies and research labs in Silicon Valley that specialize in Human-Robot Interfaces. A limited number of people can join on this all-day tour. The first 25 people who sign up, on a first-come, first-served basis, will be able to join. The cost is $40, which covers transportation from and back to the hotel, as well as lunch. The tour will leave the Westin Hotel at 07:30, and return at approximately 18:30 (6:30 PM). The tentative schedule is as follows.