A throwback to the successful 2nd IFToMM International Symposium on Emerging Fields in Mechanism and Machine Science (EFIMMS 2026), the first joint symposium of the IFToMM Cross-Disciplinary Groups: the IFToMM Young Faculty Group, the IFToMM Women’s Group (WG), and the IFToMM Graduate Student Group (GSG). The event was held in Monastir, Tunisia, on April 16–17, 2026. https://iftomm-yfgs2026.sciencesconf.org
Organized jointly by the University of Sousse (Tunisia) and Pprime Intitute at the University of Poitiers (France), it was a highly enriching and convivial scientific gathering, bringing together young researchers from 18 countries and featuring high-quality scientific papers.
Special thanks to our guest speakers, Prof. Andrés Kecskeméthy (University of Duisburg-Essen, IFToMM President) and Prof. Daniele Cafolla (Swansea University), for their valuable and motivating keynote lectures. Our thanks are also extended to Prof. Paulo Flores, Editor-in-Chief of the Mechanism and Machine Theory (MMT) Journal, for his participation and support of the awarded papers.
As part of the conference, two exceptional events were organized:
A highly enriching round table on young researchers’ engagement in science through the IFToMM community, followed by a series of meetings of the IFToMM cross-disciplinary groups.
A workshop on the MechDev software for mechanism analysis and simulation, led by Vincent Brünjes from RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
The next EFIMMS is on its way, stay tuned for updates!
The 7th Students International Olympiad on Mechanism and Machine Science (SIOMMS 2026) was held on April 15-18, 2026 in Shandong, China. The Olympiad was organized by Shandong University (Weihai Campus) with the support of IFToMM China-Beijing and IFToMM PC for Education. This international event attracted 14 teams from 4 countries including Russia, Spain, Romania, and China, with a total of 42 students participating in the competition.
(Group photograph)
Professor Cristina Castejón, the Vice President of IFToMM, delivered a warm welcome speech via video link, extending her best wishes for the success of the event. Professor Eduard Krylov, the Chair of IFToMM PC for Education, and Professor Zhanqiang Liu, the Vice President of Shandong University, also delivered welcome speeches at the opening ceremony.
(Professor Cristina Castejón delivering a welcome speech)
(Professor Eduard Krylov delivering a welcome speech)
(Professor Zhanqiang Liu delivering a welcome speech)
The theme of SIOMMS 2026 is “Deepening Mechanical Principles, Empowering Innovative Practice”. The Olympiad focused on the theories of mechanisms and machine science as well as core knowledge of mechanical principles, integrating academic rigor and practical application. It was designed to inspire university students’ enthusiasm for mechanisms and machine science-related fields and helped participants deepen their understanding of professional knowledge, enhance practical application skills, and cultivate comprehensive competence in solving complex mechanical engineering problems through competitions and academic exchanges.
In the competition, contestants were required to answer six theoretical questions in a continuous four-hour period. Prizes were bestowed to acknowledge outstanding individuals and teams. In the team competition, three teams from China won the First Prize, five teams from China, Russia, and Romania were awarded the Second Prize, and six teams from China, Spain, and Russia were awarded the Third Prize. In the individual competition, four students from China won the First Prize, four students from China were awarded the Second Prize, and eight students from China, Spain, and Romania were awarded the Third Prize. Special nominations were also awarded for Perfect Solution for Structural Synthesis, Perfect Solution in Kinematics, Perfect Solution for Gears, and Perfect Solution in Dynamics.
(Several awarded teams)
(Professor Eduard Krylov announcing award recipients at the closing ceremony)
During the event, the International Forum on Advanced Machinery and Mechanisms was held concurrently, promoting in-depth academic exchanges among scholars and participants. Social activities, including lab tours and city tours, were also arranged by the local organizing committee.
(the International Forum on Advanced Machinery and Mechanisms)
(Lab tours and city tours)
SIOMMS 2026 deployed a dedicated team of volunteers to ensure seamless support for all participating teams. These volunteers are selected from students majored in Russian, Spanish, and other related languages at the School of Translation at Shandong University. The volunteers provided full-time assistance and accompanied each team during their stay in Weihai.
(Volunteers at registration)
SIOMMS 2026 successfully established a platform for international communication among young scholars in mechanical engineering in both professional and cultural contexts. It exhibited the global contribution to the education in Mechanism and Machine Science within the IFToMM community. The vital role of education and communication in the development and prosperity of IFToMM was also highlighted.
