As a consolidated tradition the 2016 symposium will include again the conference dedicated to the Adaptive Optics (AO) systems. Since our last event in 2014 the operation of current state-of-the art AO systems has continued to improve steadily, particularly in the field of extreme AO, leading to many AO-related science papers and significant discoveries. Meanwhile, considerable effort has been underway to progress the design, the construction and the deployment of the next generation AO systems. This is especially true for the AO systems planned for the future Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs), with major partnerships making financial commitments towards construction. 

This conference will provide a global overview of the state of the art in the field of AO. It will highlight the efforts of our community to improve capabilities and performance, with the goal of delivering the best astronomical scientific results both with current, and future, systems. Such a challenging goal can only be achieved by having a global perspective, including component technologies, such as: fast low-noise detectors; high-density and/or high-stroke deformable mirrors; high power lasers; advanced wave-front sensors and laser guide star facilities. Moreover, the conference will highlight AO systems utilizing the latest components. We will also feature: characterizations of atmospheric disturbances including vibrations, and other observatory-related effects; advanced control algorithms to reject these disturbances and their implementation on real-time platforms; high-fidelity system modeling, including science-based metrics such as astrometric, high-contrast and photometric accuracy; dedicated lab and field tests to validate new components and new concepts; and strategies to optimize the AO assisted observations. The conference will cover with exhaustive sessions all the topics above mentioned by means of invited survey talks and more specialized presentations and posters in order to ensure state-of-the-art developments are well represented. 

Synergies between other conferences will be identified to share the useful information for having a better insight on the technical issues to tackle to make AO observations successful. Recent lessons learned and the future plans for ever closer integration of AO systems into science instrumentation, particularly on ELTs, will be discussed. 

Besides the hardware aspects, the conference will also report on the development of integrated observing strategies that increase the quality, quantity and range of astronomical science accomplished using AO. This includes ‘quantitative astronomy’ such as high contrast imaging, precision astrometry, and photometry. We expect to see presentations on new results, and also concerning the instrument calibration, data reduction and atmospheric profiling methods that have made them possible. 

Papers are solicited in all areas of astronomical AO with emphasis on the areas described above. We will endeavor to provide the correct mix of invited talks, oral/poster talks, and panel discussions to cover each topic properly and still ensure a global view. This promises to be another exciting, and important, AO conference, and we are looking forward to seeing you (and hearing from you) in Edinburgh!