| Workshop on Robotics & Dependability | ||||
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Robotic systems are complex machines controlled
by software modules implementing basic functions such as servo loops and
programs which deal with supervision and action planning. These components
are integrated within an architecture which defines an organization for
robot operation. The issues of robustness and dependability of such systems
didn't attract much attention in the robotics community in general, except
for very critical applications (e.g., assisted surgery). However, in applications
such as public-oriented service, assistive and personal robots will involve
close interactions with non-professional users. This clearly raises critical
questions of physical safety and operating robustness. Both aspects can
be captured by the concept of Dependability. Other applications such as
space robotics and planetary exploration, have similar concerns on dependability. Unlike the industrial robotics domain where the workspace of machines and humans can be segmented, service and personal robots must, by definition, have physical contact and interaction with the user. The safety aspect entailed is, of course, already an important challenge addressed by Robotics research. However, a more difficult and far reaching challenge concerns operating robustness. Here, the issues are central to the very concept of "Intelligent" robots. The objective of this one-day workshop is to bring together researchers from the robotics and dependability communities to exchange views and to cross fertilize their fields by reviewing the main technical challenges and research issues, assessing the research opportunities central to future critical developments and to foster research activity and international cooperation. Medium-term and long-term industrial applications will also be considered. The topics covered by the workshop include, but are not limited to: -- Reliable sensing and control -- Fault tolerant real-time processing -- Operability diagnosis -- Validation -- Fault location and isolation -- Decisional autonomy and exception handling -- User-robot communication robustness -- Networked operation -- Legal and liability issues -- Standards and their role today |
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