Cobots, Complexities, and Campfire: Report on the 4th HRI Summer School

The 4th Summer School on Social Human-Robot Interaction in Chȩciny, Poland, sponsored by IEEE RAS and the EU’s Horizon 2020, assembled nearly 100 professionals and students from various fields to explore human–robot communication. This year’s edition emphasized the human–human interactions in which human–robot interactions are embedded. On this background participants addressed essential themes such as robots’ agency, gestures, speech, and likeness to humans and the program featured expert lectures, practical workshops, and analysis sessions, fostering an interdisciplinary approach to learning. The successful integration of educational content and community building was evident in the positive testimonials, highlighting the importance of in-person exchanges and the combination of diverse views for progress in HRI research. This paper reflects on the accomplishments of the summer school, illustrating how it became a crucible for thought leadership and collaborative innovation in the HRI space.