Humanoid robots are receiving renewed attention, driven by rapid advances in AI, enabling technologies, and growing involvement from leading tech companies. As a result, real-world deployment of humanoid robots appears closer than ever, which prompts critical questions about their readiness for roles in healthcare and welfare, sectors that are grappling with increasing labor shortages worldwide.
This workshop aims to explore the opportunities, challenges, and practical implications of introducing humanoid robots into healthcare and welfare environments. We seek to address key questions, such as:
Are humanoid robots ready for hospitals and care homes?
What are the remaining barriers to widespread deployment?
What unique advantages could humanoid robots offer over non-humanoid systems?
How can we measure and demonstrate these benefits?
What are the ethical, legal, and societal consequences of humanoids in care?
We welcome contributions from researchers in humanoid robotics as well as practitioners in healthcare and welfare who are interested in—or already working with—humanoid robots. The workshop will provide a platform to share insights, lessons learned, and visions for the future of humanoids in real-world care settings.
We invite papers (4-6 pages, IEEE double-column format) describing work at all stages of research and deployment, including design and development of humanoid systems, algorithmic and interaction modeling approaches, empirical studies, and real-world deployments, as well as conceptual, ethical, or work-in-progress contributions.
You are welcome to bring and exhibit your working prototypes of robots for heath and welfare applications during the workshop.
Accepted contributions will be presented as 10–15 minute talks or posters, depending on the nature of the work. Accepted submissions will be published on the workshop website. Select authors might be invited to submit a journal paper to be published with Elsevier.
Humanoid robots in healthcare and welfare
Applications in care homes and elderly care
In-the-wild testing in hospitals and long-term care facilities
Theoretical frameworks for humanoid use in patient care
Humanoid robot design tailored to healthcare applications
Use cases in rehabilitation, physiotherapy, service tasks, and as medical or nursing assistants
Interaction modeling and user experience in healthcare contexts
Touch, haptics, and physical interaction with humanoid robots
Algorithmic development for perception, control, and autonomy in care scenarios
Benchmarks and evaluation metrics for assessing performance, usability, and outcomes
Ethical, legal, and societal implications of humanoid robots in care settings
Submission Deadline: September 2nd, 23:59 AoE
Notification of Acceptance: September 5th
Workshop Date: October 2, 9:00
Prof. Gordon Cheng, Technical University of Munich
Prof. Me Yeon Lee, Hallym University Medical Center
Prof. Seung-joon Yi, Pusan National University
Oskar Palinko, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Sebastian Schneider, University of Twente, Netherlands
Seung-Joon Yi, Pusan National University, South Korea
Me Yeon Lee, Hallym University Medical Center, South Korea
Leon Bodenhagen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Yoshio Matsumoto, Tokyo University of Science, Japan
14:00 Welcome
14:10 Gordon Cheng - Technical University of Munich, Germany
14:40 Jaeheung Park - Seoul National University, Korea
15:10 Coffee break
15:30 Seung-Joon Yi - Pusan National University, Korea
16:00 Me Yeon Lee - Hallym University Medical Center, Korea
16:30 Panel discussion on future of humanoids in health and welfare - pros and cons