Saint-Hubert, Quebec, June 14, 2001 – Dr. Marc Garneau, Executive Vice
President of the Canadian Space Agency and Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield
are among the keynote speakers who will address i-SAIRAS 2001, the Sixth
International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Automation
in Space, which will be held June 18-22 at the Canadian Space Agency in
Saint-Hubert, Quebec.

Through plenary sessions, oral presentations, demonstrations, simulations
and non-commercial exhibits, the world’s foremost experts will bring each
other up to date on the latest advances and research and will further the
vision for the increasing use of artificial intelligence, robotics and
automation in space. i-SAIRAS 2001 is a forum for exposure to on-going
research and development for near, medium and long-term technology
developments for space projects.

Canada’s New Frontier in Space Technologies

Canadian participation will feature an overview of Canadian activities in
space automation and robotics, a review of the 20 years of Mission Success
with Canadarm1, Advanced Space Robotics Simulations carried out at the CSA
as well as a presentation on Canadian Robotics Architectures for Solar
System Exploration.

i-SAIRAS 2001 is building on discussions and ideas developed in five
previous symposiums held in Noordwijk, The Netherlands (1999), Tokyo, Japan
(1997), Pasadena, USA (1994), Toulouse, France (1992) and Kobe, Japan
(1990).

The symposium is organized by the Canadian Space Agency in collaboration
with the Italian Space Agency (ASL, Italy), the French National Space Agency
(CNES, France), the German Aerospace Centre (DLR, Germany), the European
Space Agency (ESA), the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS,
Japan), the National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL, Japan), the National
Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA, USA), the National Space
Development Agency, (NASDA, Japan). Key sponsors are MD Robotics and EMS
Technologies.

i-SAIRAS 2001 Program Highlights

June 18

2 :00 p.m. Opening Address, Dr. Marc Garneau, Executive VP, Canadian Space
Agency, A Vision for Automation and Robotics in Space

5:00 p.m. Mobile Servicing System on ISS, Rover Nanokhod, Automated Analysis

June 19

9 :00 a.m. Keynote Address, Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield, The Mission
to Install Canadarm2

10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Robotic Overview, Planetary Exploration

June 20

10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Planetary Sample Acquisition, Constellation of Robots

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Robotics Demonstration

June 21

10:00 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. Vision Sensing and Calibration

3:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Closing Session

June 22

8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Workshop on Contact Dynamics, Canadian Space Agency

For more information, contact:
André Leclair
Senior Communications Officer
Canadian Space Agency
Telephone: (450) 926-4370
E-mail: andre.leclair@space.gc.ca