The SoRAIM winter school stands for social robotics, artificial intelligence, and multimedia. It is organized by the European H2020 SPRING project to present social robotics for multiparty interactions in gerontological healthcare.
From February 19th to the 23rd 2024, CONVERGENCE doctoral researcher Chia-Hsin Wu participated in the one-week SoRAIM winter school. The comprehensive program featured of plenary sessions, penal discussions, poster presentations, hands-on sessions, and networking activities. With a multidisciplinary approach, the program focused on building socially aware robots that can communicate and interact with humans in shared spaces. The objective was to provide early-stage researchers with a platform to showcase their research and engage in broader discussions within their peer community.
The SoRAIM winter school was hosted by the Université Grenoble Alpes, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. Grenoble, with its flat topography and consistently pleasant weather, provided an ideal destination for winter school and biking enthusiasts! In recent years, Grenoble has been renowned for its growth as a prominent research, technology, and innovation hub in Europe. Hence, this international city earned its nickname as the Silicon Valley of France.
During the winter school program, participants had the opportunity to attend a demonstration of the ARI robot, developed by PAL Robotics, designed for audio-visual speaker detection and tracking. Additionally, several plenary sessions focused on both the technical implementation (e.g., ROS programming and LLM application) and human-centered research (e.g., ethics of AI and measurements of trust in HRI) of social robots. The doctoral researcher Chia-Hsin Wu gained experience, networks, and most importantly, ideation in conducting her CONVERGENCE research by presenting her doctoral study plan in the form of a poster. The SoRAIM winter school was an unforgettable experience, allowing the participants to be involved in active ways of learning by pitching their research and discussing innovative ideas with experts in the field of robotics.
Image credits: Chia-Hsin Wu
