Sustainable Human-Robot Interaction: From Current Trends to Future Visions
Paper in proceeding, 2025
Sustainability is becoming an increasingly urgent concern in technology research, yet its meaning and application within Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) remain unclear. We examined how sustainability is currently understood within the HRI community through i) a survey among HRI researchers and ii) a “speculative futures” workshop held at the HRI 2025 conference. We compare the results of our analysis to the widely adopted three-pillar model of sustainability (delineating environmental, social, and economic aspects) and contrast it to alternative frameworks that critique this categorisation. Our findings show strong—but unacknowledged—engagement with social and environmental sustainability within the HRI community. We highlight common ground, lack of shared understanding, and areas of improvement across the community, and suggest practical steps for integrating sustainability into HRI research. We formulate aspects that should be included in a definition of sustainability that is specific to HRI.
Author
Ilaria Torre
Chalmers, Computer Science and Engineering (Chalmers), Interaction Design and Software Engineering
University of Gothenburg
Maria Teresa Parreira
Cornell University
Hannah Pelikan
Linköping University
Erik Lagerstedt
Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of Gothenburg
Sarah Schömbs
University of Melbourne
Katie Winkle
Uppsala University
Sara Ljungblad
Chalmers, Computer Science and Engineering (Chalmers), Interaction Design and Software Engineering
University of Gothenburg
Lecture Notes in Computer Science
0302-9743 (ISSN) 1611-3349 (eISSN)
Vol. 16133 LNAI 484-499978-981-95-2398-6 (ISBN)
Naples, Italy,
Subject Categories (SSIF 2025)
Other Engineering and Technologies
Human Computer Interaction
Driving Forces
Sustainable development
DOI
10.1007/978-981-95-2398-6_33
ISBN
9789819523979