In this episode, Sabine Hauert interviews main stakeholders in European Robotics at the European Robotics Forum in Vienna.

Cécile Huet, Deputy Head of the Robotics Unit at the European Commission, gives us an overview of the new wave of robotics projects funded under Horizon2020, with a focus on robots that can help people and drive application. She also tells us about the tools available to fund the full pipeline from research projects to hubs of excellence in robotics.

Uwe Haass, previous Secretary General of the non-profit EURobotics, looks at the Association’s work to develop a roadmap for European Robotics and their efforts to bring industry and academia closer. The recommendations from EURobotics are then used to help drive the funding strategy of the European Commission.

Together, the European Commission and EURobotics form a public-private partnership named SPARC which invests over €2.8 billion in robotics. You can learn more about SPARC here.

Links:

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• European Commission
• EURobotics

This is the second part of a three-part series, check out the first five videos here.

You can also read about all the approved projects here.

FLOBOT
Title: Floor Washing Robot for Professional Users
Duration (months): 36
Presenter: Thomas Moerwald, Technische Universitaet Wien, AT
Partners: Cyprus Research And Innovation Center Ltd, CY | Fimap Spa, IT | Robosoft Services Robots, FR | University Of Lincoln, UK | Technische Universitaet Wien, AT | S.s.c. Societa’ Sviluppo Commerciale, IT | Manutencoop Facility Management Spa, IT | Ridgeback S.a.s. Di Paolo Barattini & C., IT | Groupe Services France, FR

RETRAINER
Title: REaching and grasping Training based on Robotic hybrid AssIstance for Neurological patients: End users Real life evaluation
Duration (months): 48
Presenter: Maria Bulgheroni, Ab.Acus srl, IT
Participant: Ab.Acus srl, IT | Politecnico Di Milano, IT | Technische Universitaet Wien, AT | Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne, CH | Otto Bock Healthcare Products Gmbh, AT | Congregazione Delle Suore Infermiere Dell Addolorata, IT | Asklepios Klinik Alsbach Gmbh, DE | Technische Universitaet Berlin, DE | Hasomed Hard-und Software Fuer Medizin Gesellschaft Mbh, DE

WiMUST
Title: Widely scalable Mobile Underwater Sonar Technology
Duration (months): 36
Presenter: Giovanni Indiveri, Università del Salento, IT
Partners: ISME (Inter-university Center of Integrated Systems for the Marine Environment), IT | Associacao Do Instituto Superior Tecnico Para A Investigacao E Desenvolvimento, PT | Cintal – Centro Investigacao Tecnologica Do Algarve, PT | The University Of Hertfordshire Higher Education Corporation, UK | Evologics Gmbh, DE | Graal Tech Srl, IT | CGG, Fr | Geo Marine Survey Systems Bv, NL | Geosurveys – Consultores Em Geofisica Lda, PT

AEROARMS
Title: AErial RObotic system integrating multiple ARMS and advanced manipulation capabilities for inspection and maintenance
Duration (months): 48
Presenter: Anibal Ollero, Universidad de Sevilla, SP
Partners: Universidad De Sevilla, ES | Deutsches Zentrum Fuer Luft – Und Raumfahrt Ev, DE | Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique, FR | Consorzio Di Ricerca Per L’Energia e Le Applicazioni Technologiche Dell’elettromagnetismo, IT | Fundacion Andaluza Para El Desarrollo Aeroespacial, ES | Tüv Nord Systems Gmbh & Co. Kg, DE | Universitat Politecnica De Catalunya, ES | Elektra Uas Gmbh, DE | Alstom Inspection Robotics Ag, CH | Sensima Inspection Sarl, CH

All the #ERF2015 videos can be found here.

Check out the first videos below and stay tuned for the rest of the series. You can also read about all the approved projects here.

