Roboethics - Ethical Engineering for International Development and Environmental Sustainability - page 65

There has been some discussion of the social aspects of robotics for the last few
decades and this discussion has increasingly involved ethical issues (Kopacek
2012 ). The term 'roboethics' was introduced by Veruggio ( 2002 ) and offi cially pro-
posed during the First International Symposium on Roboethics in 2004. However,
much of the discussion of roboethics has focussed on ethical issues related to the
actions (autonomous or otherwise) of individual robots rather than the wider impacts
of the use of robots on society and the environment. An understanding of what types
of robotics developments are feasible is important for the discussion of the associ-
ated ethical issues. This chapter aims to provide an overview of roboethics fi rmly
grounded in an understanding of the underlying technological robotics issues.

2 Robots

2.1 Defi nitions and Statistics

There are a number of different defi nitions of robots, as well as many different
applications. One of the main categorisations of robots is into industrial and service
robots, with a further classifi cation of service robots into personal and professional
service robots (Shibata 2004 ). The most authoritative defi nitions are those in the
International Organization for Standardization Standard ISO 8373:2012 which
specifi es the terminology to be used in discussing robots and robotic devices:

• A robot is an actuated mechanism programmable in two or more axes with a

degree of autonomy, moving within its environment, to perform intended tasks.
Autonomy in this context means the ability to perform intended tasks based on
current state and sensing, without human intervention.

• An industrial robot is an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipur-

pose manipulator programmable in three or more axes, which may be either fi xed
in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications with the terms
defi ned as follows (1) reprogrammable : whose programmed motions or auxiliary
functions may be changed without physical alterations, (2) multipurpose : capa-
ble of being adapted to a different application with physical alterations, (3) phys-
ical alterations : alteration of the mechanical structure or control system except
for changes of programming cassettes, ROMs, etc., and (4) axis : direction used
to specify the robot motion in a linear or rotary mode.

• A service robot is a robot that performs useful tasks for humans or equipment

excluding industrial automation application. Note: The classifi cation of a robot
into industrial robot or service robot is done according to its intended
application.

• A personal service robot or a service robot for personal use is a service robot

used for a non-commercial task, usually by lay persons. Examples include
domestic servant robot, automated wheelchair, personal mobility assistive robot
and pet exercising robot.