17th International Conference on Social Robotics to be Held in Naples

The 17th International Conference on Social Robotics will again bring together researchers and practitioners working on human-robot interaction and the integration of social robots into society. ICSR 2025 will be held in Naples, Italy in September. Mariacarla Staffa from the Università degli Studi di Napoli ‚Parthenope‘ made this announcement at the ICSR 2024 in Odense. The institution is one of the state universities in the metropolitan region. Parthenope has been the city goddess of Naples since ancient times and is a poetic term for the city. With the help of a promotional video, the researcher drew attention to the numerous sights in the city and the surrounding area. World-famous are archaeological sites such as Pompeii and sights such as the Amalfi Coast. The active volcano Vesuvius is located in the Gulf of Naples, nine kilometres from the city. Italy is one of the most important countries in the world for social robotics. The ICSR had already taken place there in 2022, in Florence to be precise. Naples will certainly also be an outstanding host.

Fig.: Vesuvius volcano and the Gulf of Naples

The 1st Competition of the International Conference of Social Robotics

The main conference of the ICSR will be held in Odense in 2024, and its full name is „16th International Conference on Social Robotics +AI“. There is also the ICSR-2024 Competition in Naples, Italy. According to the website, it is „The 1st Competition of the International Conference on Social Robotics“. The new format will take place on 30-31 May 2024 (according to a later announcement, it was postponed to May 8 and 9). The General Chair explains the intention of the event: „ICSR Competition aims at being not only a competition but an extraordinary showcase of innovation and talent in the field of robotics. This event marks the convergence of brilliance, where teams comprising students, PhD students, researchers, and esteemed professors will compete in a series of captivating competitions through a groundbreaking exploration into the realms of robotics, where cutting-edge technologies and social applications come together. In the spirit of fostering collaboration and pushing the boundaries of what is possible, our competitions will showcase the diverse capabilities of robotics.“ (Website ICSR-24 Competition) According to the organizers, teams will compete in four different competitions: the Robotic Arm Challenge, the Humanoid Robot Challenge, the Robot Design Challenge, and the Game Jam Challenge. More information is available at www.icsr2024-competition.org.

Fig.: The well-known NAO at the Brugg-Windisch campus