Robots in the Wild

Methodological Explorations of Robots in Everyday

Environments

Saturday 29 November, 9:00am-12:30pm, 2025

Robots are becoming an increasingly familiar presence in our streets, campuses, hospitals, and cities. As these systems move beyond the lab and into public life, they raise new questions about how we study their roles, interactions, and impacts. This interdisciplinary workshop invites scholars and practitioners to reflect on the diverse methods used to prototype, deploy, and study robots “in the wild.”

Through lightning talks, a keynote, and a World Café–style discussion and mapping activity, we will explore how different research traditions—from design and HCI to STS and urban studies—approach the study of public robots. Participants will be invited to share insights from fieldwork, surface methodological challenges, and co-develop future directions for interdisciplinary inquiry.

Workshop Agenda

9:00 - 9:15 AM Welcome and Opening

9:15 - 9:45 AM Keynote Talk: Prof. Simon Marvin

9:45 - 10:15 AM Participant Lightning Talks

10:15 - 11:15 AM World Café Discussion & Mapping Activity:

Small, mixed groups rotate across themed tables (e.g., Methods, Locations & Access, Ethics, Public Impact & Policy), each hosted by a note-taker.

11:14 - 11:45 AM Coffee Break

11:45 - 12:15 PM Group Reflection & Synthesis

12:15 - 12:30 PM Wrap-Up and Closing Remarks

Join the Workshop

Instead of requiring a formal position paper, participants will be invited to submit a short vignette (200–300 words) as part of their expression of interest. These vignettes might describe a particular study, field encounter, methodological challenge, or speculative prompt that reflects their approach to studying robots in public space. Selected vignettes will serve as a conversation starter during the workshop and may inform a post-workshop publication.

If you're interested in joining, please complete the form, or contact us directly: marius.hoggenmueller@sydney.edu.au

Join the workshop

Keynote Speaker: Prof. Simon Marvin

Professor Simon Marvin is Director of the Urban Institute and Professor at the University of Sheffield. His work examines socio-technical change in cities, from smart urban infrastructures to the politics of urban transitions. His invited talk will stimulate discussion around the workshop theme of robots in public space.

Workshop Organising Team

Dr. Marius Hoggenmüller

is a Lecturer in Interaction Design in the Design Lab at the University of Sydney's School of Architecture, Design, and Planning. His work focuses on prototyping interactions with emerging technologies in cities, such as urban robots and autonomous systems.

Dr. Justine Humphry

is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures at the University of Sydney, where she also serves as Deputy Head of School (Research) in Art, Communication and English. Her research focuses on the social impacts of mobile, smart, and data-driven technologies, with work spanning digital inequality, urban datafication, and online safety.

Dr. Chris Chesher

is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures at the University of Sydney. He co-founded the Digital Cultures program and adopt transdisciplinary approach to technology studies, bridging media studies, human-computer interaction, cultural robotics, and the philosophy of technology.

Xinyan Yu

is a PhD candidate in the Design Lab at the University of Sydney’s School of Architecture, Design, and Planning. Her research centres around human-robot collaboration in urban settings, exploring bystanders’ pro-social behaviours towards urban robots.

Qiuming Zhang

is a PhD student in the Design Lab at the University of Sydney. Her research investigates how robotic technologies can improve perceived safety in public spaces. She holds a Master of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts (MIDEA) and has a background in product design.

Dr. Vera Xia

is a Lecturer in Design and Urban Technologies at the University of Sydney’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning. She holds a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning, with research exploring how smart technologies in urban open spaces—such as smart street furniture and social fitness apps—impact social well-being among young adults.

Dr. Nancy Marshall

is an Associate Professor and Program Director for Urban Planning at the University of Sydney. A city planner by training, her research focuses on designing smart social spaces and public infrastructure to enhance social well-being. She has led interdisciplinary research projects funded by national and international bodies, and is a co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of People and Place in the 21st Century City.

✉️ CONTACT US: marius.hoggenmueller@sydney.edu.au

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