MassRobotics Announces 2026 Robotics Medal Recipients: Stanford's Allison Okamura and Seoul National University's Ayoung Kim

Robotics innovation organization MassRobotics has officially announced the recipients of its 2026 Robotics Medal and Rising Star Award at the IEEE ICRA (International Conference on Robotics and Automation), held in Vienna, Austria.

The World's First Award Dedicated to Women in Robotics

The Robotics Medal is recognized as the world's first award specifically established to honor the broad impact of women researchers in the field of robotics, celebrating their outstanding contributions to the global advancement of robotic technology.

2026 Award Recipients

This year's Robotics Medal was presented to two distinguished women researchers:

• Allison Okamura – Professor at Stanford University, USA. Okamura has dedicated her career to haptic interfaces, medical robotics, and soft robotics, producing research of significant academic and practical value.

• Ayoung Kim – Professor at Seoul National University, South Korea. Kim specializes in robot perception, underwater autonomous navigation, and SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technologies, and holds an international reputation in the field of autonomous mobile robotics.

About MassRobotics

MassRobotics is a nonprofit organization committed to advancing robotics innovation. By providing resources, networks, and platforms, it helps robotics startups and research institutions accelerate their development. The establishment of the Robotics Medal reflects the organization's commitment to promoting diversity and gender equality in the technology sector.

IEEE ICRA is the world's largest flagship academic conference in robotics and automation. This year's edition was held in Vienna, drawing researchers and industry experts from around the globe.

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