ARCI' 2026: 6th IFSA Winter Conference on Automation, Robotics & Communications for Industry 4.0/5.0/6.0 FourSide Hotel Salzburg, Austria, February 25-27, 2026

About the Event

Industry 4.0 represents an integrated ecosystem that combines automation, robotics, advanced communications, and big data analytics. According to recent market analyses, the global Industry 4.0 market is currently valued at approximately $160–180 billion, and is expected to grow to anywhere between $600 billion and $1.6 trillion by the early 2030s—with compound annual growth rates ranging from 14 % to 20 %. This rapid expansion reflects urgent demand for automation, IoT, AI, digital twins, and sustainable smart manufacturing.

This growth is driven by the accelerating adoption of intelligent automation, cyber-physical systems, and data-driven manufacturing. At the same time, the transition from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0 emphasizes the importance of sustainable, adaptive, and human-centered industrial systems. This evolution highlights not only technological advancements but also societal challenges—such as the growing demand for a workforce equipped with advanced skills in artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, and system integration. Addressing the global skills gap remains critical for the successful adoption and scalability of Industry 4.0/5.0/6.0 initiatives.

The series of annual IFSA's Winter ARCI conferences was established to address these challenges and to provide a forum for open discussion of state-of-the-art technologies and real-world applications in automation, robotics, communications, and intelligent data processing.

The ARCI’ 2026 conference, organized by the International Frequency Sensor Association (IFSA) — a leading non-profit professional organization serving the sensor and instrumentation community since 1999 — will continue this mission.

ARCI’ 2026 will broaden its scope to include not only future visions but also the pathways for practical implementation of current R&D results in highly flexible production environments. In addition, ARCI’ 2026 will expand its focus on emerging paradigms such as Industry 6.0 concepts, sustainable industrial systems, AI-empowered autonomy, drones and unmanned systems, quantum technologies, and green manufacturing solutions.

The ARCI conference series has consistently attracted researchers, engineers, and practitioners from around the world. ARCI’ 2026 continues the tradition of ARCI Series of Conferences — bringing together global communities to share state-of-the-art research and practical innovations. This edition deepens the dialogue by responding to emerging paradigms such as sustainable Industry 6.0, AI-empowered autonomy, advanced communications, ethical robotics, and the urgency of climate-aware manufacturing.

The coming ARCI' 2026 event will be co-located with the 2^nd International Conference on Drones and Unmanned Systems (DAUS' 2026) under the same conference umbrella.

The conference will offer plenary and invited talks, contributed oral and poster presentations, special sessions, industry tracks, panel discussions, tutorials and exhibition of commercial products. Social and cultural events will also take place to foster networking among the participants in a friendly manner.​

Submission Guidelines

All papers must be original and not simultaneously submitted to another journal or conference. The following paper categories are welcome:

• Regular papers
• Posters
• Special sessions papers
• Keynote presentations
• Invited talks
• Industrial presentations
• Virtual Presentation on demand (live steams or pre-recorded video preentations)

Papers must be prepared according to the conference proceedings template 

Posters size: A0 (21 x 29.7 cm), vertical orientation

List of Topics

Industry 4.0/5.0/6.0:

• Design principles in Industry 4.0 /5.0 /6.0
• Industrial Big Data and Analytics
• Industrial Internet of Things (IoT)
• Smart Manufacturing and Technologies
• Smart Factories
• Smart Devices and Products
• Cyber-physical Systems
• Cloud Computing and Manufacturing
• Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing
• Digital Production and Virtual Engineering
• Soft Measurements and Computing

Automation:

• Automatic Control ​
• Control Theory and Applications
• Linear/Nonlinear Control
• Adaptive/Robust Control
• Control Devices and Instruments
• Components and Technologies for Control
• Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC)
• Control System Modeling and Simulation
• Fuzzy-logic and Artificial Neural Networks in Control Systems
• Emerging Trends in Automation and Control Industry
• Industrial Automation and Control
• Manufacturing Systems and Automation
• Process Automation
• Process Control and Monitoring
• Optimal Control
• Telematics
• CAD / CAM / CIM / SCADA
• Computers for Control
• Computational Intelligence in Control
• Information Control in Manufacturing
• Intelligent Traffic Control
• Chemical Process Control
• Control in Agriculture Biological and Medical Systems
• Modeling and Control of Environmental Systems
• Artificial Intelligence for Cyber-Physical Systems in Automation
• Machine Learning in Control Applications
• Education and Training in Automatic Control and Systems

