The Small Robot Company has joined forces with the John Lewis Partnership, strategic design consultancy Method and several leading robotics companies and industry bodies in the UK, to develop a blueprint for “Human Robotic Interaction” (HRI) in the 21st century. CPM reports.

Envisioned as an open framework to be evolved over time, this ground-breaking initiative is set to foster and accelerate the safe and ethical adoption of robotics across British industry.

According to the Small Robot Company, it will also help define how autonomous robotic technology should interact with people in the real world across different environments and sectors including manufacturing, retail and farming.

The number of industrial robots active in the UK has grown by 30%, according to the International Federation of Robotics, highlighting the need for a framework to govern how robots should interact with humans as we start to encounter them in a wide range of everyday scenarios.

Ben Scott-Robinson, co-founder of the Small Robot Company, believes that real world robotics are set to ‘explode’.

“Powered by Artificial Intelligence, robots are now becoming truly autonomous, and we’re about to see a massive influx of commercial robots in the consumer domain.

“In our shops, factories, hotels, streets and fields. It’s vital that consumers can trust and feel comfortable with these encounters. So we’re launching a cross-industry initiative to create a blueprint for robotics in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

The Human Robotic Interaction blueprint will look to define:

  • The proper characteristics and states of the robot persona
  • How the user/ robot relationship should function
  • How robots should be properly programmed – to ensure people find them engaging, trust-provoking and safe
  • How a robot should interact within the boundaries of its geospatial map
  • How a robot should respond to humans it encounters during the course of its work

The initial principles for the blueprint will be formally presented during a stakeholder consultation event on 1 August at Google’s offices in London.

This will be followed by a public consultation, supported by organisations like the National Trust and LEAF, and launched at Countryfile Live. The output will then be developed into a first-of-its kind commercial HRI guide.

Collaboration

This unique initiative follows on from the Small Robot Company’s first collaboration with the John Lewis Partnership last November, when it commenced a three-year trial of its harvesting robots on the Waitrose & Partners farm in Leckford, Hampshire.

The robotics company also continues to work closely with John Lewis’s Room Y innovation team, which is assisting in the development of HRI as well as other innovative propositions which could transform the retail industry.

John Vary, futurologist at the John Lewis Partnership, said: “Britain is a melting pot for robotics innovation and the use of autonomous robot technology to assist human workers is a very real prospect for the future.

“Before we get there, we need to define how that relationship works. The John Lewis Partnership started out as a radical experiment in industrial democracy and innovation continues to remain at the heart of our business today.

“Therefore, we are uniquely placed to support businesses like the Small Robot Company as this technology evolves.”