Robotics gets celebrated with 17 new projects under H2020
With a 32% share on the global market, Europe has a good shot at becoming a major player in robotics for the years to come. Lately European engineers have been busy setting the trend for the likes of plant-like robots, robotic arms, humanoid robots, human-centric technology for industrial robots, artificial intelligence or even cognitive robotics. But now is not the time to take a breather: technology is evolving at a dizzying pace, and keeping up with these changes requires a continued commitment to ambitious R&D initiatives. The most recent sign of this continued commitment by EU decision makers is the announcement of the first 17 projects to be funded under Horizon 2020. Among these, 13 are part of the ‘Research & Innovation actions’ focusing on the development of abilities and key technologies relevant for industrial and service robotics, whilst 4 are ‘Innovation actions’ aiming to introduce, test and validate innovative solutions in a real-world context. One thing that immediately stands out when looking at the various projects is their vision of what should define robotics in the future. This vision can be summarised in four distinct but complementary objectives: drawing inspiration from human specificities, overcoming our body’ limitations, supporting us in tedious or difficult tasks and help us take on global challenges. Under Horizon 2020, robots will first have to better understand us. An inspiring example is the ROBDREAM project, which aims to make inactive phases for robots as beneficial as they can be for humans: just like humans dream when they are asleep, robots’ learning process shouldn’t end with a push on the ‘off’ button. They should rather make the most of this downtime to reflect on their previous experiences and enhance their capacity to solve future problems. Equally, future robots still have a lot to learn from humans in terms of interacting with their environment and their human ‘colleagues’, and projects like SOMA (Soft-bodied Intelligence for Manipulation) and COGIMON (Cognitive Interaction in Motion) promise to be steps in the right direction. So should robots just become perfect copies of their creators? Not at all. The more the technology evolves, the more we see robots as means to help us perform difficult or tedious tasks. Think of cleaning up nuclear waste (ROMANS), performing industrial maintenance (SECONDHANDS), performing various operations on assembly lines (SARAFUN), manufacturing aircrafts (COMANOID), maintaining industrial sites (AEROARMS), washing floors (FLOBOT), inspecting disaster site in low visibility conditions (SMOKEBOT), surveying underwater installations (WIMUST) or even harvesting sweet pepper (SWEEPER). Complementarity between humans and robots is key here, and it reaches its climax with CENTAURO, a sci-fi inspired project which will target human-robot symbiosis through the development of a centaur-like robot. Human operators will be able to control this groundbreaking technology by means of a full-body tele-presence suit relying on augmented reality. Another thing robots are expected to do is help us through difficult times, when our health and well-being is at stake. When it comes to the former, robots to help people with Alzheimers’ or dementia have been largely documented recently. But H2020 scientists are willing to go further with RETRAINER, a robot-based technology to help neurological patients recover arm and hand function, and EUREYECASE which aims to help surgeons through the very delicate use of vitreoretinal eye surgery. Well-being, then, will be insured by robotic technology developed under FLOURISH, a project addressing the use of robotics for precision agricultural techniques — a vital switch if we are to feed a growing world population. With these projects, the EU certainly sets the bar high for future robotic technology, and paves the way for a new era of human-robot cooperation to the benefit of all. For further information, please visit: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/(opens in new window)
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