Flourish
Title: Aerial Data Collection and Analysis, and Automated Ground Intervention for Precision Farming
Duration (months): 42
Presenter: Roland Siegwart, ETHZ
Partners: Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule Zurich, CH | Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn, DE | Albert-ludwigs-universitaet Freiburg, DE | Robert Bosch Gmbh, DE | Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique, FR | Universita Degli Studi Di Roma La Sapienza, IT | Agenzia Servizi Settore Agroalimentare Delle Marche, IT

Centauro
Title: Robust Mobility and Dexterous Manipulation in Disaster Response by Fullbody Telepresence in a Centaur-like Robot
Duration (months): 42
Presenter: Sven Behnke, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn, DE
Partners: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn, DE | Fondazione Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, IT | Scuola Superiore Di Studi Universitari E, IT | Perfezionamento Sant’anna, IT | Kungliga Tekniska Hoegskolan, SE | Linkopings Universitet, SE | Rheinisch-westfaelische Technische Hochschule Aachen, DE | Progenox Gmbh De, DE | Kerntechnische Hilfsdienst Gmbh, DE

AEROWORKS
Title: Collaborative Aerial Robotic Workers
Duration (months): 36
Presenter: Margarita Chli, University of Edinburgh, UK, Kostas Alexis, ETHZ, CH
Partners: Lulea Tekniska Universitet, SE | Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule Zurich, CH | Kungliga Tekniska Hoegskolan, SE | Universiteit Twente, NL | The University Of Edinburgh, UK |University Of Patras, EL |Ascending Technologies Gmbh, DE | Skybotix Ag, CH |Alstom Inspection Robotics Ag, CH | Skelleftea Kraft Ab, SE

CogIMon
Title: Cognitive Interaction in Motion
Duration (months): 48
Presenter: Jochen Steil, University of Bielefeld, DE
Partners: Universitaet Bielefeld, DE | Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne, CH | Fondazione Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, IT | The University Of Birmingham, UK | Fondazione Santa Lucia, IT | Imperial College Of Science, Technology And Medicine, UK | Eberhard Karls Universitaet Tuebingen, DE

Smokebot
Title: Mobile Robots with Novel Environmental Sensors for Inspection of Disaster Sites with Low Visibility
Duration (months): 42
Presenter: Achim Lilienthal, Orebro University, SE
Partners: Orebro University, SE | Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, DE | Fraunhofer-gesellschaft Zur Foerderung, DE | Angewandten Forschung E.v, DE | The University Of Warwick, UK | Taurob Gmbh, AT | Stadt Dortmund, DE

EU Robotics Forum 2015. Credits: Viennamotion KG

The SCHUNK hand.

EU Robotics Forum 2015. Credits: Viennamotion KG

The SCHUNK booth.

EU Robotics Forum 2015. Credits: Viennamotion KG

TUM Skin sensors.

EU Robotics Forum 2015. Credits: Viennamotion KG

The TUM team.

EU Robotics Forum 2015. Credits: Viennamotion KG

The ABB display

EU Robotics Forum 2015. Credits: Viennamotion KG

The KUKA youBot.

EU Robotics Forum 2015. Credits: Viennamotion KG

Exhibit hall.

EU Robotics Forum 2015. Credits: Viennamotion KG

Factory in a Day.

EU Robotics Forum 2015. Credits: Viennamotion KG

The Exhibit Hall.

EU Robotics Forum 2015. Credits: Viennamotion KG

Zoran Stancic, Deputy Director-General at the European Commission, DG CONNECT, with Chris Bourillon, new Secretary-General of EURobotics

EU Robotics Forum 2015. Credits: Viennamotion KG

Speakers from the Opening Session.

EU Robotics Forum 2015. Credits: Viennamotion KG

European Robotic Forum 2015. Credits: Viennamotion KG.

The importance of allaying public fears that robots will create mass unemployment was the theme of the opening session at the 2015 European Robotics Forum (ERF), which kicked off in Vienna on Tuesday.

ERF is the largest robotics networking event in Europe and this year attracted a record number of delegates. Over 600 were in attendance, including industrialists, researchers, investors, politicians and media.

The opening session featured a panel discussion entitled Robots or Jobs? The issue was introduced by Bernd Liepert, President of the European stakeholders association, euRobotics and CTO of industrial robotics manufacturer, KUKA.

“There are fears from economists that robots are replacing jobs in large numbers,” he said, quoting statistics indicating that up to 50% of jobs could be lost to automation.