Robotics:

• Industrial Robots
• Soft Robots
• Biorobotics and Medical Robots
• Sensors for Robots
• Mobile Robots
• Humanoid Robots
• Human-Robot Interaction
• Rehabilitation robotics
• Intelligent Robots & Systems
• Mechatronic Systems
• Multimodality Human-machine Interaction
• Robot Control and Learning
• Cognitive Approach for Robotics
• Flexible Automation
• Emerging Trends in Robotics Industry
• Industrial and Manufacturing Trends in Robotics
• Autonomous Systems and Drones
• Robots for Space Exploration
• Robotics in Defense
• Underwater Robots
• Network Robotics
• Telerobotics
• Nanorobotics

Communications:

• Industrial Communication Technologies and Systems
• Emerging Trends in Communication Industry
• Industrial Networks and Automation
• Real-Time and Networked Embedded Systems
• Network Control and Security
• Web-enabled Manufacturing Control and Wireless Automation
• Wireless Sensor Networks for Robot Navigation
• Distributed Networks
• Network Architectures and Protocols
• Intelligent Network Components
• Next Generation Networks
• Communication Theory, Protocols and Signal Processing
• Telecommunications
• Digital Telecommunications
• Telecommunications in Smart Cities
• Wireless and Mobile Communications
• 3G and 4G Mobile Communications Services
• Satellite and Space Communications
• Global Navigation Satellites Systems
• Sensor, Mesh, and Ad hoc Networks
• Underwater Sensor Networks
• Radio Communications Systems
• Energy Harvesting and Power Management in Communication Systems
• Telemetry and Telecontrol

Committees

Chairman:

Prof., Dr. Sergey Y. Yurish (IFSA, Spain)

Advisory Chairman:

Prof., Dr. Vijayakumar Varadarajan (University of Technology Sydney, Australia)

Conference and Publication Manager:

Mrs. Tetyana Zakharchenko (IFSA Publishing, S.L., Spain)

Organizing Committee:

Mr. Javier Cañete (Universitat Politecnica de Catalynya (UPC), Barcelona, Spain)

Mr. Luis Morey (Universitat Politecnica de Catalynya (UPC), Barcelona, Spain)

Mr. Vyacheslav Mytsay (IFSA Publishing, S.L., Spain)

International Program Committee Members and Reviewers: (see more)

Publication

One event - three different publications !

1) All registered abstracts / papers will be published in the conference proceedings with the ISBN and DOI before the event. The conference proceedings are indexed by Elsevier in Compendex (Engeneering Villafe) data base.

2) Authors will be invited to submit full-page extended papers to one of the following special issues of open access, indexed in SCOPUS journals:

• Sensors & Transducers (ISSN 2306-8515, e-ISSN 1726-5479): Special Issue on 'Automation, Robotics and Communications'
• MDPI Processes (e-ISSN 2227-9717): Special Issue
• MDPI Machines (e-ISSN: (ISSN 2075-1702): Special Issue on 'New Advances in Robotics, Factory Automation and Intelligent Networked Systems'

3) Book chapters for the coming volumes of open access Book Series on 'Advances in Robotics and Automatic Control: Reviews', Vol. 4, 'Advances in Networks, Security and Communications: Reviews', Vol. 4 or 'Advances in Intelligent Systems: Reviews', Vol. 4. All books will published in 2026 and submitted to the Book Citation Index by Clarivate Analytics.

Venue

The ARCI’ 2026 Conference will take place in the modern 4-star FourSide Hotel (Trademark Collection by Wyndham), situated in the walking distance from Messezentrum Salzburg, Salzburgarena, and public transportation. Salzburg Airport (SZG) is 7 km away and the main station - 2 km. Bus line number 1 leaves every 8 minutes for the city centre from a stop right in front of the hotel. Free parking in front of the hotel and paid garage parking. ​ Address: Am Messezentrum 2, 5020 Salzburg, Austria

Contact

All questions about submissions should be emailed to arci@sensorsportal.com