Empowering Human-Robot Communication through Non-linguistic Pathways

Communication in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) often focuses on linguistic exchanges, with spoken dialogue providing a natural way for people to interact with robots. While direct verbal interaction can reduce barriers compared to other forms of interaction (e.g., text- or touch-based interfaces), it may also exclude users with speech, language, or cognitive differences, and they may not generalize well across cultures and contexts. Non-linguistic forms of communication, including non-verbal voice interactions and extra-linguistic signals (e.g., gesture, gaze, facial expressions, posture), offer complementary pathways that can enable more inclusive, accessible, and universal interactions. This workshop explores how non-linguistic communication can shape effective human-robot communication and collaboration. We aim to bring together researchers from HRI, conversational AI, linguistics, psychology, and accessibility studies to discuss opportunities, challenges, and design practices for integrating such features. The workshop seeks to advance inclusive design principles, bridge disciplines, and highlight future research directions on communication strategies that empower diverse users in their interactions with robots.