Embarking on a transformative journey three years ago, the Robotics4EU project has been a beacon for advancing responsible robotics across Europe. In this final retrospective, we reflect on the project's key accomplishments, from understanding the current landscape to fostering community engagement and developing crucial tools for sustainable robotics development. Join us as we delve into the milestones achieved, and the promising trajectory set forth for the future of responsible robotics in Europe.

Creating an understanding of Responsible Robotics in Europe

The Robotics4EU project started three years ago with a focus on better understanding the current state of play for robotics adoption in Europe by conducting a needs analysis and Citizen Consultations. The purpose of the needs analysis of the robotics community and policymakers was to gain new insights into current issues and non-technological barriers in relation to the deployment of robotics in Europe (1232 respondents and 60 interviews) — whilst the Citizen Consultation followed the GlobalSay methodology to engage 742 citizens from 12 countries to collectively discuss how robotics are perceived in different settings and industries. 

Building a capacity and forming a community for responsible robotics

After having established an initial overview and network, the Robotics4EU consortium set out to raise awareness, build capacity for, and connect organisations to responsible robotics ideas that can overcome non-technological barriers in deployment. This has been achieved by using a mix of approaches targeting the Agrifood, Healthcare, Inspection & Maintenance, and Agile production robotics sectors. These methods included:

• Organising 16 capacity building workshops (4 in each sector) that covered a range of relevant topics.
• Validating 11 robotics business ideas using citizens feedback (1045 respondents).
• Hosting 4 co-creation workshops (1 per sector) in which robotics developers met with their end-users to play a discussion board game that posed challenging questions related to responsible robotics. 
• Creating a VR exhibition for robotics solutions to be showcased everywhere without having to move the robot (classroom, conference, museum, etc.). 

Building a future for responsible robotics for years to come

Although the Robotics4EU project might come to an end soon, the consortium has gone through extensive efforts to incorporate all findings into three core deliverables that will support Responsible Robotics in Europe for years to come:

• Responsible Robotics Compass is an easy-to-use tool that provides robotics developers with accurate recommendations and resources based on their current risks and mitigation steps according to Legal, Data, Socioeconomic, Human Experience, and Environmental aspects. Using the tool, the robotics developers can create their own roadmap and measure progress over time. The best thing is: the tool is alive! This means it is very easy to incorporate new industry best practices, research findings, and policy updates into the tool to remain relevant. 
• Responsible Robotics Policy Recommendations and Advocacy report is a collection of recommendations made to EU and national governments to stimulate the uptake of robotics in Europe that have been gathered through our project's lifetime and interviews with policy experts. 
• AI-on-Demand integration has been finalised. The Robotics4EU project has been an early adopter and contributor of the new platform for the AI community in Europe and is the frontrunner for robotics in this space. All of our deliverables and findings have been integrated and will be forever accessible there. 

We are confident that the tools, resources, and knowledge generated through our work will continue to guide the responsible development and deployment of robots, ensuring they contribute positively to our collective future. Please reach out to us for anything, especially if you’re interested in sharing our recommendations/findings and continuing our Responsible Robotics Compass. 

Author: Lucas de Bont (CIV)