Zoran Stancic, Deputy Director-General at the European Commission, DG CONNECT, followed Mr Liepert on the podium and was quick to point out that “there is clearly information that robots don’t steal jobs. We have to make this information freely available to all stakeholders.”

Jorg Hofmann, who is on the board of car manufacturer Daimler, and Vice Chairman of the German Metalworker’s Union (IG Metall), followed up, saying that “past waves of innovation have been counterbalanced by gains in other sectors.”

“It’s not a question of jobs, it’s a question of quality of jobs…” he said. “And how we qualify our workforce to manage this change.”

The session developed into a wider panel discussion with the addition of Mady Delvaux-Stehres, MEP, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee and Maarten Goos of Leuven University’s Research Centre of Monetary and Information Economics.

Mr Goos was introduced as one of the leading researchers in this area, and spoke about the “complimentary effect” of robotics.

“If you look at the academic literature, you have to conclude that, in general, introducing robotics increases employment,” he said, explaining that, as we work with robots, productivity goes up and generates income.

He pointed out that the studies warning of up to 50% in job losses use a specific methodology, which he called “a set of subjective guesses.” His view is that we should move away from that methodology.

However, a number of challenges need to be addressed, he believes. One of these is the nature of work, which will undoubtedly change. Pushing people into programming is, he said, not the only solution to this. We should also develop more creative, communicative skills, which can compliment robotics.

But he warned that we may be lacking the right institutions to support these upcoming changes. In addition, we need to change from top down to bottom up policy in order to deal with the issues robotics will present.

European Robotic Forum 2015. Credits: Viennamotion KG.

The European Commission is, however, determined to play a leading role in developing a framework that national institutions will be able to emulate when they come to legislate on the changes jn employment and society brought about by robotics.

To this end, a new working group has been established to develop concrete proposals that it hopes to present to the European Parliament next month, Mady Delvaux-Stehres informed delegates.

The group will address topics including liability for damage, social impact and data privacy. The overall goals are to strengthen the European economy, protect the social and fundamental rights of the citizen, and bridge the gap between politicians and the scientific community.

But, on the ground level, developing systems that are easy for people to use is key to public acceptance of robotics , a view shared by many on the panel.

“We need the human being, we need smart factories, not dark factories. We need to train people to work in these factories, with increased skills,” said Mr Liepert.

“A new generation R [for robots] is growing up with vacuum cleaning robots, autonomous cars and co-working robots.  To develop robot systems that are easy to use by people – that’s a key driver.”

Co-working with robots, the panel agreed, is a necessary part of our community in Europe and we need to develop strategies to convince the general public about the benefit of robotics.

The panel offered a number of solutions as to how this may be achieved:

“We can only solve the problem if we address the usability,” was the view of Mr Liepert. He used the smartphone as analogy, saying people have no fear of it because they understand it and robotics could benefit by emulating similar ease of use, which would in turn promote acceptability. On the academic front, he believes there is a lot of work to be done to achieve this objective.

Mr Stannic believes that communication with the wider public is key, particularly when it comes to older users. He urged delegates to view an inspirational video of a 94-year-old describing the difference technology has made to her life. The commission has made the video available on You Tube.

“We all have prejudices,” he said. “We need to address our fears and problems. When you can see concretely how you can benefit, it helps.”

Mr Goos pointed out that public mistrust of technology is nothing new; similar issues were present at the dawn of the industrial revolution. The answer then was mass education, teaching people how to read and write. He believes that we haven’t yet pinned down strategies to reassure the public in respect of robotics. “Dealing with their fears,” he said, “should be part of the overall policy.”

The sixth edition of the European Robotics Forum is kicking off today in Vienna.

This 3-day event, from March 11-13, is a meeting point for at least 600 scientists, companies and robotics officials from the European Commission. The program is designed to provide an opportunity for the companies and researchers to meet and interact in workshops and seminars in order to expand their networks, gather the latest relevant information, and build new business and collaborations.

Sabine and Adriana from Robohub are covering the conference, check back here for our latest coverage, including podcasts, videos, blogs and tweets:

• ‘Robots or jobs’ is key focus of #ERF2015
• #ERF2015 webcam: Horizon2020 project pitches Part I
• #ERF2015 in pictures

#ERF2015 Tweets