Important dates

November 28th, 2023 (23:59 AoE): Submission Deadline

January 10th, 2024 (23:59 AoE): Notification of Acceptance

January 16th, 2024: Camera-ready Papers Due

Alt. HRI

Submissions are open, submissions can be made here: new.precisionconference.com/submissions

alt.HRI invites high-quality submissions that push the boundaries of human-robot interaction research and that have a high potential for impact. High-quality submissions can come in the form of (but are not limited to) papers, videos, and pictorials. The goal for alt.HRI is to broaden the scope of research, interdisciplinary perspectives, and formats presented at HRI 2024. With this in mind, alt.HRI aims to be inclusive of perspectives, epistemologies, and methodologies relevant to HRI but perhaps less commonly included in the main HRI conference. We also invite creative and thought-provoking work that might not otherwise be featured at the HRI conference because it transcends boundaries beyond the established contribution criteria. Submissions will be rigorously peer-reviewed, in a double-blind fashion.

We particularly aim to reach colleagues that use those “ways of knowing” that are not yet part of mainstream HRI research and ask for the unexpected, the controversial, the creative, and the diverse. For example, what insights can neuroscience hold for an HRI researcher? How might interactive art or an installation be a catalyst for advancing HRI? In which ways might Science and Technology Studies (STS) be integrated within HRI research? How might feminist theory, decolonial theory, critical race theory (CRT), or critical disability theory contribute to new epistemologies and more just and fair practices in HRI research? Will a critique of conventional methods allow us to adopt different perspectives on what HRI researchers usually do? These are only some examples of the kind of questions your submissions could address. We welcome contributions that demonstrate the transformative potential of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, and how the field of HRI might be enriched by diverse and innovative perspectives.

In an effort to increase diversity and visibility of alternate approaches to HRI, this year’s alt.HRI invites two “new” submission types: alt.HRI pictorials submissions and alt.HRI video submissions. We hope the pictorial and video submission options will create opportunities for more creative and nontraditional formats, especially those artworks and/or performances that present different ways of researching within HRI. We also encourage authors who are interested in other formats to contact the alt.HRI chairs for more information.

alt.HRI contributions can be described as radical, unique, provocative, and controversial. Topics such as HRI and art, critical HRI, speculative HRI, alternate or underrepresented histories of robots, history as a method of inquiry, new epistemologies, and methodologies in HRI, robots, and racism, robots for social justice are encouraged in alt.HRI. Other unconventional topics and approaches are also welcome. alt.HRI contributions aim to trigger meaningful and respectful discussions in the HRI community. Feel free to have a look at previously accepted papers in alt.HRI in the conference programs HRI’22, HRI’21, HRI’20, HRI’19, HRI’18, and HRI’17.

Both paper and video submissions will be rigorously double-blind peer-reviewed by a cohort of HRI experts from the most diverse backgrounds. Additional alt.HRI review criteria include:

  • Is the work compelling and relevant to an open-minded HRI audience?
  • Is there potential for impact, controversy, or thought-provoking discussion, even if the work seems unusual or unorthodox?
  • Is the work rigorous, accepting that ‘rigor’ may fall outside of what is typically published in HRI? Is the work well-researched? Well argued? Well realized?
  • Does the work belong in alt.HRI and not an existing HRI track?
  • Does the contribution combine or represent diverse disciplinary perspectives or approaches?

alt.HRI follows the double-blind review process of the annual HRI conference; every aspect of all submissions must be properly anonymized. Please see the anonymization guidelines.

alt.HRI Chairs

Kim Baraka, Free University Amsterdam

Lionel P. Robert Jr., University of Michigan

Contact: alt2024@humanrobotinteraction.org

alt.HRI Paper Submissions

Papers must be submitted via PCS (submission link will be shared at a later date). Accepted papers will be orally presented at the conference and will be archived in the ACM Digital Library.

