This article looks at the implications of emotion recognition, zooming in on the specific case of the care robot Pepper introduced at a hospital in Toronto. Here, emotion recognition comes with the promise of equipping robots with a less tangible, more emotive set of skills – from companionship to encouragement. Through close analysis of a variety of materials related to emotion detection software – iMotions – we look into two aspects of the technology. First, we investigate the how of emotion detection: what does it mean to detect emotions in practice? Second, we reflect on the question of whose emotions are measured, and what the use of care robots can say about the norms and values shaping care practices today. We argue that care robots and emotion detection can be understood as part of a fragmentation of care work: a process in which care is increasingly being understood as a series of discrete tasks rather than as holistic practice. Finally, we draw attention to the multitude of actors whose needs are addressed by Pepper, even while it is being imagined as a care provider for patients.

In response to demographic shifts contributing to an older population, limited health and social care budgets and staff shortages in institutionalised care for older adults, caring robots are increasingly imagined as potential caregivers for older adults. During the past 20 years, several initiatives have sought to design, develop, and deploy robots in care environments, focusing on robots assisting with, for example, physical and cognitive training, or providing social companionship. In this workshop we want focus on the concept of care in the development and use of care robots for older adults. We are interested in: What different understandings of care are at play in care robotics for older adults, how do ideas of 'good care' differ between different contexts and stakeholders, and who are the envisioned recipients of robotic care? We want to encourage critical reflection around these questions and invite creative ideas for how to design care robots for older adults.

In response to demographic shifts contributing to an older population, limited health and social care budgets and staff shortages in institutionalised care for older adults, caring robots are increasingly imagined as potential caregivers for older adults. During the past 20 years, several initiatives have sought to design, develop, and deploy robots in care environments, focusing on robots assisting with, for example, physical and cognitive training, or providing social companionship. In this workshop we want to focus on the concept of care in the development and use of care robots for older adults. We are interested in: What different understandings of care are at play in care robotics for older adults, which practical implementation factors are there (such as infrastructure, WIFI, staff digital health literacy, investment potential), and how are care robots perceived by different key stakeholders (such as older adults, care staff, family, municipalities/care companies). We want to encourage critical reflection around these questions and invite creative ideas for how to design care robots for older adults.  

The aim of this half-day workshop is to provide a forum to share and learn about recent research and experiences with care robotics for older adults. The workshop will be a hybrid event.

We welcome participants to submit abstracts, of 1-2 pages, excluding references, covering any topic that could contribute to the discussion around care in the context of care robots. We welcome also ongoing work. Possible topics welcomed for this workshop include, but are not limited to:

• Theoretical approaches that help problematise care in care for older adults 
• Empirical studies of the use of care robots  
• Norm critical design approaches to care robots
• Technical solutions & designs for enhancing care of older adults
• Discussions of societal, political & ethical implications of care robots for older adults
• Engagement of key stakeholders and navigation of conflicting needs when implementing care robots
• How to go from a lab environment to studies in the wild to actual products considering e.g., social and technical failures, different stakeholders, nurse workload 

Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) is inherently a human-centric field of technology. The role of feminist theories in related fields (e.g. Human-Computer Interaction, Data Science) are taken as a starting point to present a vision for Feminist HRI which can support better, more ethical HRI practice everyday, as well as a more activist research and design stance. We first define feminist design for an HRI audience and use a set of feminist principles from neighboring fields to examine existent HRI literature, showing the progress that has been made already alongside some additional potential ways forward. Following this we identify a set of reflexive questions to be posed throughout the HRI design, research and development pipeline, encouraging a sensitivity to power and to individuals' goals and values. Importantly, we do not look to present a definitive, fixed notion of Feminist HRI, but rather demonstrate the ways in which bringing feminist principles to our field can lead to better, more ethical HRI, and to discuss how we, the HRI community, might do this in practice.