The 15th Florida Conference on Recent Advances in Robotics & Robot Showcase

FCRAR 2002
 May 23-24, 2002

Florida International University
 Miami, Florida

CONFERENCE PHOTO ALBUM

The 2002 Florida Conference on Recent Advances in Robotics is organized by Florida International University (FIU) in Miami on May 23-24, 2002. The annually-held conference has started fifteen years ago and has been organized in various cities in Florida. It was held in Miami at FIU's North Campus for the first time in 1997. In 2002, it will move to FIU's University Park Campus.

SPONSORS
This year's conference was made possible in part by the sponsorship of two generous groups:
  • ASME FIU Student Section
  • Department of Mechanical Engineering at FIU
Here is a list of ASME FIU Student Section officers, members and volunteers who participated in the preparation of FCRAR 2002: TASK DISTRIBUTION.

We thank both of our sponsors. Without their support, this event could not take place.

CONFERENCE VENUE
This year's FCRAR will be held at FIU's University Park (UP) Campus located at the intersection of Tamiami Trail (SW 8th Street) and SW 107th Avenue. Graham Center (GC) which serves as Student Union for FIU students will be used for the event.

Click here for a map of Miami and South Beach where points of interest for this conference are highlighted.

Get directions to FIU's University Park Campus.

Click here for a 3D map of UP Campus.

PARKING
Note that the conference will be held at the GC building. Enter the campus through the gate on SW 107th Avenue, where there is a big orange display structure. You will see two multi-story parking garages 1 and 2 directly in front of you; one on left, one on the right of the road past the orange structure. You can park in STUDENT spaces (which are unmarked lots) in these parking garages. This is the best spot to park as GC is just across these parking garages.

Parking will be free. ASME FIU Student Section officers will provide parking permits to attendees in the morning of May 23, Thursday. Parking permits will be issued for two days, May 23-24, and will be valid on the entire UP campus for all STUDENT (unmarked) parking spaces.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
Registration to FCRAR 2002:
  • Registration will take place Thursday morning between 8:00 and 9:00 am at GC 243 WEST.
  • There is no registration fee to attend FCRAR 2002. Authors will receive a copy of the Proceedings of the 15th Florida Conference on Recent Advances & Robot Showcase CD.
  • At registration, please have one of the conference staff to copy your presentation files to a laptop that will be available next to the registration desk. This will help sessions run more smoothly as we have parallel sessions.

CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Overview of the conference program in pdf format: FCRAR 2002 PROGRAM OVERVIEW.

Technical sessions in pdf format: FCRAR 2002 SESSIONS.

Conference Proceedings CD: All technical papers presented at FCRAR will be available on a CD on May 23. See the CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS CD LABEL.

PRESENTATIONS & DEMOS
Please ask each presenter and Robot Showcase participant to read the following reminders:
  • Each technical paper will be presented in 15 minutes plus a 5-minute question-and-answer session will follow.
  • Please prepare your presentations using PowerPoint.
  • Bring your presentation file on a 2.0 MB regular floppy or on a CD, but not on a zip as the conference room computers will not have zip drivers.
  • We will provide a PC and projector in each conference room.
  • Technical personnel in conference rooms will install your presentation files on PCs. See them BEFORE the session begins. Make sure all necessary files that will be used during your presentation are copied properly.
  • An overhead projector will also be available for transparencies. Please contact technical personnel in charge of the room if you need the overhead projector.
  • Each group, that will demonstrate its robot, is strongly advised to bring a standard-size poster board which describes the robot, contains photos, institution name, team members, etc. so that each robot can make an attractive showroom item all day long even when the team is not around.
  • ASME FIU Student Section officers will be present at the Robot Showcase area for the safety of robots.
  • Robot Showcase, at the center stage of our Student Union (GC), will run two full days and attract many more people than conference attendees.
  • If your robot is in working order, we will ask you to demonstrate it during our scheduled DEMO HOURS.
HOTELS
Some of the local hotels are listed below.

    Baymont Inn Suites
    3805 NW 107th Avenue, Miami, FL 33178
    Phone: (305) 640-9896
    Fax: (305) 640-0608
    1-877-BAYMONT
    Comfort Suites
    3901 SW 117 Avenue, Miami, FL 33175
    Phone: (305) 220-3901
    Fax: (305) 221-1348
    1-800-517-4000
    Radisson Mart Plaza Hotel
    711 NW 72nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33126
    Phone: (305) 261-3800
    Fax: (305) 261-7665
     
    They are all within reasonable distance to drive. However, Baymont is the closest, least expensive plus it is relatively new, Comfort Inn is the next, and so on.

CONFERENCE DINNER
Conference dinner will be at the Rendezvous on the Beach, a French restaurant, in South Beach. This area is famous with its tourists and restaurants where Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan and other famous own restaurants. At dinner, a three-course dinner will be served. This will include the followings:
    Appetizers (choice of one):
  • Lobster Bisque
  • Smoked Salmon
  • Maryland Crab Cake
  • House Salad with mixed baby greens
  • Caesar Salad
    Entrees (choice of one):
  • Lobster Fettuccine
  • Salmon a l'Unilaterale
  • Chicken Francaise
  • Sirloin Steak
  • Fettuccine Alfredo
    Desserts (choice of one):
  • Creme Brulee
  • Keylime Pie
  • Tiramisu
  • Ice Cream
The dinner will cost $28.95 per person. This price, which includes house wine, is considered very reasonable for Miami's world-famous touristy area. We selected this restaurant after visiting many of them in the area.



Dolphin Highway (I-836) passes by the Port of Miami and
heads towards South Beach.

STEERING COMMITTEE
We thank our conference steering committee for their support: FCRAR 2002 STEERING COMMITTEE.

CURIOUS ABOUT FIU?
If you need more information on FIU, please see our site: VISIT FIU.

CONTACT
For any questions, please contact Dr. Sabri Tosunoglu at tosun@eng.fiu.edu, 305-348-1091.

    Sabri Tosunoglu, Ph.D.
    Florida International University
    Department of Mechanical Engineering
    10555 West Flagler Street
    Miami, Florida 33174