Full papers are up to eight camera-ready pages, including figures, but excluding references. Accepted full papers will be published in the conference companion proceedings and presented in an oral session. The HRI conference is highly selective with a rigorous, two-stage review model that includes an expert program committee meeting where papers are extensively discussed. All papers for the conference must be submitted in PDF format and conform to ACM Proceedings specifications. Please note that we are following the general ACM SIG format (“sigconf”, double column format), not the SIGCHI format. Templates are available at this link (US letter). In addition, ACM has partnered with Overleaf, where you can start writing using this link directly (note that this Overleaf document uses the new ACM workflow by default, which is not what HRI is using; to fix this, make sure the document uses the “sigconf” document class, rather than the “manuscript, screen, review” document class that is enabled in the Overleaf document by default).

Submissions are open, submissions can be made here: new.precisionconference.com/submissions

alt.HRI Video Submissions

We invite short videos related to creative, or nontraditional approaches to HRI research. The videos must be self-explanatory for the audience, of relevance to the alt.HRI call, and engaging to watch. The videos will be reviewed based on the following criteria: the novelty of approach/creativity, transdisciplinary or interdisciplinary approaches, thought-provoking impact, and suitability for the alt.HRI audience, and contributions that do not readily lend themselves to traditional paper format. Video submissions should be anonymized as much as possible. Accepted videos will be published in the conference companion proceedings and archived in the ACM Digital Library.

 

Videos are limited to 3 minutes in length and should be accompanied by a short paper (3 pages max, including references) using this link directly (note that this Overleaf document uses the new ACM workflow by default, which is not what HRI is using; to fix this, make sure the document uses the “sigconf” document class, rather than the “manuscript, screen, review” document class that is enabled in the Overleaf document by default). Please follow the same submission guidelines as for the main track video submissions.

alt.HRI Pictorial Submissions

Pictorials published will be part of the companion proceedings and will be accessible through the ACM Digital Library. They will undergo double-blind peer review, similar to technical program papers, and will be considered valuable contributions. A good Pictorial should be precise and provide context, aiming to present a concise argument rather than a full paper. Pictorials aim to contribute to existing knowledge instead of documenting known concepts, methods, and processes. Visual components can contribute to design knowledge on their own, but they should be accompanied by a narrative that helps the Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) audience understand the contribution being made. This narrative is crucial in transforming a Pictorial into research and ensuring it can be treated as a valid argument in research discussions. However, the textual narrative should primarily serve as a support structure for the visual content. Pictorials are an excellent format for reporting design work, especially for designers who often question the effectiveness of words in capturing design accurately.

Pictorials must be submitted using the pictorials templates (below), they should not exceed 12 pages, excluding references. Please keep the first page of the submission following the template (see below) to include the submission’s title, author(s) and their affiliation(s) (leave blank for double-blind review), and a written abstract of no more than 150 words succinctly describing the background and context of the pictorial as well as its contribution to the HRI community. Further written parts known from other conference formats such as Introduction, Conclusion, Discussion, Acknowledgements, and References are optional. The main part of the submission should be an annotated visual composition, and we encourage submissions to use the format creatively.

PCS allows file sizes up to about 150 MB, but we suggest that you keep reviewers in mind and experiment with lower resolution to make the submission considerably smaller. We strongly advise you to use the InDesign template to compose your Pictorial. If you do not have access to InDesign, please use the Word or Powerpoint templates.

alt.HRI2024 Pictorials InDesign Template

alt.HRI2024 Pictorials Word Template

alt.HRI2024 Pictorials Powerpoint Template

Here are some examples for inspiration:

Gabrielle Benabdallah et al. 2022. Slanted Speculations: Material Encounters with Algorithmic Bias. In Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 85–99. https://doi.org/10.1145/3532106.3533449.

Dianya Mia Hua, Rhys Jones, Jeffrey Bardzell, and Shaowen Bardzell. 2022. The Hidden Language of Vibrators: A Politico-Ontological Reading. In Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 400–414. https://doi.org/10.1145/3532106.3533448.

Heather McKinnon. 2016. Finding Design Value in Modern Mundanity. In Proceedings of the 2016 ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS ‘16). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 1059-1071. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/2901790.2901906.

You can also go through previous years’ successful pictorials at DIS, TEI, and C&C for more inspiration.