About the Workshop

Biophilic design is an approach that enhances human health and comfort by integrating natural elements into living spaces. This workshop aims to explore the feasibility of a new framework that extends biophilic design by incorporating robotic technologies, toward co-existential space design in which humans, nature, and robots mutually influence each other.

Healthy plant growth requires continuous adjustment of environmental conditions such as light, water, and temperature; however, in conventional biophilic design, these processes are largely managed by humans. By introducing robotic technologies, plants can be endowed with mobility and can be autonomously relocated to more suitable environments, enabling automatic maintenance of biophilic spaces. Achieving this vision requires technologies for plant and environmental perception, situation-dependent action planning and autonomous navigation, and optimization of plant placement.

When robots are introduced into biophilic spaces, it is essential that they do not disturb human activities. Therefore, robots must be able to predict human behavior and to understand how plant arrangements and robot motions influence human emotions and comfort. Addressing this challenge requires research in human–robot interaction (HRI), affective engineering, multimodal perception, and the construction of personalized models that consider individual differences.

Furthermore, many existing living spaces and furniture are designed primarily for humans, and often do not sufficiently consider plant growth requirements or robot mobility and operability. Exploring spatial configurations that preserve human comfort while also being suitable for plants and robots is essential for realizing environments in which humans, plants, and robots can coexist. From this perspective, an integrated view of spatial design and robotic systems is required.

This workshop will bring together researchers in robotic systems, artificial intelligence, HRI, and biophilic design to discuss scientific challenges and technological possibilities toward the coexistence of humans, plants, and robots. Through these discussions, we aim to foster a new research paradigm for co-existential spaces and robotic systems that goes beyond conventional human-centered design.

Keywords: autonomous navigation, biophilic space design, human–robot interaction, kansei-engineering, multimodal perception, sensing

Submission

1. Prepare your manuscript using the same format as that for IEEE RO-MAN 2026:
   Template is available at Templates and Procedures for Submission in this instruction page.
   You can choose one of the following options:
   1. Full paper: up to 8 pages
   2. Abstract: 1 page
2. Submit via [Submission System (Google Forms)].
3. The submitted paper will be reviewed using a single-blind review process.
   The accepted paper will will be invited for presentation at this workshop.

Invited Speakers

Organizers