![]()
by
Silicon Valley Robotics
Articles
November 8, 2016
Let’s stop talking about bad robots and start talking about what makes a robot good. A good or ethical robot must be carefully designed. Good robot design is much more than just the physical robot, and at the same time, good robot design is about ‘less’. Less means no extra features, and in robotics that includes not adding unnecessary interactions. It may seem like a joke, but humanoids are not always the best robots.
‘Less’ is the closing principle of the “10 laws of design” from world famous industrial designer Dieter Rams. Design thinking has framed discussion guidelines for good robot design, as ethicists, philosophers. lawyers, designers and roboticists try to proactively create the best possible robots for the 21st century.
Silicon Valley Robotics has launched a Good Robot Design Council with our “5 Laws of Robotics” that are:
Robots should not be designed as weapons.
Robots should comply with existing law, including privacy.
Robots are products: and as such, should be safe, reliable and not misrepresent their capabilities.
Robots are manufactured artifacts: the illusion of emotions and agency should not be used to exploit vulnerable users.
It should be possible to find out who is responsible for any robot.
These have been adapted from the EPSRC 2010 “Principles of Robotics” and we greatly thank all the researchers and practitioners who are informing all of us about this ongoing topic.
Silicon Valley is also placed at the epicenter of the emerging service robotics industry, robots that are no longer just factory workers but will be interacting with us in many ways, at home, at work, even on holiday.
In 2015, we produced our first Service Robotics Case Studies featuring robotics companies: Fetch Robotics, Fellow Robots, Adept and Savioke. We will shortly release our second report featuring: Catalia Health, Cleverpet, RobotLab and Simbe.
Design guidelines can not only create delightful products but can fill the ethical gap in between standards and laws.
After all, if our robots behave badly, we have only ourselves to blame.
If you liked this article, you may also want to read more about design and robotics:
Robot makers: The future of digital rapid design and fabrication of robots
What should a robot do? Designing robots that know right from wrong
Steffi Paepcke on Robots, women and design: Opportunities abound
Maker Club: Learn to code, design and build 3D printed robots!
See all the latest robotics news on Robohub, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Silicon Valley Robotics the industry association supporting innovation and commercialization of robotics technologies. .. read more
10 laws of design design robots robotics service robots
Research & Innovation
Business & Finance
Health & Medicine
Politics, Law & Society
Arts & Entertainment
Education & DIY
Events
Military & Defense
Exploration & Mining
Mapping & Surveillance
Enviro. & Agriculture
Aerial
Automotive
Industrial Automation
Consumer & Household
Space
latest posts popular reported elsewhere
Zoox raises $50 million for their stealthy Silicon Valley venture
by
Frank Tobe
How can swarm roboticists contribute to and benefit from the wisdom of other disciplines?
by
Chih-Chun Chen, Nathan Crilly
Robots at your service and empowering healthy ageing at #ERW2016
by
Robohub Editors
The Drone Center Weekly Roundup: 11/7/16
by
Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College
Robohub Digest 10/16: White House reports, Westworld, ESA space race and Robot Launch
by
Jana Witt, Kassie Perlongo
#DARS16 live coverage and video trailer: From robot swarms to origami modules
by
Sabine Hauert
Robotics in harsh environments
by
Alex Regrettier
Robotics tutor for primary school children
by
Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience
Talking Machines: ANGLICAN and Probabilistic Programming
by
Talking Machines
Report examines China’s expansion into unmanned industrial, service, and military robotics systems
by
Robohub Editors
latest posts popular reported elsewhere
Robotics in harsh environmentsRobot Launch 2016 – Robohub Readers’ Pick round oneHow do self-driving cars work?Unmanned and underneath: Stay in the know about underwater dronesRoot: A robot for all ages to learn codingFarming with robotsThe evolution of assembly lines: A brief historyNAO Next Gen now available for a wider audienceCan a brain-computer interface convert your thoughts to text?Clearpath Robotics launches “Warthog UGV”, the amphibious robot
latest posts popular reported elsewhere
Ibrahim Volkan Isler: Robotic Data Gathering in the Wild | CMU RI Seminar
Medical robotic systems market to reach US $13.6 Bn by the end of 2018 due to growing geriatric population | SBWire
Why Robots Must Learn to Tell Us “No” | Scientific American
RIPPA Demonstrating Autonomous Crop Interaction | ACFR
New US Robotics Roadmap calls for increased regulations, education and research | Phys.Org
Robotic bricklayer Fastbrick Robotics wins innovation award | The West Australian
The secret to small drone obstacle avoidance is to just crash into stuff | IEEE Spectrum
Release date announced for robot chef which can cook any meal and wash up after itself | The Telegraph
Kostas Alexis: Autonomous Exploration and Inspection using Aerial Robots | CMU RI Seminar
FEDOR robot helper russia cosmonaut space push ups | Inverse
Consortium secures record fusion robotics deal | World Nuclear News
Uber has quietly launched its own ‘Uber for trucking’ marketplace called Uber Freight | Business Insider
The need for diversity in robotics | Wall Street Journal
Agricultural Tech Investment Rises to Record $25 Billion | Bloomberg
How swarm technology could help fight cancer | CNN (video)
A.I. Inspiration: The Science Fiction That Frames Discussion | The New York Times
The Pentagon’s ‘Terminator Conundrum’: Robots That Could Kill on Their Own | The New York Times
Singapore to launch first trial of driverless buses in Jurong West | Channel News Asia
Schiaparelli: Mars probe ‘crash site identified’ | BBC News
Tesla Will Make Its Cars Fully Self-Driving, but Not Turn the System On Yet | New York Times
Cornell racing team and Velodyne’s LIDAR sensor
June 6, 2008
A dedicated jobs board for the global robotics community.
Robotics Engineers – Auro (Autonomous Shuttles for Campuses) - Auro RoboticsSr. Machine Vision / SLAM Engineer - Mayfield RoboticsRobotic Engineering Leader - ConfidentialTechnical Lead (Robotics Software Development) - Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology CentreSenior – Principal Development Scientist (Robotics Development) - Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre
