Call For Papers: Workshop The Challenges of Human-Robot Interaction in Real-World Contexts
In conjunction with the IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN 2016)
http://ro-man2016.org/
Workshop Date: August 31, 2016, New York, NY, USA
www.challengesofhumanrobotinteractioninrealworldcontexts.wordpress.com/
Introduction
Most HRI research is performed in the lab which offers a simplification of the real-world context to allow problem solving. However, robotic systems should eventually be tested in ecologically valid settings to determine whether and how they actually meet real-world needs. Only recently, robotic systems have become reliable and robust enough to be deployed in real-world settings, such as homes, schools, care facilities, museums and alike. And long-term acceptance research of social robots in such real-world settings is about to become a sub-field in evaluating the interactions between robots and their human users. This stresses the need for more ecologically valid research and the inclusion of the real potential end-users required to be able to gain insight into how people perceive, accept and interact with robots in real-world contexts as well as to test the feasibility and/or usability of these robots in such contexts. The aim of ecologically valid research is to use methods, materials and settings that approximate the real-world as much as possible. Studying HRIs in real-world contexts reveals more natural interactions and human reactions. Moreover, the robotic system can be tested within its intended use context which is unpredictable, dynamic and unstructured, something that is difficult if not impossible to simulate in the lab. Therefore, HRI research in real-world contexts offers a unique insight into the interactions between robots and their human users. However, studying HRI in real-world contexts also brings along many challenges, among other topics related to:
- Technologically with regard to the robustness and
reliability of the system
- Methodologically: with reference to the
controllability of variables and a lack of validated measurement tool kits for the
evaluation
- Contextually: in relation to the social and
cultural aspects of HRI
Aim of the workshop
The aim of this workshop is to bring together researchers from both industry and academia to discuss best practices as well as pitfalls of HRI research in real-world settings, and to provide the HRI community with guidelines to inform future developments of their robotic systems. We invite multi-disciplinary contributions from researchers and practitioners from the fields of HRI, engineering, computer sciences, fine and media arts, (interactive) design, sociology, anthropology, psychology, neurosciences, cognitive sciences, semiotics, linguistics, literary studies, history, policy, law, communication science, and cultural studies.
Submissions
We welcome prospective participants to submit extended abstracts (max. 4 pages) covering any relevant topic (related to the problem statement on the homepage) addressing real-world HRI research. In addition to papers presenting empirical research, we also welcome papers about new theoretical perspectives, design challenges, and ethical or legal issues related to HRI research in real world contexts. The manuscripts should use the IEEE RO-MAN two-column format. Please submit a PDF copy of your manuscript to
maartje.degraaf@utwente.nl.
Important deadlines:
- Submission deadline: May 22, 2016
- Notification of acceptance: June 1, 2016
- Camera-ready deadline: June 15, 2016
All submitted papers within the scope of the workshop will be peer-reviewed. Papers will be selected based on their originality, relevance, contributions, technical clarity, and presentation. Accepted papers will require that at least one author registers for and attends the workshop. After the conference, accepted authors will be offered to submit extended versions of their workshop contributions to be considered for a book chapter published by Springer.
Authors of accepted papers will be invited to provide a short pitch (2-3 minutes) about their most relevant topic to address in real-world HRI research, after which there is time scheduled for extended discussion (10-15 minutes) on that topic with the workshop audience. Advances made through the discussions will serve to push the sub-field of HRI in real-world contexts forward.
Organizers
Maartje de Graaf, PhD, University of Twente, The Netherlands
Somaya Ben Allouch, PhD, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands
Astrid Rosenthal – von der Pütten, PhD, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
