ICSR: Workshop – The Mechanics of Ensoulment

At the International Conference on Social Robotics and Art (ISCR), 1-4 July 2026 in London, we will be organizing the half-day workshop The Mechanics of Ensoulment: How Control Mappings Animate Social Robots.

This workshop explores how different control interfaces and mapping strategies shape the expressive and social qualities of robots. Focusing on live and manually operated systems, it examines how mediation through controllers and mappings influences timing, gesture, perceived agency, and presence.
Participants engage hands-on with robots controlled through contrasting approaches, ranging from direct puppeteering-style mappings to standard engineering controls. Through guided exploration, expert demonstration, and short performative tasks, the workshop makes the role of the human operator explicit and open to comparison.
The workshop brings together perspectives from social robotics, human–robot interaction, and performance-based practices, drawing on research conversations within the Dramaturgy for Devices (D4D) consortium.

Workshop Format

The session combines:
* Conceptual framing
* Hands-on exploration of different control mappings
* Expert demonstration of expressive control
* Team-based remapping and short performance studies
* Facilitated reflection and discussion
* The structure is inspired by rehearsal-based methods from puppetry and performance, adapted for
analysing robotic control and interaction

Organisers