2025 Foundational Research in Robotics (FRR) - National Robotics Initiative (NRI) Annual Meeting

This grant provides funding to organize and execute the 2025 National Science Foundation (NSF) Foundational Research in Robotics (FRR) / National Robotics Initiative (NRI) Annual Meeting. This meeting will convene investigators of active awards of the NSF FRR and NRI Programs for the tenth time since the NRI Program began in 2011 and the FRR program began in 2020. This meeting serves as a conference bringing together a community of robotics researchers whose work is specifically relevant to the FRR and NRI programs. The agenda includes talks from selected projects, poster sessions, workshops, panel discussions, multiple keynote talks, an outreach event, and Federal agency program updates from leaders in the research community. This meeting will also support participation by a cohort of potential future researchers to the FRR program. The FRR/NRI PI meeting promotes dissemination of research ideas and collaboration amongst robotics researchers. This award is for the meeting organization. The annual PI Meeting is a national event for the NSF FRR and NRI research communities and serves as an annual forum where investigators have opportunities to meet and share their research and best practices, discuss new research opportunities, explore new ideas and partnerships, and interact with Federal agency representatives, industry, and other stakeholders interested in NSF robotics research. NSF PI meetings have played a major role in community-building across a broad range of robotics topics, sectors, and technologies, and serves to bring together researchers who have interest in learning about the program and participating as future proposers, transition partners, or sponsors. Invitees to the meeting will include, among others, all PIs with active NRI/FRR grants. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.