The 18th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR + Art 2026) is currently taking place from July 1–4, 2026, bringing together researchers, academics, and industry professionals from around the world to discuss the latest advances in social robotics. As the leading international forum in the field, ICSR features a broad range of presentations and demonstrations. On the first day of the conference, the ICSR Grand Challenge presentations, including optional demonstrations, took place in the Debate Hall. One of the standout projects was Labububot, presented by Miranda Li and developed by Miranda Li, Jake Read, Dimitar Dimitrov, and Cynthia Breazeal at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Instead of following the familiar approach of designing social robots to be cute, friendly, and emotionally unambiguous, Labububot embraces monster theory and deliberately explores the productive potential of the uncanny. The project argues that robots capable of provoking curiosity, discomfort, or surprise may ultimately foster deeper and more authentic long-term engagement than those designed solely to reassure. From the perspective of Oliver Bendel’s robot classification, Labububot can be regarded as a mythomorphic robot. It consists of twelve monster figures and also belongs to the category of soft robots, although it incorporates rigid structural elements. By combining unconventional design with references to popular culture and fashion, Labububot has become one of the most memorable projects presented during the Grand Challenge on the opening day of ICSR + Art 2026. Further information about the conference is available at ICSR 2026, while technical details about Labububot can be found in the project’s GitHub repository.

Fig.: Oliver Bendel with Labububot (Photo: Stephan Vonschallen)