[humaine news] CFP: Beyond Gray Droids: Domestic Robot Design for the 21st Century

[Ginevra Castellano]

** 1st Call For Papers **
            (Apologies for cross-posting)
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 Beyond Gray Droids: Domestic Robot Design for the 21st Century
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 BCS HCI 2009 Workshop
 September 1, 2009
 Cambridge, UK
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 Web: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/conference/drd09/
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Workshop Scope and Aims:
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Each year, robots are entering domestic environments in increasing number.
By 2012, it's estimated that 7.8 million robots will be in domestic
settings. These robots are intended to help with household chores, act as
home health aids, and serve as companions and entertainers for people.
However, because the field of domestic robotics is birthed from industrial
robotics, many of these robots in the home still look and behave like they
belong in a factory. Their interactive styles are often not well-suited
toward the wide variety of home users that exist.

Domestic robots present unique design challenges that are very different
from those of industrial robots. The first challenge is a lack of
predictability - neither users' behavior nor the physical environment can
be known before a robot is placed in a home. Thus, for mobile robots,
safety can be a major concern, particularly for elderly or disabled users.
For example, a robot vacuum cleaner that does not audibly announce its
presence could cause an elderly user with vision loss to trip and fall.

Another challenge is with regard to presenting appropriate, dynamic
interaction modalities that are inclusive of all users. For example,
physically disabled children may not enjoy a robotic pet that moves too
quickly, whereas able-bodied children may be bored by one that does not.
The design of interaction modalities should also consider a robot's
ability to perceive and interpret a user's behavior (e.g., affective and
affect-related expressions, intentions, etc.).

A third design challenge is with regard to robot appearance. Vast cultural
differences exist in how people think robots ought to look and behave, and
certain types of appearance may be outside the realm of their comfort. For
example, humanoid robots with large heads and no noses may be perfectly
acceptable in Japan but may be off-putting to Westerners. Also, individual
personality differences can greatly affect how people perceive robot
appearance.

In order to start address these design challenges, it may be helpful to
engage in several steps:
  * Appropriately identifying likely domestic user groups
  * Understanding design constraints of these groups
  * Brainstorming dynamic interaction modalities for domestic robots
  * Articulating ways to incorporate cultural and personality
    differences into robot appearance and behavior
  * Creating new ways to evaluate HRI in domestic contexts

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Workshop Topics:
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This workshop aims to provide a forum for researchers interested in
improving the design of domestic robots. By gathering in a friendly
environment, the hope is that researchers can openly share their ideas and
vision for the future of this field.

Thus, we invite researchers who wish to participate in the workshop to
submit position papers, works-in-progress, or completed research. Topics
include:

 * Assistive Technology
 * Affective Computing
 * Affective Robotics
 * Domestic Design
 * Human-Centered Design
 * Human-Machine Interaction
 * Inclusive Design
 * Multi-cultural Design
 * Robot Design
 * Social Robotics

 ...as well as other relevant topics.

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Submission Format and Procedure:
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Papers may be up to 4 pages in length. Please format your paper using the
ACM 2-column format.

Please see the workshop website for detailed submission instructions:
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/conference/drd09/

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Important Dates:
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Paper submission deadline:   27 Apr 2009
Notification to authors:     12 May 2009
Camera-ready version:        10 Aug 2009

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Outcomes:
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All accepted papers will be included in Volume 3 of the HCI 2009
proceedings. Workshop participants will also help contribute to a poster
that will be presented at the main conference.

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Organizers:
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Laurel D. Riek (University of Cambridge, UK)
Ginevra Castellano (Queen Mary University of London, UK)
Lars Erik Holmquist (Swedish Institute of Computer Science, Sweden)

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Program Committee:
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Shazia Afzal (University of Cambridge, UK)
Nadia Berthouze (UCL Interaction Centre, UK)
Kerstin Dautenhahn (University of Hertfordshire, UK)
Ylva Fernaeus (Swedish Institute of Computer Science, Sweden)
Maria Hakansson (Swedish Institute of Computer Science, Sweden)
Marcel Heerink (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Mattias Jacobsson (Swedish Institute of Computer Science, Sweden)
Peter W. McOwan (Queen Mary University of London, UK)
Bernt Meerbeek (Philips Research, Netherlands)
Christopher Peters (Coventry University, UK)
Kristin Stubbs (University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA)
Mick Walters (Univ. of Hertfordshire, UK)
Astrid Weiss (University of Salzburg, Austria)

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Questions:
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If you have any questions, please contact drd09-chairs at cl.cam.ac.uk.


-- 
Dr. Ginevra Castellano
Postdoctoral Research Assistant
Department of Computer Science
School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science
Queen Mary University of London
Mile End Road
London E1 4NS

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7882 3234
Email: ginevra at dcs.qmul.ac.uk