Tag: Social Robots

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Final Call for ICSR + Art 2026

The 18th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR + Art 2026) will take place in London, UK, from 1–4 July 2026. ICSR is the leading international forum that brings together researchers, academics, and industry professionals from across disciplines to advance the field of social robotics. For its 18th edition, the conference will present the special theme ICSR + Art, highlighting how robots can move beyond their conventional roles to become tools, partners, and co-creators within artistic and creative practices. At the same time, the conference remains open to the full breadth of social robotics research, including human–robot interaction, medical and assistive robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, ethics, design, education, and cultural applications. Accepted papers will be published in Springer’s Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNAI) series and indexed in major academic databases. Due to current extenuating circumstances worldwide and following requests from several authors, the submission deadlines have been extended by a few additional days to allow additional time for final submissions. No further extensions of the submission deadlines are planned, and all submissions must follow the updated schedule. All deadlines are based on Anywhere on Earth (AoE) time. Authors who have already submitted a paper may use the extension to update their submission; if any difficulty occurs when modifying the existing entry in the system, the previous submission may be withdrawn and replaced with a new version. Updated dates are available at icsr2026.uk/dates/ and submission instructions can be found at icsr2026.uk/submission/ (Photo: stevecadman/CC BY-SA 2.0).

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Robophilosophy 2026: Submission Deadline Extended

The Robophilosophy Conference 2026 (RP2026), titled “Connected Futures – Nature, Robots, and Society”, will take place August 11-14, 2026, in Dublin, Ireland, bringing together researchers from across disciplines to examine how robotics and artificial intelligence are reshaping human societies and the natural world. As robotic systems become increasingly embedded in everyday life, the conference aims to foster dialogue between fields ranging from social robotics, computer science, and human-robot interaction to the humanities, social sciences, law, economics, and environmental research. Central questions include how robotic technologies can uphold human dignity and social justice, how legal systems must adapt to autonomous decision-making, and whether robots can contribute to sustainability rather than accelerate ecological decline. The event marks the seventh installment in the Robophilosophy conference series and features plenary speakers such as Lynne Baillie, Ryan Calo, Hideki Kajima, Arno Klein, Bertram Malle, and Shannon Vallor. Importantly, the submission deadline for research papers, posters, and artistic contributions has been extended to March 15, 2026, offering additional time for scholars and practitioners to contribute to this interdisciplinary conversation. Registration will open soon, and further details are available here and at www.rp2026.org.

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Social Robots at Campus Brugg-Windisch

The elective module “Soziale Roboter aus technischer, wirtschaftlicher und ethischer Sicht” (“Social robots from a technical, economic, and ethical perspective”) by Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel will be held again from February 12 to 14, 2026 at the FHNW in Brugg-Windisch. It is primarily aimed at aspiring business economists, but prospective information systems specialists can also take part. Dr. Amol Deshmukh has been invited again as a guest speaker. He previously worked for the University of Glasgow and now conducts research at ETH Zurich. In his lecture, he will present the findings from his paper “Leveraging Social Robots to Promote Hand Hygiene: A Cross-Cultural and Socio-Economic Study of Children in Diverse School Settings”. Unitree Go2, Alpha Mini, Cozmo, Vector, Aibi, Furby, and Booboo from Oliver Bendel’s private Social Robots Lab will also be on site. Social Robotics Girl, a so-called GPT who specializes in this topic, will be available as a tutor throughout the event. Basic works are “Soziale Roboter” (2021) and “300 Keywords Soziale Robotik” (2021). At the end of the elective module, students design social robots – also with the help of generative AI – that they find useful, meaningful, or simply attractive. The elective modules have been offered since 2021 and are very popular.

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Robots in Space

The article “Wearable Social Robots in Space” by Tamara Siegmann and Oliver Bendel was published on December 23, 2025. It is part of the volume “Social Robotics + AI: 17th International Conference, ICSR+AI 2025, Naples, Italy, September 10–12, 2025, Proceedings, Part I.” From the abstract: “Social robots have been developed on Earth since the 1990s. This article shows that they can also provide added value in space – particularly on a manned flight to Mars. The focus in this paper is on wearable social robots, which seem to be an obvious type due to their small size and low weight. First, the environment and situation of the astronauts are described. Then, using AIBI as an example, it is shown how it fits into these conditions and requirements and what tasks it can perform. Possible further developments and improvements of a wearable social robot are also mentioned in this context. It becomes clear that a model like AIBI is well suited to accompany astronauts on a Mars flight. However, further developments and improvements in interaction and communication are desirable before application.” The Swiss student presented the paper together with her professor on September 10, 2025, in Naples. It can be downloaded from link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-95-2379-5_33.

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The Rise of General-purpose Robots

The paper “The Universal Robot of the 21st Century” by Oliver Bendel was published in February 2025 in the proceedings volume “Social Robots with AI: Prospects, Risks, and Responsible Methods” … From the abstract: “Developments in several areas of computer science, robotics, and social robotics make it seem likely that a universal robot will be available in the foreseeable future. Large language models for communication, perception, and control play a central role in this. This article briefly outlines the developments in the various areas and uses them to create the overall image of the universal robot. It then discusses the associated challenges from an ethical and social science perspective. It can be said that the universal robot will bring with it new possibilities and will perhaps be one of the most powerful human tools in physical space. At the same time, numerous problems are foreseeable, individual, social, and ecological.” The proceedings volume comprises the papers presented at Robophilosophy 2024 in Aarhus. Leading philosophers, computer scientists and roboticists met there in August. Like the ICSR, the conference is one of the world’s leading conferences on social robotics. General-purpose robots, the predecessors of universal robots, have now become widespread, as exemplified by Digit, Apollo, and Figure 03. The author accepted manuscript of this article is therefore being made freely available on this site for non-commercial use only and with no derivatives, in line with the publisher’s self-archiving policy.

