DRD 09

Each year, robots are entering domestic environments in increasing number. By 2012, it's estimated that 7.8 million robots will be in domestic settings. These robots are intended to help with household chores, act as home health aids, and serve as companions and entertainers for people. However, because the field of domestic robotics is birthed from industrial robotics, many of these robots in the home still look and behave like they belong in a factory. Their interactive styles are often not well-suited toward the wide variety of home users that exist.

Domestic robots present unique design challenges that are very different from those of industrial robots. The first challenge is a lack of predictability - neither users' behavior nor the physical environment can be known before a robot is placed in a home. Thus, for mobile robots, safety can be a major concern, particularly for elderly or disabled users. For example, a robot vacuum cleaner that does not audibly announce its presence could cause an elderly user with vision loss to trip and fall.

Another challenge is with regard to presenting appropriate, dynamic interaction modalities that are inclusive of all users. For example, physically disabled children may not enjoy a robotic pet that moves too quickly, whereas able-bodied children may be bored by one that does not. The design of interaction modalities should also consider a robot's ability to perceive and interpret a user's behavior (e.g., affective and affect-related expressions, intentions, etc.).

A third design challenge is with regard to robot appearance. Vast cultural differences exist in how people think robots ought to look and behave, and certain types of appearance may be outside the realm of their comfort. For example, humanoid robots with large heads and no noses may be perfectly acceptable in Japan but may be off-putting to Westerners. Also, individual personality differences can greatly affect how people perceive robot appearance.

In order to start address these design challenges, it may be helpful to engage in several steps:
 * Appropriately identifying likely domestic user groups
 * Understanding design constraints of these groups
 * Brainstorming dynamic interaction modalities for domestic robots
 * Articulating ways to incorporate cultural and personality differences into robot appearance and behavior
 * Creating new ways to evaluate HRI in domestic contexts

Topics
This workshop aims to provide a forum for researchers interested in improving the design of domestic robots. By gathering in a friendly environment, the hope is that researchers can openly share their ideas and vision for the future of this field.

Thus, we invite researchers who wish to participate in the workshop to submit position papers, works-in-progress, or completed research. Topics include:


 * Assistive Technology
 * Affective Computing
 * Affective Robotics
 * Domestic Design
 * Human-Centered Design
 * Human-Machine Interaction
 * Inclusive Design
 * Multi-cultural Design
 * Robot Design
 * Social Robotics

...as well as other relevant topics.

Submission Format and Procedure
Papers may be up to 4 pages in length. Please format your paper using the ACM 2-column format. Please see the workshop website for detailed submission instructions: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/conference/drd09/

Important Dates
Paper submission deadline:  27 Apr 2009 Notification to authors:    12 May 2009 Camera-ready version:       10 Aug 2009

Outcomes
All accepted papers will be included in Volume 3 of the HCI 2009 proceedings. Workshop participants will also help contribute to a poster that will be presented at the main conference.

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