The State of SLIVAR: What's next for robots, human-robot interaction, and (spoken) dialogue systems?

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent discussions on robotics, human-robot interaction, and spoken dialogue systems, highlighting open questions and future research directions to improve natural communication between humans and robots.

Contribution

It synthesizes insights from recent workshops to identify key open questions and propose future research opportunities in human-robot spoken communication.

Findings

Identified key open questions in human-robot interaction

Highlighted the importance of natural spoken dialogue with robots

Encouraged collaborative future workshops and discussions

Abstract

We synthesize the reported results and recommendations of recent workshops and seminars that convened to discuss open questions within the important intersection of robotics, human-robot interaction, and spoken dialogue systems research. The goal of this growing area of research interest is to enable people to more effectively and naturally communicate with robots. To carry forward opportunities networking and discussion towards concrete, potentially fundable projects, we encourage interested parties to consider participating in future virtual and in-person discussions and workshops.