Universal Village (UV) is a new concept proposed by MIT’s Universal Village Program which exemplifies an ideal future society that pursues harmony between humans and nature through the wise use of advanced technology. The 8th IEEE International Conference on Universal Village (IEEE UV2026) will be held virtually and locally from October 17-20, 2026. IEEE UV2026 features the theme of “Human-Centered AI Transformation for Future Empowerment: Explainable & Human-Intelligible Understanding, Intent-Aware Reasoning & Accountable Decision-Making, Human-Authorized AI Action, and Human-Supervised Reflective Learning.”

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IEEE UV2026 Plan

IEEE UV2026 Plan

The 8th International Conference on Universal Village

October 17-20, 2026 | Virtual and Local

 

1. The Universal Village (UV) Concept

Universal Village (UV) is a new concept proposed by MIT’s Universal Village Program in 2012. UV exemplifies an ideal future society that pursues harmony between humans and nature through the wise use of advanced technologies.

Led by the MIT professors who initiated the MIT UV program as well as the UV conferences, the IEEE UV Conferences call for collective efforts from world-renowned experts across multi-disciplinary fields to collaborate beyond traditional field boundaries. Previous IEEE UV conferences (UV2013 to UV2024) were groundbreaking international venues that inspired successful collaboration among governments, academia, industries, and civil society.

Future Lifestyles

  • Following the laws of the universe.
  • Cities are not the only living environments.
  • New lifestyles beyond Smart Cities following the laws of the universe.

2. UV Elements, Impacting Factors, and Sub-Systems

4 Impacting Factors: UV Information Flow, UV Material Cycles, UV Lifestyles, UV Communities.

The 8 UV Sub-Systems

  1. Smart Home and Community
  2. Smart Medicine and Healthcare
  3. ITS, Urban Planning and Crowd Management
  4. Smart Energy Management
  5. Smart City Infrastructure
  6. Smart Response System for City Emergencies
  7. Smart Environmental Protection
  8. Smart Humanity

3. IEEE UV2026 Themes & Focus

Integration | Resilience | Inclusiveness | Sustainability

Reflection of Human – AI Relationship and AI-Pervasive Society Transformation

A core focus is on Human-centricity, Explainable AI, and Intent & Behavior Understanding for Integration, Resilience, Inclusiveness, and Sustainability.

Human-Centered AI Transformation for Future Empowerment:

  • Explainable & Human-Intelligible Understanding
  • Intent-Aware Reasoning & Accountable Decision-Making
  • Human-Authorized AI Action
  • Human-Supervised Reflective Learning

4. Introduction to IEEE UV2026

After the great success of IEEE UV2024 and IEEE UV2022, the 8th International Conference on Universal Village (IEEE UV2026) will be held both Virtually and Locally from October 17-20, 2026.

Subjects for IEEE UV2026 include but are not limited to the following topics:

  • The Human – AI Relationship and AI-Pervasive Societal Transformation.
  • Developing systematic methodologies to advance UV technologies and systems (ITS, Urban Planning, Smart Infrastructure, Emergencies, Energy, Environment, Home, Healthcare, Humanity).
  • New lifestyles enabled by IT / New energy sources / New materials / Effective microorganism technology and environmental protection.
  • Exploring UV development paths appropriate for different regions at different development phases.
  • Inspiring collaboration among governments, academia, industries, and civil society for practical UV solutions.

5. IEEE UV2026 Overview & Session Structure

Basic Structure

  • Keynote Day: Opening remarks and invited keynote talks.
  • Technical Sessions: Organized by session chairs, selection of oral talks, and paper reviews.
  • Special Sessions: Organized by special session chairs, panel discussions, and targeted submissions.

Events & Forums

  • UV Forums: City Forum, Student Forum, Art Forum.
  • UV Competitions: Data Science, Modeling, Pitch, K-12 Challenge.
  • Other: UV Workshop, Poster & Exhibition, UV Roadmap Discussion.

6. Detailed Technical Sessions (TS)

[Session 1] UV Vision, Development, and Evaluation

  • [TS1-A] Vision for Universal Village
  • [TS1-B] Development Status of Universal Village
  • [TS1-C] UV Indices, Incentive Mechanisms, and Evaluation of UV Subsystems

[Session 2] UV Framework Design, Modeling, and System Integration

  • [TS2-A] Systematic and Integrated Frameworks for UV Subsystems
  • [TS2-B] Intelligent Modeling, Simulation, and System Analysis
  • [TS2-C] Scalability, Sustainability, and Human-Centered Design
  • [TS2-SP1] Intersection of Energy, Power Science and Smart Cities

[Session 3] Mobility, Planning, Management, and Infrastructure Innovations

  • [TS3-A] Intelligent Transportation, Urban Planning, and Smart City Infrastructure
  • [TS3-B] Intelligent Vehicles, Mobility Support for Vulnerable Groups
  • [TS3-C] Smart Response Systems for City Emergencies
  • [TS3-D] Information Flow, Communication, Networks, and Security
  • [TS3-E] UV Underground: Infrastructure & Future Urbanization
  • [TS3-SP1] Built Environment, Travel Behavior, and Mobility Planning
  • [TS3-SP2] Sustainable Built Environments: Algorithmic Modeling and Generative AI

[Session 4-6] Energy, Manufacturing, and Agriculture

  • [Session 4] Energy and Material Innovations (Renewables, Smart Materials, Semiconductor/Optoelectronics)
  • [Session 5] Manufacturing Innovations (AI-Enabled Manufacturing)
  • [Session 6] Agriculture Innovations (AI-Driven Smart Agriculture for Rural Vitalization)

[Session 7-8] Environmental and Lifestyle Innovations

  • [Session 7] Smart Environmental Protection, Material Cycles, Circular Economy, Global Warming
  • [Session 8] Smart Homes, Virtual Living, Mobility/Connectivity, Sports Science & Medicine Integration

[Session 9-10] Healthcare, Social & Cultural Revolution

  • [Session 9] Healthcare Innovations (AI-Monitoring, Smart Medicine, Public Health, TCM Fusion, AI-Sports Training, Telehealth)
  • [Session 10] Social/Cultural Revolution (Urbanization, Smart Government, Smart Humanity, Design Ethics, Cultural Heritage, Equitable AI)

[Session 11-12] Algorithms, Data, and Special Sessions

  • [Session 11] Ethical Data Management, Learning Algorithm Interpretability, Benchmark Development
  • [Session 12] Special Sessions (AI & Finance, Human-Centered Family Education, Shanwei Forum, AI Skills for Workplace)

7. Organizing Committees

Note: The successful execution of IEEE UV2026 relies on the dedication of our global committee members across multiple institutions. Below is a high-level overview of our leadership:

Honorary Chairs

Berthold K.P. Horn (MIT, USA) | Roy E. Welsch (MIT, USA)

General Chairs

Kazuya Takeda (Nagoya Univ., Japan) | Ahmed Hussein (IEEE ITSS, USA) | Ozaki Nobuyuki (Nagoya Univ., Japan) | Ji Li (Tsingda, China) | Lionel C. Kimerling (MIT, USA) | Shuguang Zhang (MIT, USA)

See more committee members: UV 2026 Organization Committee

*The extensive committee also includes International Chairs, Conference Chairs, Executive Chairs, Advisory Board, Program Committee, IT Chairs, Admin Chairs, and specialized Forum/Event Chairs.*  

Join Us in 2026!

October 17 – 20, 2026 | Virtual & Local

Website: https://www.UniversalVillage.org

Email: uv.conf.committee@universal-village.org

Please refer to the attached IEEE UV2026 plan for the features and topics of UV2026.