Tag: Potsdam

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ICSR 2027: Key Dates Announced

The 19th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR + Health 2027) will take place in Potsdam, Germany, from July 25 to 28, 2027. ICSR is the leading international forum that brings together researchers, academics, and industry professionals from across disciplines to advance the field of social robotics. Under the theme “ICSR + Health,” the 2027 conference will place a special focus on assistive and rehabilitation robotics, care, mental health and companionship, healthy aging, and the clinical, ethical, and societal questions associated with these applications. A particular emphasis will be placed on involving people directly affected by the use of social robots in healthcare and caregiving settings, including physicians, nurses, caregivers, patients, and people in need of care. Their perspectives and practical experiences will contribute to discussions on how social robotics can address real-world needs and challenges. Contributions from all areas of social robotics are welcome, reflecting the broad and interdisciplinary scope of the conference. The key submission deadlines have now been announced: Workshop and special-session proposals are due on January 15, 2027, followed by the paper submission deadline on February 15, 2027. Notifications of acceptance will be sent out on April 15, 2027, and the deadline for camera-ready papers is May 15, 2027. The General Chairs are Dr. Katharina Kühne of the University of Potsdam and PECoG, Prof. Dr. Ilona Buchem of Berlin University of Applied Sciences (BHT), and Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel of the FHNW School of Business. The General Co-Chair is Prof. Dr. John-John Cabibihan of Qatar University. Further details will be published soon on the official conference website at icsr2027.org (Photo: University of Potsdam/Ernst Kaczynski).

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Oliver Bendel Joins the University of Potsdam as Visiting Scholar

Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel of the FHNW School of Business will be a visiting scholar at the University of Potsdam from September 1, 2026, to August 31, 2027. He considers himself a philosopher of technology, focusing on technology ethics and emerging fields of applied ethics, particularly information ethics, robot ethics, and machine ethics. In information ethics and robot ethics, he takes an empirically informed or empirically grounded approach that remains close to the subject matter. Ethical judgments are preceded by as precise an empirical and technical analysis as possible: The first step is to determine the specific characteristics of a given system, the functions it provides, the data it processes, and the effects it produces. Only on this basis are normative questions concerning issues such as informational autonomy, privacy, responsibility, or well-being examined. Normative claims are not derived from description alone, and empirical findings and normative premises remain clearly distinguishable. In machine ethics, Bendel complements this approach with a constructive-experimental methodology. He develops and tests prototypes himself, including specialized chatbots, voice assistants, and household robots in which moral rules are implemented. Here, construction serves as a method of inquiry: Its initial purpose is to demonstrate whether and how particular moral rules can be operationalized and implemented technically. The resulting artifacts are then systematically examined to reveal the possibilities, limitations, contradictions, and unexpected consequences of their implementation. This creates a feedback loop involving ethical conceptualization, technical construction, empirical testing, and ethical reflection. Overall, this methodology can therefore be characterized as an empirically grounded and constructive-experimental approach to technology ethics and related fields of research. Since 2022, Oliver Bendel has also been an associated researcher with the Potsdam Embodied Cognition Group (PECoG) at the University of Potsdam.

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ICSR + Health 2027 at University of Potsdam

The 19th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR + Health 2027) will take place in July 2027 in Potsdam, Germany. ICSR is the leading international forum that brings together researchers, academics, and industry professionals from across disciplines to advance the field of social robotics. Hosted by the University of Potsdam, ICSR + Health 2027 will provide an international platform for scientific exchange, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation at the intersection of social robotics and health. The conference welcomes researchers, practitioners, industry partners, and students from around the world working in areas such as social robotics, embodied AI, human–robot interaction, cognitive science, healthcare, psychology, rehabilitation, design, ethics, and related disciplines. Participants will have opportunities to present their research, propose workshops or symposia, take part in the Grand Challenge, volunteer, or support the conference as sponsors. The General Chairs are Katharina Kühne of the University of Potsdam and the Potsdam Embodied Cognition Group (PECoG), Ilona Buchem of Berlin University of Applied Sciences (BHT), and Oliver Bendel of the FHNW School of Business (also associated researcher at the PECoG). The General Co-Chair is John-John Cabibihan of Qatar University. Further information, including calls for papers, workshops, the Grand Challenge, volunteering opportunities, sponsorship packages, registration details, and the exact conference dates, will be announced on the conference website: icsr2027.org.