Nof's presentation, "Cyber-Augmented Collaboration of Distributed e-Work and Robotics" was based on research projects at the Purdue PRISM Center with international partners from Brazil and other countries. The symposium focused on research advances in intelligent and smart automation applications; theoretical contributions of computational intelligence in robotics, automation, optimization, and instrumentation; and contributions by students and experts from both Latin America and international industry and research centers. 

The Brazilian Symposium on Intelligent Automation (SBAI) is the main scientific event in intelligent automation in Latin America, sponsored by the Brazilian Automation Society (SBA). Its thirteenth meeting took place in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from October 1-4, 2017, and was organized by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS). Student posters and presentations were in Portugese and English. The symposium also included invited lectures, workshops, mini courses and lab visits.

Following the tradition of previous editions, the XIII SBAI brought together researchers and professionals who work in areas anchored in all aspects of Intelligent Systems and Automation, such as robotics, automation, optimization, instrumentation. Also included are theoretical contributions of computational intelligence to the areas of Automation and Systems, as well as works with applications and development that deal with problems of real world interest.