Proceedings of the seventh annual ACM/IEEE international conference on Human-Robot Interaction

Abstract

Welcome to Boston! The Seventh Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2012) is a highly selective conference that aims to showcase the very best interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research in human-robot interaction with roots in robotics, social psychology, cognitive science, HCI, human factors, artificial intelligence, engineering, and many more. We invite broad participation and encourage discussion and sharing of ideas across a diverse audience. Robotics is growing increasingly multidisciplinary as it moves towards realizing capable and collaborative robots that meet both human needs of society and technical challenges inherent in real world settings. A joining of the disciplines is essential for enabling robots to help people in their efforts to be more productive and enjoy a high quality of life. In particular, human-robot interaction requires advancement of the state-of-the-art in the empirical, algorithmic, mathematical, social, and engineering aspects of robotics in an integrated manner. Therefore, this year's theme is dedicated to Robots in the Loop, which highlights the importance of autonomously capable robots in enhancing the experiences of human users in everyday life and work activities. HRI 2012 emphasizes embodied robotic systems that operate, collaborate with, learn from, and meet the needs of human users in realworld environments. Full Papers submitted to the conference were thoroughly reviewed and discussed. The process utilized a rebuttal process and a worldwide team of dedicated, interdisciplinary reviewers. Subtle changes were made this year to help better pair reviewers to papers. This year's conference continues the tradition of selectivity with 34 out of 137 (25%) submissions accepted. Due to the joint sponsorship of ACM and IEEE, papers are archived in both the ACM Digital Library and IEEE Xplore. Accompanying the full papers are the brief and lightly reviewed Late Breaking Reports and Videos. For the former, 95 out of 111 (86%) two-page papers were accepted and will be presented as posters at the conference. For the latter, 16 of 30 (52%) short videos were accepted and will be presented during the video session. Rounding out the program are multiple keynote speakers who will discuss topics relevant to HRI, a panel session on telepresence, and several invited short unpublished talks designed to expose the audience to interesting work and motivate interdisciplinary discussion. The keynote speakers this year are Rodney Brooks and Karl Grammer.