Robots&Child'sRights

Child-Robot Interaction & Child's Fundamental Rights

Workshop in conjunction with

the ACM International Conference of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI2021)

8 March 2021 (online) 13:00 - 16:30 MTS

About the workshop

As robotic technology - from simple robotic toys to more advanced social robots - is becoming a common sight in private and in public spaces such as schools, it is important to understand its overall impact on child's development. An important aspect of this process is the consideration of the existing work on children's protection such as the Convention of the Rights of the Child published by the United Nations which refers to aspects such as inclusion and non-discrimination, agency, privacy, dignity, transparency, equity, fairness and participation.

Currently, national and global organizations have raised concerns regarding the design, the development and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in applications that are used by or relate to children. UNICEF for example has proposed a set of requirements for AI and child's rights in order for researchers industry and policy-makers to adopt a more child-centred approach.

How can we develop Trustworthy Robots for Children?
How is your research contributing to child-robot interaction from a Child's Rights perspective?
How can the consideration of Children's Fundamental Rights advance the field of Child-Robot Interaction?

This workshop will bring together researchers in the intersection of Human-Robot Interaction, Child Development, Ethics and Robot Design and other relevant fields . We aim to provide a platform to discuss emerging opportunities and risks in Child-Robot Interaction through the lens of the Human Fundamental Rights.

Call for Participation

We welcome submissions on any topic of child-robot interaction that tackles issues related to child's rights, such as inclusion and non-discrimination, agency, privacy, dignity, transparency, equity, fairness and participation.

Submission of 3-4 pages papers using the ACM SIG conference format that describe preliminary results or work in progress relevant to the workshop is encouraged.
Alternatively, we welcome submissions for participation in the form of 1-page statement about your current work and how it relates to issues such as privacy, inclusion, transparency, participation and other relevant ethical considerations.

The submissions should not be anonymized.

SUBMISSION

Important dates

General deadline Paper Submission: ~~February~~ ~~15th, 2021~~

General Acceptance Notification: ~~February~~ ~~23th, 2021~~

Camera Ready Paper: ~~March~~ ~~1st, 2021~~

Topics include but are non limited to the following:

Trustworthy Robots for Children
Child-robot interaction and inclusion of children in all stages of design and development
Design principles for transparency in robot actions
Methodological considerations in designing, executing and evaluating robots with and for children
Inclusion of children from under-represented communities
Fairness and non-discrimination in child-robot interaction
Transparency in child-robot interaction
Robots in Education, Entertainment and Healthcare
The Role of Art and Design in Social Robotics
Designing Expressive Actuation and Contents for Robots
Social Robots, Storytelling and Performativity
Social Robotics and Creativity
Human-robot Collaboration

REGISTRATION

Program

[Time is indicated in MST ZONE]

13:00 - 13:20 Introductions

13:20 - 13: 30 Keynote talk: Steven Vosloo AI and Child's Rights

13:30 - 13:40 Plenary discussion

13:40 - 13:50 Lighting talks - Inclusion and non-discrimination (Lene Jeffrey, Michael Mitchell)

13:50 - 14:00 Plenary discussion

14:00 - 14:10 Break-out sessions

14:10 - 14: 20 Plenary discussion

14:20 - 14:40 Coffee break

14:40 - 15:00 Keynote talk: Deborah Szapiro: Designing for diversity

15:00 - 15:10 Plenary discussion

15:10 - 15:40 Papers presentation

AIR4Children: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Children (Miguel Xochicale)
Personalized Affect-Aware Socially Assistive Robot Tutors Aimed at Fostering Social Grit in Children with Autism (Zhonghao Shi, Manwei Cao, Sophia Pei, Xiaoyang Qiao, Thomas Groechel and Maja Matarić)
Children's Rights in Online Environments with Social Robots: The use case study of CORP: A Collaborative Online Robotics Platform (Jordi Albo-Canals, Denise Amram, Katharina Kaesling, Juan Martinez Otero, Ruggero G. Pensa and Olga Sans-Cope)

15:40 - 15:50 Reflection on the papers

15:50 - 16:10 Break out sessions

16:10 - 16:20 Results from the break out sessions, future steps on child's rights in the context of child-robot interaction research - The consortium

16:20 - 16:30 Wrap-up

Invited Speakers

Steven Vosloo

Steven is a digital policy specialist for UNICEF on Digital Connectivity at the Office of Global Insight and Policy based in New York. He works at the intersection of children and their digital lives. Key projects that he currently leads focus on Artificial Intelligence for Children and Digital Literacy. Previously he was a Senior Project Officer at UNESCO, Paris, managing a partnership with Pearson to examine and highlight how inclusive digital solutions can help people with low skills and low literacy use technology in a way that supports skills development and, ultimately, improves livelihoods. He has both on-the-ground implementation experience from a number of developing countries and a global research, strategy and policy perspective.

Deborah Szapiro

Deborah is an award-winning designer, animator and academic who teaches in the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney. Her research looks to design and animation’s potential as an agent for positive social impact and innovation in relation to new technologies. Szapiro’s research applies principles of embodied communication and aesthetics to maximize a robot’s social presence via emotional and empathetic engagement as well as the design of creative content that supports longitudinal user engagement and learning for specific user scenarios in the home, office, educational and healthcare environments.

Lighting talks

Lene Jeffrey

Lene is a music therapist with extensive experience in working with children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorders and developmental delays at a leading special school, Giant Steps Sydney. Working in an innovative trans-disciplinary team, she applies musical and others sensory supports to promote sensory integration and optimal conditions for motivation, engagement and communication, including supporting personal emotional regulation outcomes. Jeffrey’s research looks to the role of music and the voice in special needs and therapeutic settings.

Michael Mitchell

is an Indigenous teacher at an Murra Thinna Preschool at Murrin Bridge, an Aboriginal community which is approx. 10 Km outside of Lake Cargelligo in the heart of rural NSW, Australia. Michael is a proud Ngiyampaa man who understands Indigenous children learn best in an environment that respects and values their Aboriginal culture, emphasizes respect for kinship and community networks and values real-life experiences. Murra Thinna Preschool respects and reflects the diversity and richness of its Aboriginal communities and culture, engaging with intergenerational transfer of knowledge through Elders, parents and local community to develop a strong learning foundation and children with a strong sense of culture and identity. Michael and the team at Murra Thinna teach in culturally appropriate ways that fosters engagement with learning and aims to help close the literacy gap between indigenous and non-indigenous children.

Accepted papers

AIR4Children: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Children (Miguel Xochicale)
Personalized Affect-Aware Socially Assistive Robot Tutors Aimed at Fostering Social Grit in Children with Autism (Zhonghao Shi, Manwei Cao, Sophia Pei, Xiaoyang Qiao, Thomas Groechel and Maja Matarić)
Children's Rights in Online Environments with Social Robots: The use case study of CORP: A Collaborative Online Robotics Platform (Jordi Albo-Canals, Denise Amram, Katharina Kaesling, Juan Martinez Otero, Ruggero G. Pensa and Olga Sans-Cope)