WORKSHOP: The 2013 HRI Pioneers Workshop at the 2013 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

This is funding to support a Young Pioneers Workshop (doctoral consortium) of approximately 20 graduate students and post-docs (including 15 U.S. participants) from diverse research communities (e.g., computer science and engineering, psychology, cognitive science, robotics, human factors, human-computer interaction design, and communications), along with distinguished research faculty. NSF funding will be used solely to cover travel, housing, and subsistence for eligible U.S. attendees. The event will take place on Sunday, March 3, 2013, immediately preceding the Eighth Annual Human Robot Interaction Conference (HRI 2013), to be held March 3-6, 2013, in Tokyo, Japan, and which is jointly sponsored by ACM and IEEE. HRI is a single-track, highly selective annual international conference that seeks to showcase the very best inter- and multi-disciplinary research in human-robot interaction with roots in social psychology, cognitive science, HCI, human factors, artificial intelligence, robotics, organizational behavior, anthropology and many more, and invites broad participation. The theme of HRI 2013 is "Holistic Human-Robot Development." Robotic solutions are increasingly applied to real world problems such as our aging society, renewable energy, climate control, emergency response, education and exploration. These societal problems require a holistic approach to the design and development of robots that meet human needs, address technical challenges, and foster acceptance in everyday settings. More information about the conference is available online at http://humanrobotinteraction.org/2013. The Young Pioneers Workshop is designed to complement the conference, by providing a forum for students and recent graduates in the field of HRI to share their current research with their peers and a panel of senior researchers in a setting that is less formal and more interactive than the main conference. During the workshop, participants will talk about the important upcoming research themes in the field, encouraging the formation of collaborative relationships across disciplines and geographic boundaries. To these ends, the workshop format will include oral presentations from 2 student attendees, poster presentations from all student attendees, a hands-on breakout session with group presentations, a keynote, and a panel presentation by senior researchers who will share their expertise and insights on how to address the interdisciplinary challenge of HRI. The afternoon breakout session will involve small groups of 3-5 attendees with diverse backgrounds, working to design an integrative HRI project, thereby encouraging group participation and the cultivation of cross-disciplinary ideas. The presentation session afterward will allow each breakout group to present a summary to the entire workshop; the organizers anticipate that the discussions will continue during dinner. Broader Impacts: This workshop will afford a unique opportunity for the best of the next generation of researchers in human-robot interaction to be exposed to and discuss current and relevant topics as they are being studied in several different research communities (including but not limited to computer science and engineering, psychology, robotics, human factors and ergonomics, and HCI). This is important for the field, because it has been recognized that transformative advances in research in this fledgling area can only come through the melding of cross-disciplinary knowledge and multinational perspectives. Participants will be encouraged to create a social network both among themselves and with senior researchers at a critical stage in their professional development, to form collaborative relationships, and to generate new research questions to be addressed during the coming years. Participants will also gain leadership and service experience, as the workshop is largely student organized and student led. The PI has expressed his strong commitment to recruiting women and members from other under-represented groups. To further ensure diversity, the event organizers will consider an applicant's potential to offer a fresh perspective and point of view with respect to HRI, and no more than one applicant will be accepted from any given institution.