Equivariant Robotics: The Role of Symmetry Across Perception, Estimation, and Control

Background: Towards the end of robotic systems capable of ubiquitous, persistent deployment in the wild, researchers across diverse subdisciplines of our field have exploited the inherent symmetries present in robotic systems and their environment to achieve drastic improvements in performance, efficiency, and robustness. For example: Equivariant architectures for data-driven perception have demonstrated impressive generalization and sample efficiency, all the while reducing model complexity and guaranteeing by design that extraneous transformations will not degrade their predictions; A symmetry-aware approach to the filter design has yielded improved convergence properties in state estimation, providing both formal certificates and astonishing empirical accuracy in field deployments; As the complexity of both individual agents and multiagent teams has grown, the exploitation of symmetry in control has tamed unwieldy high-dimensional models, sated the appetite of data-hungry methods like reinforcement learning, and aided in the decentralized coordination of large robot swarms. Workshop Goals and Overview: Informed by this promising and recurring trend, this workshop brings together a technically diverse cohort of experts and early-career researchers working across a wide range of problems, applications, and methodologies to share their perspectives on the multifaceted role of equivariance in autonomous systems. This cross-pollination of traditionally distinct research communities will introduce new members of the broader robotics community to symmetry-informed methods; identify new opportunities to leverage these cross-cutting concepts and apply geometric expertise in new areas; align with the IROS 2024 theme "Robotics for Sustainable Development" by reducing the environmental impact of autonomous systems via reduced model complexity, more efficient algorithms, and greater reliability, and ultimately bring us closer to the availability of ubiquitous, intelligent robotic systems prepared to tackle society's greatest challenges and play an active role in our daily lives.