On the afternoon of May 9, the opening ceremony of the 2011 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation(ICRA)was grandly held at Shanghai International Convention Center.  Yan Junqi, Vice Chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, delivered a speech at the conference. Ma Dexiu, Chairperson of SJTU Council, made the welcoming speech.

    ICRA is the annual flagship conference of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and the most influential authoritative international conference in this field. It is the first time that ICRA is held on the Chinese Mainland. The conference is organized by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and undertaken by SJTU. The theme for this year's ICRA is "Better Robots, Better Life," an expectation that the ever growing technology in robotics and automation will help build a better human society.

It is reported that there will be four keynote/plenary talks, six forums, 178 topical sessions, 980 papers to read and discuss, and over 30 workshops/tutorials. There will also be an exhibition on robotics and automation, a robotics contest and four technical tours.

As the undertaker of this year's ICRA, SJTU maintains its leading position in robotics and automation in China. In recent years, SJTU has made several breakthroughs in manufacturing deep-water robots, service robots, welding robots and industrial robots and other advanced electrical equipments. The SJTU Service Robot "Jiaolong," developed by Department of Automation, was displayed at the "11th Five-Year" Exhibition of National Major Science and Technology Achievements and served at the Shanghai Expo. The Diving Robot "Hailong," developed by the Chinese Underwater Technology Institute, is the non-remote-control submersible robot which can dive to the depth of 3,500 meters. As the most powerful and diving capable robot in China which reaches the international advanced level, it has completed several deep-sea navigation tasks.