4 April 2023 (Tuesday)

13:30 – 15:00

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Organizers: Cecilia Laschi, Jonathan Rossiter, Serena Teo, Paolo Dario

Abstract

Soft robotics has been growing fast and is ready to contribute to the progress of robotics at large. We are at the dawn of a massive introduction of robots in our society, in a diversity of forms, in a variety of our daily living activities. Robots can be our medical check devices, our home cleaners, our personal assistants, and they can relief humanity from the most dangerous and inhumane jobs. It is the right time to steer this process in the direction of sustainability and acceptability. And soft robotics can provide a variety of novel solutions to pursue this goal. Under the environmental and energetic respect, soft robots can evolve towards a technological world that reduces the current gap with nature, as machines that are compatible with the natural environment and help preserve it. We have to ensure that robotics does not contribute to e-waste and energy waste and soft robotics can help this with new materials and less energy-hungry forms of computation. On the side of social sustainability and acceptability, our community can be leader in a process of rethinking economic models, legal scaffolds, social interaction paradigms, and ethical frameworks. Soft robotics technologies can provide robots with further abilities and humanity can take advantage of robots at work, unharming their potential threats.

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Program

13.30 – Introduction to the Forum, Cecilia Laschi, National University of Singapore

Session 1: Soft Robots for the Environment

13.35 – Introduction to the need for robots in marine environment preservation, Dr. Serena Teo, St John’s Island National Marine Lab, Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI), National University of Singapore

13.40 – “A marine ecologist’s perspective: opportunities for soft robots in the marine realm? ”, Dr Jani Tanzil, Senior Research Fellow, St John’s Island National Marine Lab, NUS

13.50 – “Challenges in unmanned aircraft surveys for assessment of carbon stocks”, Mr Leon Gaw, Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, National University of Singapore

Session 2: Environmentally Sustainable Robots

13.55 – Introduction to the technologies making robots sustainable, Jonathan Rossiter, University of Bristol, UK

14.00 – Kenjiro Tadakuma, Tohoku University, Japan

Session 3: Social Sustainability of Robots

14.15 – Introduction to the social aspects of robot sustainability and acceptability, Paolo Dario, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy

14.20 – Flavia Padovani, Drexel University, USA

Discussion Session

14.35 – Panel discussion, moderator: Jonathan Rossiter

14.55 – Conclusions and wrap-up, Paolo Dario

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