ICSR + Art 2026 – Call for Competition Entries

The 18th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR + Art 2026) will take place in London, UK, from 1-4 July 2026. ICSR is the leading international forum that brings together researchers, academics, and industry professionals from across disciplines to advance the field of social robotics. As part of this edition, the ICSR 2026 Competition invites visionary concepts and prototypes for social robots that collaborate, care, and connect with people beyond the laboratory. Designers, engineers, artists, researchers, and pupils or students (school, college, and university) are invited to submit projects ranging from functional solutions to artistic or hybrid works. The competition features two categories: the Robot Design Competition, focusing on innovation in functionality, interaction, and application; and the Robot Art Competition, highlighting creative fusions of fashion, art, performance, and robotics. Hybrid projects may apply to both awards. Each entry must be described in a summary of up to two pages (preferably following Springer LNAI formatting), including an abstract of no more than 50 words and sufficient detail to judge novelty and impact. A single optional video link (maximum three minutes) and images or renderings are encouraged. Submissions should indicate whether they apply for the Design Award, the Art Award, or both, and be uploaded via the competition form at: icsr2026.uk/competition/. The competition submission deadline is 1 March 2026; finalists will be notified on 15 April 2026, and winners will be announced on 3 July 2026 during the closing ceremony of ICSR 2026.

Fig.: Competitions are also held at Wembley Stadium

Call for Workshops at ICSR + Art 2026

The 18th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR + Art 2026) will take place in London, UK, from 1-4 July 2026. ICSR is the leading international forum that brings together researchers, academics, and industry professionals from across disciplines to advance the field of social robotics. The conference is accepting workshop proposals until the workshop submission deadline. Approved workshops will be announced 2 weeks after the submission deadline. The deadline for submitting proposals for workshops is 1 December 2025. Further information is available at icsr2026.uk.

Fig.: Inside the Senate House (Photo: stevecadman/CC BY-SA 2.0)

Call for Special Sessions at ICSR + Art 2026

The 18th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR + Art 2026) will take place in London, UK, from July 1–4, 2026. ICSR is the leading international forum that brings together researchers, academics, and industry professionals from across disciplines to advance the field of social robotics. The conference is accepting special session proposals on a rolling basis until the submission deadline. Approved sessions will be added here as they are confirmed. The deadline for submitting proposals for special sessions is 1 December 2025. Further information is available at icsr2026.uk. Two special sessions have already been accepted, namely „SS01: Cultural Robotics“ and „SS02: Participatory Futures in Social Robotics and AI“.

Fig.: In London

ICSR + Art 2026 will Take Place at Senate House

The 18th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR + Art 2026) will take place in London, UK, from 1-4 July 2026. ICSR is the leading international forum that brings together researchers, academics, and industry professionals from across disciplines to advance the field of social robotics. This year’s edition will be hosted at Senate House, part of the University of London, located in the heart of central London. The venue is within walking distance of many of the city’s main attractions and stations. Senate House has appeared in several famous films and series, including „Batman Begins“, „The Dark Knight Rises“, „Fast & Furious 6″, „No Time to Die“ (a James Bond film), „Nineteen Eighty-Four“, and the Netflix series „The Crown“. The building inspired George Orwell’s depiction of the Ministry of Truth in „1984″. Further information is available at icsr2026.uk.

Fig.: The famous Art Deco building (Photo: stevecadman/CC BY-SA 2.0)

Call for Papers: ICSR + Art 2026 in London

The 18th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR + Art 2026) will take place in London, UK, from July 1–4, 2026. ICSR is the leading international forum that brings together researchers, academics, and industry professionals from across disciplines to advance the field of social robotics. For its 18th edition, the conference will feature the special theme ICSR + Art, exploring how robots can transcend their traditional roles to become tools and collaborators in creative practices. At the same time, the conference remains fully open to the entire spectrum of social robotics research, including human–robot interaction, medical and assistive robotics, AI and machine learning, ethics, design, education, cultural applications, and beyond. Accepted papers will be published in Springer’s Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNAI) series and indexed in major databases. In addition to regular and short papers, the program will include workshops and special sessions designed to foster exchange across disciplines and communities. Paper submissions are due by February 15, 2026, with notifications on April 15, 2026, and camera-ready papers due May 15, 2026. Proposals for workshops and special sessions are welcome until December 1, 2025. Further information is available at icsr2026.uk.

Fig.: View of London from the London Eye