Shandong University cordially invites university teams to participate in the 7th Students International Olympiad on Mechanism and Machine Science (SIOMMS), to be held from April 15 to 18, 2026. This edition will continue the tradition of previous Olympiads, which were successfully hosted in 2011 at Izhevsk State Technical University, Russia; in 2013 at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China; in 2016 at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain; in 2018 at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in Lima, Peru; in 2022 again at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain; and in 2025 at Satbayev University, Kazakhstan.
Topics
Mechanism Analysis
- Structural analysis and synthesis of mechanisms
- Kinematics of a plane and spatial mechanisms
- Force analysis of mechanisms
- Kinematic analysis of cam mechanisms
Transmission & Dynamics
- Gear transmissions (kinematics, geometry, efficiency)
- Dynamic characteristics adjustment, mechanical regulators
- Balancing of rotating masses
- Manipulators
The 6th Student International Olympiad on Mechanisms and Machine Science (SIOMMS 2025) was held from November 26 to 28, 2025, in Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan. The Kazakhstan IFToMM National Member Organization, Satbayev Kazakh National Research Technical University, and the Joldasbekov Institute of Mechanics and Engineering organized the Olympiad, with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The international event brought together 11 student teams from 6 countries, including Kazakhstan, China, Spain, Romania, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan, with a total of 33 participants representing leading technical universities and research institutions. The Olympiad focused on fundamental sections of Mechanisms and Machine Science (MMS) and aimed to promote analytical thinking, engineering culture, and international academic cooperation among young researchers.
The competition program consisted of eight theoretical problems covering the main areas of MMS. Participants were given four hours to solve the tasks, demonstrating a high level of theoretical knowledge, analytical skills, and engineering reasoning. The evaluation was conducted by an international jury chaired by Professor Sayat Ibrayev.
A distinctive feature of SIOMMS 2025 was the introduction of monetary prizes for outstanding individual performance. For the first time in the history of the SIOMMS Olympiad worldwide, the Kazakhstan IFToMM National Member Organization established cash awards for top-performing students, making the Kazakhstan MMS community the first to introduce financial incentives within the SIOMMS framework. The prizes were awarded to eight participants who achieved the highest individual scores.
In addition to the competition, the Olympiad included a scientific and educational program, featuring a lecture by Professor Sayat Ibrayev entitled “Approximate Synthesis of Linkages: Development of Levitsky–Sarkissyan Concepts in the Kazakh MMS School”, as well as an open meeting of the IFToMM Permanent Commission on Education. Participants also attended laboratory tours and cultural events.
The Olympiad concluded with an awards ceremony recognizing team and individual achievements, notable nominations, and the contribution of organizers and mentors. SIOMMS 2025 highlighted Kazakhstan’s leadership role in advancing MMS education and its proactive contribution to the global SIOMMS tradition.
YouTube Channel:
Despite numerous outstanding publications on mechanism mobility, many nuances of this topic remain challenging for students and are often discussed only among specialist researchers. These animated lectures, supported by the textbook Mobility of Mechanisms and Robot Manipulators, aim to clarify and make more accessible the concepts related to degrees of freedom in mechanical systems and the methods used to determine them.
The series presents techniques for calculating mobility across several categories: Regular mechanisms (isostatic systems, both spatial and planar, including open and closed kinematic chains); Hybrid mechanisms; Robot manipulators; Mechanisms with idle (passive) degrees of freedom; Overconstrained mechanisms.
Special attention is given to overconstrained mechanisms, analyzed through a table representing the rank of the velocity matrix of a kinematic chain as a function of the arrangement of kinematic pairs.
The final lecture examines Assur groups with zero mobility, structural synthesis of mechanisms based on the Chebyshev–Grübler–Kutzbach mobility criterion, and the effects of singular configurations on mechanical system mobility.
To reinforce understanding, practical examples are emphasized throughout. The third lecture encourages students to apply their knowledge by solving over 100 exercises from the textbook, each accompanied by a detailed solution and commentary.
It is hoped that these lectures will serve as a valuable resource not only for mechanical engineering students, but also for doctoral candidates and early-career faculty members seeking a deeper grasp of mechanism mobility.
