icra-camera-ready

ICRA Camera-Ready

Acceptance email to Xplore entry is a five-week administrative gauntlet (2026 cycle: notification Jan 31, final upload Mar 6). Errors here are permanent — the camera-ready is what IEEE Xplore archives forever — and some steps (copyright, registration) can block publication outright. Work the checklist, not vibes; and reverify every number on the current year's final-submission instructions page.

The page-geometry surprise

The 2026 final limit was 8 pages total, including references and everything else — a different shape from the submission's 6-content + 2-reference split. Consequences:

• A submission using its full 6+2 arrives at camera-ready already at the ceiling; every reviewer-requested addition must displace something.
• Long bibliographies now compete with content — prune duplicate ICRA/RA-L citations (icra-related-work) before cutting analysis.
• No overlength purchase was offered in the 2026 ICRA instructions; do not assume the RA-L extra-page fee model (USD 175/page there) applies to the conference — different rules, verify each.

Submission vs final: what changes shape

De-anonymization pass

Reversing the double-anonymous preparation is itself error-prone:

1. Restore the author block exactly matching PaperPlaza metadata — names, order, affiliations; the proceedings index is built from metadata, and a PDF/metadata mismatch propagates to Xplore.
2. Restore acknowledgements: grants, fellowships, equipment donors — funding agencies audit for these lines.
3. Reverse the anonymity grammar: "the platform of [7]" may become "our previously developed platform [7]" where it aids clarity.
4. De-anonymize artifact links to their permanent public homes (icra-artifact-evaluation staging pays off here).
5. Check ORCID/author spelling against IEEE Xplore's existing records to avoid splitting your publication profile.

PaperPlaza final upload and compliance

• The final PDF goes through PaperPlaza's compliance check (embedded fonts, page size, page count). IEEE-sponsored conferences commonly require an IEEE-compatible PDF (PDF eXpress or equivalent validation) — follow whichever path the year's instructions specify.
• Rebuild from the untouched IEEE template; a class file hacked in September to squeeze a line will fail compliance in March.
• Verify the title and abstract fields in PaperPlaza match the PDF verbatim — these fields, not the PDF, feed the program booklet and Xplore metadata.

IEEE copyright transfer

Publication requires completing the IEEE electronic copyright form (eCF), typically launched from within PaperPlaza by the submitting author:

• The signer must be authorized — employer-owned work (many industry labs, government employees) has special eCF paths; find out before deadline day whose signature is legally valid.
• IEEE's posted policies govern what authors may self-archive (accepted-version posting, institutional repositories, arXiv updates); read the current policy rather than folklore before updating the preprint with the final PDF.
• No copyright form, no proceedings — this is a hard blocker, unlike most camera-ready sloppiness.

Registration and presentation obligations

IEEE RAS conferences tie publication to registration and presentation:

• Expect a requirement that at least one author register (typically at the full/member rate, not student rate) per paper by a stated deadline, and present at the conference; papers not presented risk exclusion from Xplore ("no-show" policies). The exact 2027 wording and fees were unpublished at check time — treat as 待核实 and verify on the year-site.
• Budget realities: Seoul 2027 (COEX, May 24-28) means flights, visas, and ~10,000-attendee-scale hotel demand; registration opens around early February 2027 per the conference site.

Final video and multimedia

The accepted paper's video attachment can usually be refreshed at final submission — de-anonymized (lab names allowed back), with the paper's final title card. Keep the evidence discipline from icra-supplementary; the video ships to Xplore alongside the paper and outlives the conference week.

Five-week schedule

Week 1  triage reviewer comments (icra-author-response ledger);
        freeze the addition list against the 8-page total budget
Week 2  execute text changes; de-anonymization pass; restore acks
Week 3  rebuild PDF on clean template; PaperPlaza/PDF-compliance dry run;
        start eCF signature chain (industry co-authors take longest)
Week 4  final video re-edit + de-anonymize; artifact links flipped public;
        one author registered; metadata/PDF verbatim check
Week 5  upload final PDF + video; complete eCF; archive confirmations;
        update arXiv per IEEE posting policy

Terminal checklist

1. 8-page total limit met; no compliance warnings.
2. Author block ≡ PaperPlaza metadata ≡ intended Xplore record.
3. Acknowledgements and grant numbers restored.
4. eCF completed by an authorized signer.
5. Registration made and linked to the paper number.
6. Video final, de-anonymized, within spec, uploaded.
7. Public artifact URL live and printed in the paper.
8. Confirmations archived; preprint updated within policy.

Output format

[Camera-ready status] on-track / blocked: <item>
[Page budget] <n>/8 total — displaced content: <what>
[De-anonymization] authors/acks/links restored: y/n each
[Compliance] PaperPlaza check + IEEE PDF validation: pass/pending
[Legal] eCF signer identified/signed: <status>
[Registration] paid + linked: <status>
[Days to deadline] <n> vs plan week <n>