Month: April 2022

Posted on

Robots and Cops

Robophilosophy 2022 is the fifth event in the biennial Robophilosophy Conference Series. It “will explore the societal significance of social robots for the future of social institutions with its usual broad scope, embracing both theoretical and practical angles” (CfP Robophilosophy). It “is an invitation to philosophers and other SSH researchers, as well as researchers in social robotics and HRI, to investigate from interdisciplinarily informed perspectives whether and how social robotics as an interdisciplinary endeavour can contribute to the ability of our institutions to perform their functions in society” (CfP Robophilosophy). Social institutions include retirement and nursing homes, strip clubs and brothels, monasteries and seminaries, and police departments. As announced by the organizers on April 15, Oliver Bendel (School of Business FHNW) will have the opportunity to present his paper entitled “Robots in Policing” at the conference. It is about how service robots and social robots are changing policing as “social work”. In addition, a poster by Katharina Kühne and Melinda Mende (University of Potsdam) as well als Oliver Bendel entitled “Tamagotchi on our couch: Are social robots perceived as pets?” was accepted.

Posted on

The Revival of Pepper

United Robotics is taking over “the European robotics branch” (Handelsblatt, April 12, 2022, own translation) of SoftBank, according to a report in the Handelsblatt, with the aim of reviving the Pepper social robot, among other things (Photo: Daimler and Benz Foundation). The Japanese company announced the year before last that it would forgo further development and production of its flagship product and focus on service robots. NAO and Pepper originally came from the French company Aldebaran, which was then acquired by SoftBank. Amazing things now seem to be happening under the umbrella of the RAG Foundation. The intention is to “form a European robotics champion” (Handelsblatt, April 12, 2022, own translation), as Thomas Hahn of the Automation and Robotics division is quoted. Formally, the acquisition of SoftBank’s European robotics business is a merger. “The Japanese will contribute their division to United Robotics Group and receive a 24.9 percent stake in return.” (Handelsblatt, April 12, 2022, own translation)

Posted on

Transport Robots on the Streets of LA

Hundreds of transport robots are on the streets of Los Angeles for Coco, an American food delivery company. According to them, they cover all major neighborhoods in the city and save considerable time and money. As Engadget reports, Coco has now expanded beyond its home base. It says the service is already available in Austin, and will also be available in Dallas, Houston, and Miami in the future. The vehicles are controlled remotely by employees, from their own homes. Other providers, however, are focusing on autonomous mobility. Oliver Bendel was able to see for himself on site in Santa Monica at the beginning of April 2022 that the transport robots manufactured by Segway drive along the sidewalks and cross the streets in compliance with the rules. Still, he considers them – like the Starship Technologies devices that Swiss Post has experimented with – to be tripping hazards. In metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, moreover, vandalism is likely to be a problem. Still, delivery seems to work on the whole (Photo: Coco).