Announcements
24 March 2026
MDPI’s Journal Cluster of Mechanical Manufacturing and Automation Control Webinar | The Convergence of Foundation Models and Autonomous Systems, 2 April 2026
The message from the webinar’s chair:
It is my great pleasure to invite you to this webinar, “The Convergence of Foundation Models and Autonomous Systems”. We have an exciting lineup of talks exploring the frontiers of reinforcement learning, foundation models, and intelligent infrastructure.
Our first speaker is me, Prof. Dr. Shiho Kim, Professor in the School of Integrated Technology at Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea. In my session, I will present a talk on “Reinforcement Learning for Fail-Operational Systems with Disentangled Dual-Skill Variables”, focusing on how reinforcement learning can be made more resilient and adaptive to failures, enabling continuous and safe operation in critical systems.
Our second speaker is Prof. Dr. De Curtò, a tenured recognized Researcher at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and Professor at Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Madrid. His talk, “Foundation Models and UAV-IoT Integration for Smart City Applications: From AI-Driven Traffic Optimization to Cooperative Perception and Beyond”, will highlight cutting-edge research at the intersection of AI, IoT, and smart city technologies. With extensive contributions to vehicular technologies, AI, and IoT, and having produced over 40 publications, Prof. De Curtò brings substantial expertise to this domain.
We look forward to welcoming you to this conference and the insightful presentations and engaging discussions that will follow.
Date: 2 April 2026 at 9:00 a.m. CEST | 4:00 p.m. KST
Webinar ID: 830 2178 0410
Landing page: https://sciforum.net/event/Cluster-6
Register now for free!
Program
|
Speaker |
Presentation Title |
Time in CEST |
Time in KST |
|
Prof. Dr. Shiho Kim |
Chair Introduction |
9:00–9:10 a.m. |
4:00–4:10 p.m. |
|
Prof. Dr. Shiho Kim |
Reinforcement Learning for Fail-Operational Systems with Disentangled Dual-Skill Variables |
9:10–9:30 a.m. |
4:10–4:30 p.m. |
|
Q&A Session |
9:30–9:35 a.m. |
4:30–4:35 p.m. |
|
|
Prof. Dr. Joaquim de Curtò i Díaz |
Foundation Models and UAV-IoT Integration for Smart City Applications: From AI- Driven Traffic Optimization to Cooperative Perception and Beyond |
9:35–9:55 a.m. |
4:35–4:55 p.m. |
|
Q&A Session |
9:55–10:00 a.m. |
4:55–5:00 p.m. |
|
|
Internal Presentation – TBD |
Overview of Submission Process |
10:00–10:10 a.m. |
5:00–5:10 p.m. |
|
Prof. Dr. Shiho Kim |
Closing of Webinar |
10:10–10:15 a.m. |
5:10–5:15 p.m. |
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
Unable to attend? Register anyway, and we’ll let you know when the recording is available to watch.
Webinar Chairs and Keynote Speaker:
- Prof. Dr. Shiho Kim, Yonsei University, South Korea;
- Prof. Dr. Joaquim de Curtò i Díaz, BARCELONA Supercomputing Center, Spain.
Relevant Special Issues:
“Emerging Paradigms in AI, Autonomous Systems, and Intelligent Technologies”
Guest Editors: Dr. Florian Ion Tiberiu Petrescu, Dr. Liviu Marian Ungureanu, Dr. Iulian Sorin Munteanu and Prof. Dr. Péter Galambos
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 April 2026
“Advances in Autonomous Underwater Drones: 2nd Edition”
Guest Editors: Dr. Daxiong Ji, Dr. Asiya Khan, Dr. Dena Bazazian and Dr. Mohd Hisham Bin Nordin
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 May 2026
“Advances in Networks for Transport Infrastructure Management and Safety”
Guest Editors: Dr. Apostolos Anagnostopoulos, Dr. Nawaf Alnawmasi and Dr. Athanasios (Akis) Theofilatos
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026
“Emerging Trends in Air Traffic Flow and Airport Operations Control”
Guest Editors: Dr. Lei Yang, Prof. Dr. Yan Xu and Dr. Yutong Chen
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026
“Emerging Approaches to Intelligent and Autonomous Systems”
Guest Editors: Dr. Emmanouil Tsardoulias and Prof. Dr. Andreas L. Symeonidis
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026
Relevant feature papers:
“Reinforcement Learning for Fail-Operational Systems with Disentangled Dual-Skill Variables”
by Taewoo Kim and Shiho Kim
Technologies 2025, 13(4), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies13040156
“AI-Driven UAV and IoT Traffic Optimization: Large Language Models for Congestion and Emission Reduction in Smart Cities”
by Álvaro Moraga, J. de Curtò, I. de Zarzà and Carlos T. Calafate
Drones 2025, 9(4), 248; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9040248
