The IEEE Robotics and Automation Society

The Society strives to advance innovation, education, and fundamental and applied research in
Robotics and Automation. Robotics focuses on systems incorporating sensors and actuators
that operate autonomously or semi-autonomously in cooperation with humans.  Robotics
research emphasizes intelligence and adaptability to cope with unstructured
environments.  Automation research emphasizes efficiency, productivity, quality, and
reliability, focusing on systems that operate autonomously,often in structured environments
over extended periods, and on the explicit structuring of such environments.

.   RAS on Facebook Check out Automaton --IEEE Spectrum's blog on robots and other silicon-brained contraptions.