Welcome

Hiroshi Shibata
SICE2002 General Chair

The SICE Annual Conference 2002 in Osaka (SICE2002) is sponsored by the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers (SICE), in cooperation with the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IEEE/IES), the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE/RAS), the IEEE Control Systems Society (IEEE/CSS), the Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society (ISA), and in association with the IEEE Japan Council, IFAC Japan Council, the Institute of Control, Automation and Systems Engineers, Korea (ICASE), the Chinese Automatic Control Society (CAC) and the China Instrument Society (CIS).

The conference Operating Committee and the Program Committee of SICE2002 would like to invite you to participate in this annual event of our society. The conference will be a major opportunity to exchange and express ideas on the latest developments in the theory and application of measurement, control, systems and information technologies.

The conference will be held at Osaka International Convention Center(Grand Cube Osaka), Osaka in Japan.

Osaka is located in the middle of Japan. Osaka has been a thriving city of Japan for 1400 years. Its fine harbors and land routes led to an influx of goods and people from China, Korea and other parts of Japan. This trade and interaction with various peoples led to the vibrant and friendly character of the people of Osaka\an important asset even today.

Osaka has long been known as the "country's marketplace." As a commercial center for trade and distribution, all kinds of produce passed through Osaka. This led to the development of an Epicurean culture called "kuidaore," which refers to an extravagant love of good food.

Osaka is always lively. The city offers a wide variety of attractions-great shopping and entertainment, as well as fascinating historical sites. For example, long established centers of commerce in Kita (North) and Minami (South), Osaka Castle initially built in the 16th century, Kaiyukan Aquarium with 580 species of marine animals and Universal Studios Japan where you can enjoy the excitement of Hollywood in the U.S.

In the vicinity of Osaka, there exist Kyoto, Nara and Kobe Cities that have many famous sightseeing spots.

The conference will give you an opportunity to meet the specialists in the field of control and measurement, who are working on the frontiers of academic research and are striving towards the development of new technology in the industry.