[Commlist] CFP: Affect and Embodiment in Human-Robot Interaction

Thought some of you would be interested in this upcoming workshop I’m 
co-organizing – we’d like a mixture of theorists and cultural and media 
studies scholars amongst the engineers, designers, and computer 
scientists… email me if you have questions.

*HRI 2020 Call for Papers: ‘Affect and Embodiment in HRI’ Workshop*

15th Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human Robot 
Interaction, Cambridge, UK, March 23-26, 2020

https://sites.google.com/view/affect-and-embodiment-hri

*Rationale*

How do forms of robot embodiment influence the emotional state of the 
user? In Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), affect and embodiment have 
become prominent areas of inquiry. The physicality of robotic systems is 
therefore a crucial factor for user interactions in shared spaces. This 
recognition of machinic corporeality shares theoretical affinities with 
recent interests in the humanities and social sciences. In the cognitive 
sciences and philosophy, for example, the body has long been regarded 
with suspicion, but recent theories of embodied, extended, enactive, or 
ecological (4E) cognition have meant a renewed significance for the body 
as the locus of perception and action, inseparable from memory, 
learning, and reasoning activity. Meanwhile, the ‘Affective Turn’ in the 
social sciences recognizes the role of affects and embodiment in the 
production of intersubjective experiences.

Designing and evaluating the affectivity of the robot body has become a 
frontier topic in HRI, with previous studies emphasizing the importance 
of robot embodiment for human-robot communication. In particular, there 
is growing interest in how the tactile, haptic materiality of the robot 
mediates users’ affective and emotional states.

*Workshop Objectives*

1) to identify relevant questions for the design of robotic bodies with 
high affective qualities;

2) to consider cross-currents in ethical, philosophical, and 
methodological questions in studying emotional relations between humans 
and robots; and

3) to foster synergies among designers, engineers, and social scientists 
in affective robotics.

*Topics of interest*

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  * Current challenges in designing affective physical embodiment in
    robots—materials, kinesthetics, sensory experience, and behaviors
    enabled by affective computing
  * Acknowledging a user’s emotional needs within an interaction and how
    those needs are met or not met by the robot
  * Novel affective experiences afforded by interaction with robots
  * Studying unintended consequences of affective relationships with robots
  * Developing design frameworks and methodologies to approach the above
    questions
  * Developing theoretical frameworks and social science methodologies
    for evaluating affect and embodiment in human-robot interactions

*Types of contribution*

The workshop includes three types of contributions: full papers (15 
mins), ignite talks (5-10 mins), and a hands-on interaction session 
based on co-design methods. We will accept four full presentation papers 
and six ignite talks, each of which will raise a significant question or 
problem around affect and embodiment in HRI. The workshop includes two 
interactive, participatory activities. The first is a ‘Mapping and 
Clustering’ exercise based on co-design methods. The second is a 
round-table discussion with themed questions. Developed papers from the 
workshop will be collected and published in a special issue of a journal 
such as /Body & Society /or /The Senses and Society./

*Workshop schedule*

  * Introductory remarks and short position statements
  * Full presentation papers (4 x 15 mins)
  * Ignite talks (6 x 5-10 mins)
  * Interactive session - group hands-on activity with post-it notes
    based on co-design methods (1 hour)
  * Roundtable/conclusion with themed questions

Detailed program will be published on the Program page 
<https://sites.google.com/view/affect-and-embodiment-hri/program> closer 
to the conference date.

*Important Dates*

21 February 2020: Submission Deadline for Extended Abstracts (500-800 words)

1 March 2020: Notification of acceptance for presentations

23 March 2020: half-day Workshop

*Format*

Please submit an extended abstract in MS Word format. Abstracts should 
be 500-800 words (references do not count towards submission length); 
this applies to both submissions for full presentations or ignite talks. 
/Please indicate in your abstract whether your submission is for a full 
presentation or an ignite talk/.

*How to Submit*

Please submit in MS Word to (affectandembodimenthri /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(affectandembodimenthri /at/ gmail.com)>, with the email subject of 
"Submission for Workshop HRI2020".

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