This workshop, organized by the IEEE Working Group on Reproducibility in Soft Robotics, focuses on engaging the community to discuss reproducibility issues within the field. Soft robotics often involves the development of new materials, designs, and manufacturing methods, which can lead to challenges in reproducing results. These challenges can result in “reinvention of the wheel,” hinder meaningful comparisons to previous work, create uncertainty in understanding outcomes, and delay the field’s progress.
The Working Group aims to better understand the scope of reproducibility challenges, gather community input on reproducibility guidelines, and take concrete steps to address these issues. The workshop will feature five roundtable discussion sessions, where all attendees are encouraged to participate. Additional activities include several talks and a poster session. Topics for discussion include the extent and impact of reproducibility challenges, brainstorming solutions, the feasibility of adding reviewer guidelines on reproducibility, replication studies, and actuator metrics.
The results from the workshop will be compiled into a technical report, which will be shared with the community and the Soft Robotics Technical Committee, guiding future events and activities of the Working Group.