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ICSR 2026 is Ready for Submissions

The 18th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR + Art 2026) will take place in London, UK, from 1–4 July 2026. ICSR is the leading international forum that brings together researchers, academics, and industry professionals from across disciplines to advance the field of social robotics. The conference has now opened its submission system, and full details can be found on the official ICSR 2026 submission page (icsr2026.uk/submission). Authors are invited to submit to a range of categories. Regular Papers for the Main Track should follow the guidelines provided on the conference website and be submitted by 15 February 2026. Special Session submissions follow the same Regular Paper instructions but are directed to individual sessions listed on the Special Sessions page. Short Papers follow their own dedicated instructions and are submitted through the same system. Competitions and Debates each have their own portals, with submissions due by 1 March 2026. Additional tracks such as the Robot Fringe and Travel Grants will be announced soon. All submission links and instructions are clearly detailed on the ICSR 2026 submission page, ensuring authors have everything they need to prepare their contributions for this major event in social robotics.

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Call for Special Sessions at ICSR

The 18th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR + Art 2026) will take place in London, UK, from July 1–4, 2026. ICSR is the leading international forum that brings together researchers, academics, and industry professionals from across disciplines to advance the field of social robotics. The conference is accepting special session proposals on a rolling basis until the submission deadline. Approved sessions will be added here as they are confirmed. The deadline for submitting proposals for special sessions is 1 December 2025. Further information is available at icsr2026.uk. Two special sessions have already been accepted, namely “SS01: Cultural Robotics” and “SS02: Participatory Futures in Social Robotics and AI”.

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Initial Thoughts on Wearable Social Robots

Wearable social robots are very small yet extremely powerful systems that can be worn around the neck, on the body, or in a shoulder bag or handbag. They are not only companions to humans, but become part of them by expanding their senses and means of expression. The article entitled “This robot suits you well!” (subtitle: “On the phenomenon of wearable social robots”) by Oliver Bendel defines the term “wearable social robots”, presents areas of application, and discusses social and ethical challenges. Recommendations for developers and users are also provided. It becomes clear that wearable social robots represent novel tools and extensions or enhancements of humans, whose capabilities go beyond those of apps on smartphones. The article was published on September 25, 2025, in Wiley Industry News, not only in German but also in English. It can be accessed at www.wileyindustrynews.com/de/fachbeitraege/dieser-roboter-steht-ihnen-aber-gut or www.wileyindustrynews.com/en/contributions/that-robot-suits-you-well.

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The 17th Edition of the ICSR

Mariacarla Staffa (University of Naples Parthenope, Italy) opened the ICSR 2025 on September 10, 2025, together with Bruno Siciliano (University of Naples Federico II). The ICSR is one of the leading conferences for social robotics worldwide. The 17th edition takes place from 10 to 12 September 2025 in Naples, Italy. Daniela Rus (MIT) then gave her keynote speech on “Physical AI”. From the abstract: “In today’s robot revolution a record 3.1 million robots are now working in factories, doing everything from assembling computers to packing goods and monitoring air quality and performance. A far greater number of smart machines impact our lives in countless other ways – improving the precision of surgeons, cleaning our homes, extending our reach to distant worlds – and we’re on the cusp of even more exciting opportunities. Future machines, enabled by recent advances in AI, will come in diverse forms and materials, embodying a new level of physical intelligence. Physical Intelligence is achieved when AI’s power to understand text, images, signals, and other information is used to make physical machines such as robots intelligent. However, a critical challenge remains: balancing AI’s capabilities with sustainable energy usage. To achieve effective physical intelligence, we need energy-efficient AI systems that can run reliably on robots, sensors, and other edge devices. In this talk I will discuss the energy challenges of foundational AI models, I will introduce several state space models and explain how they achieve energy efficiency, and I will talk about how state space models enable physical intelligence.” The approximately 300 participants at the renowned conference on social robotics applauded and then went on to parallel sessions featuring lectures, workshops, and poster presentations.

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When Animals and Robots Meet

The volume “Animals, Ethics, and Engineering: Intersections and Implications”, edited by Rosalyn W. Berne, was published on 7 August 2025. The authors include Clara Mancini, Fiona French, Abraham Gibson, Nic Carey, Kurt Reymers, and Oliver Bendel. The title of Oliver Bendel’s contribution is “An Investigation into the Encounter Between Social Robots and Animals”. The abstract reads: “Increasingly, social robots and certain service robots encounter, whether this is planned or not, domestic, farm, or wild animals. They react differently, some interested, some disinterested, some lethargic, some panicked. Research needs to turn more to animal-robot relationships, and to work with engineers to design these relationships in ways that promote animal welfare and reduce animal suffering. This chapter is about social robots that are designed for animals, but also those that – for different, rather unpredictable reasons – meet, interact, and communicate with animals. It also considers animal-friendly machines that have emerged in the context of machine ethics. In the discussion section, the author explores the question of which of the presented robots are to be understood as social robots and what their differences are in their purpose and in their relationship to animals. In addition, social and ethical aspects are addressed.” The book was produced by Jenny Publishing and can be ordered via online stores.