Recent advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) have enabled assistive robots to realize many activities alongside and with humans in shared environments. This physical proximity has introduced novel, complex tasks for the robotics community to address, which can be clustered into three main areas:
- Personal care robots that facilitate humans in physical activities of daily living,
- Service robots that can perform manipulation tasks for and with humans, and
- Physical support robots that provide partial body weight support and assist and guide the humans during stance, walking, and other activities.
However, despite their potential to transform healthcare and beneficial societal impact, such technologies still need to face several unresolved challenges to become part of our everyday lives. This workshop will explore the following emerging user-centric tools that are essential for overcoming such challenges:
- Human Modeling and Assessment, definition of models for online and non-invasive monitoring of the human physical and cognitive state and impairments;
- Assistive Hardware, design of versatile and reconfigurable interfaces and devices that exploit (do not avoid) physical contact for seamless interaction;
- Personalized learning and interaction, developing techniques for learning and adapting robot behavior to individual intentions, actions, and preferences.
The focus will be on individualized models, adaptive control and planning algorithms, customizable designs and robotic interfaces, and human-informed online learning and optimization techniques. A prominent theme throughout the workshop is interdisciplinary collaboration, connecting the expertise of academics, occupational experts, and industry partners. We aim to provide a platform for fruitful discussion, inspiring new perspectives and pathways for the community to successfully design and integrate individualized service, care, and physical assistive robots into society.
