IEEE Robotics and Automation Society

What IEEE Robotics and Automation Society does

IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE RAS) is a professional society operating under the nonprofit Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Founded as the IEEE Robotics and Automation Council in 1984 and elevated to Society status in 1987, RAS serves more than 19,000 members worldwide across academia, industry, and student segments in 40+ countries. Its mission is to advance the theory, practice, and education of robotics and automation through peer-reviewed publishing, conferences, technical committees, and member programs.

RAS's core offerings comprise an extensive publication portfolio — eight IEEE Transactions titles (Robotics, Automation Science and Engineering, Haptics, Field Robotics, Medical Robotics & Bionics, Robot Learning, Soft Robotics), the IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, and two magazines (RA-M and RA-P) — alongside flagship conferences ICRA and CASE (fully sponsored) and IROS (financially co-sponsored), with 70+ global events annually. Member benefits include access to IEEE Xplore (~4 million documents), the RAS Digital Conference Library, and the RAS Resource Center. The society's underlying technology stack is built around publishing and peer-review infrastructure (Paper Plaza conference management system), the IEEE Xplore digital library, and proprietary content libraries, rather than product-level robotics technology.

RAS is funded primarily through recurring individual membership dues, conference registration and sponsorship fees, and institutional publication/library subscriptions; financial details are not publicly disclosed. Governance is exercised by an 18-member Administrative Committee (AdCom) and an Executive Committee led by the President (currently Nancy Amato), with day-to-day operations managed by a small paid staff under Executive Director Terence Martinez. Distribution is community-led and event-driven: members are recruited through IEEE.org, 40+ local chapters, and 47 technical committees organized into five clusters spanning automation, field robotics, healthcare, human-centered robotics, and robotics foundations.

Name

IEEE Robotics and Automation Society

Legal name

IEEE Robotics and Automation Society

Website

http://www.ieee-ras.org/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

IEEE Robotics and Automation Society is a nonprofit professional society under IEEE that serves 19,000+ robotics and automation researchers, students, and industry professionals worldwide through peer-reviewed journals, flagship conferences (ICRA, CASE, IROS), and 47 technical committees spanning 40+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Society / Academic Research Organization

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Robotics Learning Platforms (EDAFANAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Competition Robotics Teams & Coaching (FLL/FTC/FRC, VEX) (EDAMADAE), Regulatory Readiness & Audit Automation (e.g., EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001) (HDAAAMAE)

Keywords

• Professional society membership
• Robotics research publications
• Automation conferences
• Peer reviewed journals
• Technical committees

Headquarters

HQ city

Piscataway

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: IEEE RAS generates revenue through annual membership fees. Members join through IEEE.org and receive access to publications, IEEE Xplore, conference libraries, resource center, and chapter/technical committee participation. The society aims to support over 19,000 members worldwide.
2. Conference Registration and Sponsorship: Revenue from conference registrations for major events including ICRA, CASE, IROS, and over 70 global events annually. Conference attendance has increased nearly 300%. Sponsorship opportunities from industry partners.
3. Publication Access and Subscriptions: Revenue from non-member access to publications and the RAS Digital Conference Library subscription. IEEE Xplore subscription options for full-text access.
4. Professional Services and Reimbursements: Travel expense reimbursements processed through Concur system for volunteers. Third-party reimbursements for employers covering volunteer expenses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IEEE Robotics and Automation Society is a professional membership society that advances robotics and automation research through peer-reviewed journal and magazine publications, flagship and co-sponsored conferences (ICRA, CASE, IROS), digital library access, technical committees, local chapters, and mentorship and awards programs. It serves over 19,000 members across 40+ countries and operates as a society within IEEE.

Product overview

IEEE Robotics and Automation Society is a professional membership organization, not a product company. Its offerings consist of peer-reviewed journal publications (8 IEEE Transactions titles, 2 Magazines, 1 Letters journal), flagship conferences (ICRA, CASE, IROS), and member services including digital library access, the RAS Resource Center, and professional development programs. The society supports over 19,000 members through 40+ technical committees organized into clusters, offering mentorship initiatives like the Young Reviewers Program, Distinguished Lecturer Program, and SPARX academic exchange fellowship.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IEEE Transactions on Robotics (T-RO)
• IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering (T-ASE)
• IEEE Transactions on Haptics (ToH)
• IEEE Transactions on Field Robotics (T-FR)
• IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics & Bionics (T-MRB)
• IEEE Transactions on Robot Learning (T-RL)
• IEEE Transactions on Soft Robotics (T-SRO)
• IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L)
• IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine (RA-M)
• IEEE Robotics and Automation Practice (RA-P)
• ICRA - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
• CASE - IEEE Conference on Automation Sciences and Engineering
• IROS - IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
• RAS Digital Conference Library
• RAS Resource Center
• IEEE RAS Membership
• Young Reviewers Program (YRP)
• Distinguished Lecturer Program
• SPARX - Support Program to foster Academic Relationships and eXchange
• Technical Committees (47 total)