Contact: mechanisms.rennes@gmail.com
The 9th IFToMM International Workshop On New Trends In Medical And Service Robotics took place on July 2-4, 2025, in Futuroscope-Poitiers, France.
Chaired by Prof. Med Amine Laribi, Prof. Giuseppe Carbone, Prof. Doina Pisla and Prof. Said Zeghloul, the event attracted about 85 scientists, engineers, doctors, students and guests from 15 countries China, Colombia, EAU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Romania, Spain, Taïwan, Tunisia, Turkey, UK, USA.
The event was excellently hosted: the conference and the exhibition – by the Fundamental and Applied Science Faculty at the University of Poitiers, and the professional exhibition, as well as the round-table discussion.
We thank Université de Poitiers of Poitiers, in particular, the Fundamental and Applied Science Faculty, for having hosted the MeSRob’25 event.
Thanks to the support of IFToMM. Sponsors: STÄUBLI and MathWorks
The proceedings contain 55 papers and can be accessed through the conference website at https://iftomm-mesrob2025.sciencesconf.org/
or directly at the Springer website https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-96081-9
The 2nd International Conference and Exhibition “MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS: Design, Simulation, Testing and Manufacturing” (MES-2025) took place on September 17-19, 2025, in Yerevan, Armenia.
Chaired by Dr. Tigran Parikyan and Prof. Marco Ceccarelli, the event attracted about 60 scientists, engineers, students and guests from 11 countries across Europe, Asia and North America.
The event was excellently hosted: the conference and the student exhibition – by the College of Science and Engineering of the American University of Armenia, and the professional exhibition, as well as the round-table discussion – by the Institute of Mechanics of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia.
While mostly addressing traditional IFToMM topics, the papers presented at the technical sessions as well as the prototypes and products shown at the exhibition emphasized the practical application and industrialization aspects of the engineering solutions suggested.
Beyond the technical talks — the cultural and social program made the event an unforgettable experience!
The proceedings contain 32 papers and can be accessed through the conference website at https://mech-eng-events.org/mes-2025/proceedings/ or directly at the Springer website https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-02352-0.
The photos of the event are available on the following drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Sm5ZYY5i7mxVSgF38KocLgjGMN1PsD6E
Dear Attendees,
We are delighted to invite you to the 17th IFToMM World Congress in the beautiful city of Florianópolis. This prestigious event will convene thought leaders, researchers, and professionals in the field of mechanism and machine science from around the world.
Join us for insightful sessions and networking opportunities designed to foster collaboration and innovation. We are preparing an exciting program that will include a wide array of topics, reflecting the latest advancements and technological trends in our field.
Located in Florianópolis, renowned for its stunning beaches and vibrant culture, this year’s congress promises not only an enriching academic experience but also a chance to explore the rich local heritage.
Details regarding submissions, registration, and the full program will be available soon. We encourage you to stay tuned for updates and prepare to be part of this extraordinary gathering.
On behalf of the organizing committee, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our sponsors and partners for their invaluable support. We look forward to welcoming you to an inspiring and memorable congress.
Warm regards,
17th IFToMM World Congress Organizing Committee
Sculptor of kinetic art and IFToMM member Volkert van der Wijk has developed a mechanism to make a 3D printed crow fly as realistically as possible. The sculpture which he made on the request of the Belgium artist Hans op de Beeck is currently on display in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (Belgium) until August 17 (website: https://kmska.be/en/hans-op-de-beeck-nocturnal-journey). Already more than 125.000 visitors have seen the sculpture, including the queen of Belgium
The flapping wing mechanism he designed is based on a crank that moves up and down in coordination with three of five vertical rods, which hold the crow’s body and wing segments. The dimensions of the parts for which the mechanism works and generates as realistic as possible impression of a real crow flying need to be so precise that he needed to develop a design method to obtain them. This method he will present and publish in a scientific article at the 8th International Workshop on Computational Kinematics (CK 2025) at the IIT Madras, India, from 25-28 November 2025 (website: https://ck2025.ammindia.org/).
You can read about the development of the sculpture on his website: https://kineticart.nl/en/collection_of_works/atelierblog/real_size_flying_crow
Website of Volkert van der Wijk: www.kineticart.nl
Link to video of the Crow: https://youtu.be/vLlS3ry7khk
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