WORKSHOP WS3

Addressing the Societal Challenge of Aging through Integrated Robotic Support Systems

January 11, 2026 as part of the SII2026, Cancun - Mexico

The global demographic trend of aging populations presents an urgent societal challenge: how to ensure sustained quality of life and independence for elderly and disabled individuals. As life expectancy increases, so does the demand for personalized support that caters to diverse physical, cognitive, and emotional needs. This challenge calls for innovative, scalable solutions that can be effectively integrated into daily living environments.

Robotics offers a powerful avenue to meet this need by providing adaptable physical assistance through a variety of systems, ranging from humanoid robots and wearable devices to specialized mobility aids such as robotic walkers and smart wheelchairs. However, realizing the full potential of these technologies requires a deeply human-centered approach to systems integration. Robotic support systems must be carefully designed not only for functionality but also for seamless interaction and user acceptance. This necessitates the integration of sensors, actuators, and intelligent control systems that can perceive, interpret, and respond to individual users’ physical states, emotional cues, and behavioral intentions. A key technical challenge lies in enabling such systems to adapt dynamically to users’ changing needs while operating unobtrusively within their living spaces.

At the heart of this integration effort is the development of digital twins—real-time, data-driven models that simulate human behavior, interaction with the robotic system, and environmental contexts within cyber-physical systems. These models enable predictive analysis and personalized support strategies to be tested and refined virtually before deployment. The feedback loop between digital simulation and real-world implementation is crucial: real-time data from robotic assistance informs and enhances the digital twin, creating a continuously improving system capable of delivering nuanced physical and psychological care. While digital twins have proven their value in industrial settings, their application to the human domain introduces new complexities, particularly in modeling cognitive and emotional states alongside physical activity.

Successfully navigating this frontier requires interdisciplinary collaboration and robust systems integration strategies, bringing together robotics, sensor networks, artificial intelligence, and behavioral science to create supportive ecosystems tailored to individual lives.

The goal of this workshop is to bring together researchers and practitioners from different disciplines and geographies to discuss the state of the art of robotics support systems for an aging society, providing assistance with mobility and other aspects of daily living. Besides the technical challenges of both the integrated systems and the digital twins, it will address psychological and cultural aspects related to expectations and acceptance of assistive robots.

This workshop is proposed by researchers from the Japanese-German Hekksagon project on Digital Solutions for Aging Societies, but includes invited speakers and solicits participation from all over the world.

Topics of Interest

Organizers

	Name	Affiliation
	Prof. Dr. Katja Mombaur	Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
	Prof. Dr. Yasuhisa Hirata	Tohoku University
	Prof. Dr. Kensuke Harada	University of Osaka
	Dr. Marko Ackermann	Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
	Prof. Dr. Jose Victorio Salazar Luces	Tohoku University

 

Talks by Invited Speakers and Organizers

Program

Contact Information