Quantifiable outcome

• Conference attendance increased nearly 300% with over 70 global events
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IEEE Control Systems SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIEEE RAS originated from the IEEE Control Systems Society's R&A Committee. The initial IEEE Robotics and Automation entity (RAC) was founded in 1984 and included Control Systems Society as one of eight founding societies. Current collaboration includes joint conferences and publication activities.
• IEEE Computer SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIEEE Computer Society was one of eight founding societies of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Council in 1984. ICRA was originally initiated under the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Robotics.
• IEEE Industrial Electronics SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIEEE Industrial Electronics Society was one of eight founding societies of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Council. Co-sponsors the IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM).
• IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society was one of eight founding societies of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Council in 1984.
• IEEE Components, Hybrids, and Manufacturing Technology SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIEEE Components, Hybrids, and Manufacturing Technology Society was one of eight founding societies of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Council in 1984.
• IEEE Circuits and Systems SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIEEE Circuits and Systems Society was one of eight founding societies of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Council in 1984.
• IEEE Industry Applications SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIEEE Industry Applications Society was one of eight founding societies of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Council in 1984.
• IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society was one of eight founding societies of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Council in 1984.
• Scholars at Risk NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSPARX program prioritizes applicants from countries identified by Scholars at Risk, a network supporting scholars facing persecution. Eligible applicants recognized as scholars at risk can participate even if not affiliated with a university in their home country.
• IEEE/ASME Transactions on MechatronicsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics is co-sponsored by IEEE and ASME, with the AIM conference being its flagship conference co-sponsored by IEEE RAS and IEEE Industrial Electronics Society.
• IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIEEE RAS co-sponsors the IEEE/ASME International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob) with the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Robotics Society of Japan (RSJ): Japan's national professional society for robotics research. RSJ co-sponsors IEEE RAS's flagship IROS conference, making it the most direct peer in robotics professional membership and conference organization.
• IEEE Control Systems Society: Sister IEEE society that co-founded the original IEEE Robotics and Automation Council in 1984. Operates overlapping conferences (CDC, ACC) and joint publications with IEEE RAS in control and automation.
• IEEE Computer Society: Founding society of IEEE RAS in 1984 and original home of ICRA. Operates parallel computing conferences and publications with significant overlap in robotics software, AI, and autonomous systems.

Broad incumbents

• ACM (Association for Computing Machinery): The world's largest computing professional society with comparable publication, conference, and membership structure. Competes with IEEE RAS for AI/robotics-related papers and members through venues like SIGGRAPH and SIGAI.
• ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers): Co-publisher of IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics with IEEE RAS. ASME's broader mechanical engineering scope overlaps with IEEE RAS in robotics design, dynamics, and manufacturing automation.
• International Federation of Robotics (IFR): Global robotics industry association that publishes the widely cited World Robotics report. IFR serves the industry/statistics side of robotics where IEEE RAS serves the research community, but they overlap on industry-academia engagement.
• AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science): Publisher of Science magazine and one of the oldest general scientific societies. Represents the broader scientific-publishing-and-membership model that IEEE RAS emulates within engineering.

Emerging players

• AAAI (Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence): Premier AI research society whose conference and journals overlap heavily with IEEE RAS's Robot Learning and AI-for-robotics domains. Competes for top AI-robotics paper submissions and members.

Peers

• IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology): UK-based international professional engineering body with publications, conferences, and membership offerings comparable in structure to IEEE RAS, though with a broader engineering remit and UK-centric chapter network.

Regional players

• SPIE: International society for optics and photonics with a comparable conference-driven, membership-funded operating model. Adjacent in robotics sensing and perception but operates in a different primary technical domain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/profile
• Facebookfacebook.com/IEEERoboticsandAutomation
• Xx.com/ieeeras

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles22 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about IEEE Robotics and Automation Society