Journal of Applied Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
Instructions for Authors
How to prepare a manuscript for this journal: structure, limits, ethics, disclosure and the routes a submission can take.
- Standard English
- CC BY 4.0
- No submission charge
Contents
On this page
These requirements apply to manuscripts in every subject area the journal considers. Whether a manuscript falls within those areas is a separate question, settled on Aims & Scope.
Preparation
Preparing the manuscript
Manuscripts are written in standard English. Research Articles follow the structure below, including its Introduction and Discussion limits; the other manuscript types follow a structure suited to their purpose, as set out under Manuscript types. The limits are counted including citations where a count is stated.
Title
Maximum 30 words, with no abbreviations, and relevant to the manuscript content.
Running title
Maximum 60 characters including spaces.
Abstract
Maximum 250 words including citations: objectives, methodology, key results and major conclusions.
Keywords
Five to twelve keywords, separated by commas.
Introduction
Research Articles: maximum 500 words including citations. State the objectives, the background and the hypotheses tested.
Methods
Enough detail for a qualified reader to repeat the work. Cite previously published procedures by reference and list the sources of all materials.
Results
Only the results essential to the study, with numerical data analyzed using appropriate statistical tests.
Discussion
Research Articles: maximum 1,500 words including citations, covering principal findings, validity of the observations, comparison with published work, significance and limitations.
Conclusion
A precise summary of the results, beginning with a clear statement of the principal findings.
References
Cited by number in order of appearance. List the first three authors, then "et al." for the remainder.
Tables and figures
Placed at the end of the manuscript, each on its own page, with titles and legends. Numbers, letters and symbols must be no smaller than 2 mm after reduction.
Supplemental data
The manuscript must stand alone. Supplemental data is reviewed with the manuscript and must contribute to it substantially; data supplied after acceptance is not published.
The publisher’s general author instructions carries the full house requirements, including the cover-letter template.
Types
Manuscript types
The journal accepts the following manuscript types, and each is read against the standards appropriate to it: Research Article, Review Article, Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, Methods/Algorithm Article, Data/Benchmark/Resource Article, Technical Note, Short Communication, and Application/Case Study. Editorial and Perspective/Commentary articles are published by invitation only.
The Introduction–Methods–Results–Discussion structure and the Introduction and Discussion word limits apply to Research Articles. For every other type, the structure follows the purpose of the type; the title, running title, abstract, keyword, reference, table and figure requirements apply to all types.
Robotics and artificial intelligence research arrives in many forms. Experimental, computational, theoretical, methodological and systems contributions are all welcome, and the evidence expected of a manuscript is the evidence its own claim requires.
Integrity
Ethics, data and disclosure
Interventional clinical trials must be registered in an accepted public trial registry at or before the first participant provides consent for enrollment. The registry name, registration number, and registration date must be reported in the manuscript.
Every empirical research manuscript must include a data-availability statement.
Research involving human participants requires approval from the appropriate ethics committee and informed consent from participants, both documented in the manuscript. Research involving animals requires approval from the appropriate animal-ethics committee, documented in the manuscript. Submissions are screened for originality with Crossref Similarity Check, powered by iThenticate.
Disclose funding, competing interests and any use of generative AI in preparing the manuscript. Authors remain responsible for everything the manuscript contains.
Applied AI and robotics reporting
For applied AI and robotics work, the manuscript also reports the following where relevant:
- Dataset provenance and licensing.
- Privacy and consent for data collected from or about people.
- Separation of training, validation and test data.
- Baselines and evaluation metrics.
- Model and code availability, or the restriction that prevents it.
- Hardware or simulation configuration.
- Safety reporting.
If you want double-blind review
For double-blind review, remove author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, funding details, institution names, and other identifying information from the reviewer manuscript. Provide identifying information separately in the title-page file or submission form.
Assessment
What happens next
All submissions undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal's scope and minimum requirements proceed to independent peer review.
Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request.
Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts.
Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal.
Decisions remain independent of fees, services, memberships, and editorial or reviewer roles.
Decision letters summarize the points raised and set out what a revision needs to address. Editorial Policies states the journal’s position on appeals, corrections and withdrawal in full.
Submitting
Sending the manuscript
Three routes reach the journal. Choose one.
Primary route
ManuscriptZone — the journal’s manuscript tracking system.
Alternative route
Simple manuscript submission form, which opens with this journal already selected.
Assisted route
Editorial email, [email protected].
Authors must use only one submission route for the same manuscript.
The article processing charge applies to an accepted manuscript; there is no charge for submitting one.
Checklist
Before you submit
- The manuscript is original, is not under consideration elsewhere, and any prior abstract or related publication is disclosed in the cover letter.
- Title, running title, abstract and keywords are within the limits set out above, and for a Research Article so are the introduction and discussion.
- References are numbered in order of appearance, with the first three authors listed and "et al." for the rest.
- Tables and figures are at the end, each on its own page, with titles and legends.
- Ethics approval and informed consent are documented for research with human participants, and ethics approval for research with animals.
- For applied AI and robotics work, dataset provenance and licensing, privacy and consent, data separation, baselines and metrics, model and code availability, hardware or simulation configuration and safety are reported where relevant.
- A data-availability statement is included for every empirical research manuscript.
- Conflicts of interest and funding sources are disclosed.
- Any use of generative AI in preparing the manuscript is disclosed, with the authors taking responsibility for the content.
- If double-blind review is wanted, identifying information has been moved to the title-page file or the submission form.
Next
Where to go from here
- Submit PaperThe routes by which a manuscript reaches the journal.
- Aims & ScopeThe subject areas a manuscript must fall within.
- Article Processing ChargesWhat is charged, and when it applies.
- Editorial PoliciesEthics, corrections, conflicts of interest and research integrity.
- Call for PapersWhat the journal is inviting, and how to respond.
- For ReviewersWhat a useful review contains.
If something here is unclear for the kind of manuscript you are preparing, write to [email protected] and ask.