Sound for Robots
 Understanding and harnessing sound for robotic systems


A Workshop at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)

May 27th, 2022



To join this workshop virtually, please use the Zoom link available on the Infovaya page: https://events.infovaya.com/session?id=14434. When joining, please be sure to mute your device.

The workshop will take place in Room 116, with a map shown below. The schedule of the workshop is now available on the Schedule page.

Do you relish in (or cringe at) the sounds overdubbed onto industrial robot videos? Or is your robot stomping around, making too much noise? If so, you might be interested in this workshop!

All robots* make sound! Sound for robots, particularly for HRI, has been growing as a topic of interest in recent years as work continues to show that the way robots sound is an important aspect of how robots can communicate, how robots are thought of by people, and even how robots can perceive their surroundings. Following in the footsteps of the "Sound in HRI" workshop at HRI '21, this "Sound for Robots" workshop aims to provide a platform for researchers to share artifacts, in-progress work, and techniques to effectively hardness sound for robots. Participants will have the opportunity to share and discuss their and others' work and perspectives on future research in the field.

Researchers and artists are invited to submit in any or all of these three forms:

  1. Robot sound proposals: an proposal up to 2 pages describing a scenario for which you would like to add speakers to a robot. We will provide necessary speaker hardware for participants to complete their proposal and demonstrate their project at the workshop.

  2. Artifacts: an proposal up to 2 pages explaining a performance, video, activity, or demonstration that you would like to give at the workshop.

  3. Papers: a 2-4 page extended abstract related to sound and robots that you would like to present as a poster during the workshop.

For additional details, please visit the Submissions page.

Throughout the workshop, participants will have opportunities to showcase their progress and receive feedback from the community. The workshop will conclude with a session where the group will sum up motivations, opportunities, and challenges for the future of sound and robots.


The workshop is planned to be in person at the Philadelphia Convention Center.


*Except robots that operate in a vacuum.