ICRA 2026 in Vienna: AIRI and MIPT Researchers Report from the World's Largest Robotics Forum

Russian researchers from AIRI and MIPT took an active part in ICRA 2026, the world's largest robotics conference, held June 1–5 in Vienna. Lab director Alexander Panov shared his impressions and condensed takeaways from the talks in a detailed report on Habr.

The planet's main robotics forum

The IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) is the flagship annual event for the global robotics community. For several decades it has been the industry's most representative venue. Thousands of scientists, engineers and researchers from academia and industry gather there to present peer-reviewed papers, argue over methods, demonstrate prototypes and agree on joint projects.

In 2026 the host city was Vienna, one of Europe's key scientific centers, with a long tradition in automation and industrial engineering. The five-day program covered hundreds of talks and workshops across the full range of the field, from classic manipulation and mobile navigation problems to cognitive architectures, multi-agent systems and swarm robotics.

One of the main trends of 2026 was the deep integration of large language models into robot control. LLMs for action planning, understanding natural-language instructions and human-robot dialogue were in the spotlight across several conference sessions.

Russian science in a global context

Among the active participants was Alexander Panov's group. He heads the Cognitive AI Systems Lab at AIRI (Artificial Intelligence Research Institute) and the Center for Cognitive Modeling at MIPT's Institute of AI, two of Russia's leading AI research centers.

Cognitive modeling for robots means building systems that do not just execute programmed movements. They build an internal representation of their environment, set goals and adapt their behavior in real time.

Panov's team works at the intersection of several key areas:

• Cognitive architectures for autonomous robotic systems
• Spatial planning and navigation in unstructured environments
• Integration of neural-network and symbolic AI methods
• Modeling of goal-setting and decision-making
• Multi-agent interaction and system coordination

Taking part in ICRA is not just a platform for presenting your own results. Direct contact with the world's leading teams yields feedback that is hard to get through papers and online discussions.

The robot parade and life outside the halls

An integral part of every ICRA is the traditional robot parade. Teams bring their robots out onto the streets: walking humanoids, mobile platforms, quadrupeds, drones. For the scientific community it is an informal demo venue; for city residents it is a genuine show.

"Inside there are plenty of condensed takeaways from papers and talks, photos, and video from the traditional robot parade!" —

Panov announces in his report.

Vienna turned out rainy, but the packed schedule and evening discussions made up for the weather. The city's historic center and its proximity to leading European universities provided a fitting backdrop for exchanging ideas outside the formal program.

What this means

ICRA 2026 marked two key shifts in global robotics: LLMs as a new control layer for autonomous systems, and a stronger push for cognitive approaches as opposed to purely reactive ones. The participation of Russian groups in this dialogue matters, because it lets domestic developments plug into the global technology context.

Panov's detailed report, with condensed takeaways from papers and video of the robot parade, is a good entry point for anyone who wants to understand where global robotics is heading.