Call for Submissions

An anonymized, two-page extended abstract in which the applicant ties together their past, current, and/or proposed work, within the context of the overarching research question(s) addressed by their work. This may be followed by up to one page of references. The references page is not counted as part of the two-page total.

All papers for the conference must be submitted in PDF format and conform to the ACM SIG proceedings specifications. Authors can find templates and other general guidelines regarding formatting under “Format and Submission” on the HRI submission instructions.

The extended abstract should cover:

• - a short (guideline: approximately 100-150 words) abstract. This “abstract in the abstract” is required for ACM Digital Library records,
• - key research questions addressed by the applicant’s research, drawing on past, current, and proposed work,
• - background and related work that informs the research,
• - the research approach and methodology, and
• - results to date (if any) and a description of remaining work.

For undergraduate students, a description of your own work on a previous project with clear ties to the field, potential implications, and proposed work is permissible. For graduate students, applications should include past work if applicable, current and future research plans, and an explanation of their relevance to a broader research question. Authors are strongly encouraged to consult prior years’ submissions to understand the scope and focus of HRI Pioneers submissions. Submissions should not be a shortened summary of any previous published work or in-submission work.

Publications should be fully anonymized at the time of submission. Please follow the anonymization guidelines for the main HRI conference, except for your own prior work section. As we encourage you to highlight your own prior work, please describe your prior works in first person but anonymize the work in the reference section.

In order to support those among us who need accessible PDFs, HRI is working to improve the accessibility of our PDF proceedings and review process. We are asking all authors to make an effort to make their submissions more accessible at every point in the submission process. Authors are encouraged to review the extended call for papers for detailed accessibility instructions.

The submission portal will open by October 7th, 2023, at which point detailed submission instructions will become available.

A 2-page CV will be required as part of the submission process. Undergraduate students without laboratory experience can include coursework or skills that are relevant to their project. Graduate students should include laboratory experience and any publications/presentations that are applicable.

REVIEW

The HRI Pioneers Workshop will follow a review process in which submissions will be evaluated by a number of factors including:

• - the quality of the submission (anonymous review),
• - the expected benefits of the workshop for the student's research, and
• - the student's contribution to the diversity of topics, backgrounds, and institutions.

We hope to achieve a diversity of research topics, disciplinary backgrounds, methodological approaches, and home institutions. As such, we do not expect more than two students to be invited per institution. In addition, we especially encourage groups historically excluded in HRI to apply. Undergraduate student applications will be considered separately from those of graduate students.

PUBLICATION & ATTENDANCE

All first authors of accepted submissions are expected to attend the Pioneers Workshop and present their work as a poster at the HRI conference. A detailed program for the workshop and the participation guidelines for the poster session will be available after the camera-ready deadline. Accepted papers will be published in the companion proceedings of the HRI 2024 conference.