Talk by Natalie Leesakul

Natalie, a new PhD student in the lab, will give a talk this week.

Natalie Leesakul – Introduction to Robotics and the Law 

My PhD research aims to investigate the legal, ethical, and social impact of the implementation of robotics in the workplace, in particular collaborative robotics (Cobots) in digital manufacturing, with the goal to provide design guidelines for different stakeholders in order to maximize the value of this technology while prioritizing user’s needs and interests.

So, what are cobots? Why should we care? Cobots are meant to work alongside humans in a safe way, and in the long term be more adaptable to change and assist human workers in solving tasks while further improving automation of production. However, there are various concerns and barriers for the full implementation of cobots despite their potential benefits. For example, the overarching legislation of health and safety presents strict policies on the safety protocols, such as, physical barriers to prevent people from being in close proximity to the robot which this protocol entirely defeats the whole purpose of cobot. Another pressing concern is how to ensure that the robot can only replicate the appropriate human gestures and ignore harmful behaviors as cobots will be learning from human workers. Moreover, the interactions between cobots and humans also create the norms of endless personal data collection and processing which can challenge the principle of privacy. Hence, as the industry is engaging more with this emerging technology, it is highly important to understand the impact of such implementation and examine different solutions to mitigate such risks.
This research is also in alignment with DigiTOP project’s objective which is to develop an open-access suite of digital tools that provide solutions to overcome organizational, technical and legal constraints in order to optimize productivity and enhance communication between human workers and robots in manufacturing.