• The event will take place on September 16, 2025, at the Czech Technical University in Prague, as part of the European project PILLAR-Robots.
• Poster submissions are now open until July 10.
• Submission guidelines are available [here].

CITIC researchers from the University of A Coruña, Martín Naya and Alejandro Romero, who are working on the European project PILLAR-Robots, are organizing the international workshop “Alignment through Purpose in Autonomous Robots”, which will be held on September 16 as part of the IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning (ICDL), at the Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague, Czech Republic.

The event aims to open an interdisciplinary space for reflection on one of the major challenges of cognitive robotics: how to align robot learning and behavior with human values, social norms, and safety guarantees.

It will bring together the research community in robotics, artificial intelligence, cognitive sciences, ethics, and psychology to explore how autonomous systems can acquire knowledge and skills not only continuously, but also guided by both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.

One of the key challenges to be discussed during the workshop is how humans influence autonomous systems: what knowledge they should acquire, for what purpose, and in what way. This question involves a deep examination of the concept of “purpose” in autonomous robotics, understanding how humans give purpose to robots and how these align their behavior based on such expectations.

The poster submission period is currently open and will remain available until July 10, 2025. This is an excellent opportunity for PhD students, early-career researchers, and professionals in the field to share their progress and reflections on topics such as:

• Novel techniques for alignment and intentional behavior in robots

• Purpose-driven robot design

• Ethical frameworks for decision-making

• Value alignment between humans and robots

• Safety guarantees

The workshop will feature internationally renowned guest speakers such as Richard Duro, researcher at CITIC of UDC; Vieri Giuliano Santucci and Gianluca Baldassarre, researchers at the Institute for Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (Italy); and Niki Efthymiou, postdoctoral researcher at the National Technical University of Athens (Greece).

It is part of the activities of the PILLAR-Robots consortium, funded by the European Union to research purpose generation in artificial agents.

All information about the event, as well as poster submission guidelines, is available on the official workshop website.

About PILLAR-Robots

The PILLAR-Robots project (Purposeful Intrinsically motivated Lifelong Learning Autonomous Robots), funded by the Horizon Europe programme, seeks to develop a new generation of more autonomous robots, capable of operating effectively in real contexts such as the agri-food sector, educational entertainment, unstructured industrial production, and commerce. The project focuses on equipping robots with a cognitive architecture that allows them to establish their own goals and strategies throughout their operational lifespan, guided by purposes inspired by cognitive sciences.

This approach will enable robots to learn continuously, decide what to learn, in what order, and how to apply that knowledge in situations not foreseen during their design. PILLAR-Robots will develop algorithms for purpose acquisition and autonomous learning strategies to guide robots’ perception, decision-making, and motivation.

The consortium is composed of prestigious European institutions, such as CNR of Italy, Sorbonne University, the Athina Research Center of Greece, the company AI2Life SRL, and the Spanish firm PAL Robotics—placing this project at the forefront of research in artificial intelligence and autonomous robotics in Europe.