The Grand Challenges of Science Robotics Exclusive Licensee Guang-Zhong Yang,1* Jim Bellingham,2 Pierre E
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SCIENCE ROBOTICS | PERSPECTIVE ROBOTICS Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; The grand challenges of Science Robotics exclusive licensee Guang-Zhong Yang,1* Jim Bellingham,2 Pierre E. Dupont,3 Peer Fischer,4,5 Luciano Floridi,6,7,8,9,10 American Association 11 12,13 14 15 1 for the Advancement Robert Full, Neil Jacobstein, Vijay Kumar, Marcia McNutt, Robert Merrifield, of Science. No claim 16 17,18 7,8,9 19 Bradley J. Nelson, Brian Scassellati, Mariarosaria Taddeo, Russell Taylor, to original U.S. 20 21 22,23 Manuela Veloso, Zhong Lin Wang, Robert Wood Government Works One of the ambitions of Science Robotics is to deeply root robotics research in science while developing novel robotic platforms that will enable new scientific discoveries. Of our 10 grand challenges, the first 7 represent underpin- ning technologies that have a wider impact on all application areas of robotics. For the next two challenges, we have included social robotics and medical robotics as application-specific areas of development to highlight the substantial societal and health impacts that they will bring. Finally, the last challenge is related to responsible in- novation and how ethics and security should be carefully considered as we develop the technology further. Downloaded from INTRODUCTION great strides in realizing its mission of power- ing components into synthetic structures to Just over a year ago, we published the first issue ing the world’s robots, from space robot chal- create robots that perform like natural systems. of Science Robotics. Even within this relatively lenges to autonomous driving, industrial (iii) New power sources, battery technol- short period of time, remarkable progress has assembly, and surgery. ogies, and energy-harvesting schemes for long- been made in many aspects of robotics—from Given all these advances, what does the lasting operation of mobile robots. http://robotics.sciencemag.org/ micromachines for biomedicine (1) to large- future hold for the field of robotics? Recently, (iv) Robot swarms that allow simpler, less scale systems for robotic construction (2) and we conducted an open online survey on ma- expensive, modular units to be reconfigured from robots for outer space to those involved jor unsolved challenges in robotics. On the into a team depending on the task that needs in deep-sea exploration (3). We have seen the basis of the feedback and submissions received, to be performed while being as effective as a evolution of soft robots and how new mate- an invited online expert panel was convened, larger, task-specific, monolithic robot. rials and fabrication schemes have led to de- and the panel shortlisted the 30 most import- (v) Navigation and exploration in extreme formable actuators that are compliant, versatile, ant topics and research directions. These are environments that are not only unmapped but and self-healing (4–6). We have also seen many further grouped into 10 grand challenges (Fig. 1) also poorly understood, with abilities to adapt, examples of bioinspired designs, from the that may have major breakthroughs, signifi- to learn, and to recover and handle failures. Fundamental aspects of artificial in- power-modulated jumping robot with agility cant research, and/or socioeconomic impact (vi) by guest on February 1, 2018 and power that approach those of galagos (the in the next 5 to 10 years: telligence (AI) for robotics, including learn- animal with the highest vertical jumping agil- (i) New materials and fabrication schemes ing how to learn, combining advanced pattern ity) (7) to a biomimetic robotic platform to for developing a new generation of robots that recognition and model-based reasoning, and study flight specializations of bats (8) and a are multifunctional, power-efficient, compli- developing intelligence with common sense. biorobotic adhesive disc for underwater hitch- ant, and autonomous in ways akin to biolog- (vii) Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) for hiking inspired by the remora suckerfish (9). ical organisms. seamless control of peripheral neuropros- We also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the (ii) Biohybrid and bioinspired robots that theses, functional electric stimulation devices, Robot Operating System (ROS) (10), the open- translate fundamental biological principles and exoskeletons. source robotics middleware that is making into engineering design rules or integrate liv- (viii) Social interaction that understands human social dynamics and moral norms and that can be truly integrated with our social life 1Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, Imperial College London, London, UK. 2Center for Marine Robotics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA. 3Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Boston showing empathy and natural social behaviors. Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. 4Institute of Physical Chemistry, University (ix) Medical robotics with increasing levels of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany. 5Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for of autonomy but with due consideration of legal, Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart, Germany. 6Centre for Practical Ethics, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. 7Digital Ethics Lab, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. 8Department of ethical, and technical challenges, as well as mi- Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. 9Data Ethics Group, Alan Turing Institute, London, UK. crorobotics tackling real demands in medicine. 10Department of Economics, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA. 11Department of Integrative (x) Ethics and security for responsible in- 12 Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Singularity University, NASA Research novation in robotics. Park, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA. 13MediaX, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. 14Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. 15Na- The field of robotics is broad and covers tional Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC 20418, USA. 16Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, De- many underpinning and allied technological 17 partment of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland. Department of Computer areas. The identification of these challenges Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. 18Department Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. 19Department of Computer Science, Johns Hopkins Uni- was a difficult task, and there are many sub- versity, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. 20Machine Learning Department, School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mel- topics not listed that are equally important lon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. 21School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of to future development. The above list is there- Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. 22John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard 23 fore neither exclusive nor exhaustive. University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. One of the ambitions of Science Robotics *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] is to deeply root robotics research in science Yang et al., Sci. Robot. 3, eaar7650 (2018) 31 January 2018 1 of 14 SCIENCE ROBOTICS | PERSPECTIVE Downloaded from Fig. 1. Ten grand challenges of Science Robotics. http://robotics.sciencemag.org/ while developing novel robotic platforms that tunable properties, and new fabrication strat- a promising material for soft and wearable will enable new scientific discoveries. Of the egies to embody these functional materials robotics, generating significant interest in em- 10 grand challenges listed here, the first seven as new capabilities for future robots, includ- bedding electrical functionality into fabrics. represent underpinning technologies that have ing the robot building and repairing itself. Finally, bidirectional transducers can enable a wider impact on all application areas of ro- New materials that combine sensing and sensors and actuators to behave as materials botics. For the next two challenges, we have actuation challenge the physical limitations for energy harvesting or storage. While de- included social robotics and medical robotics of traditional mechatronic systems and offer veloping new materials for the future of ro- as application-specific areas of development a range of opportunities for the design of new botics, it will be important to consider the to highlight the substantial societal and health robots (14). Many of the design principles biodegradability issues or as part of the cir- by guest on February 1, 2018 impacts that they will bring. Finally, the last draw inspiration from nature. In vertebrates, cular economy paradigm to ensure their eco- challenge is related to responsible innovation one finds a wide range of material properties sustainability. This is particularly relevant given and how ethics and security should be care- from soft tissue to bone—over seven orders the ubiquitous nature of robotic platforms in fully considered as we develop the technology of magnitude in modulus—that is mediated future (19, 20). further. by a continuous gradient of compliance. As Fabrication and assembly is typically a se- opposed to the more “nuts-and-bolts” assem- rial process that is slow and difficult to scale bly approaches currently used to