The euROBIN Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) provides a roadmap for advancing embodied AI and robotics in ways that align with Europe's broader goals of sustainability, equity, and economic growth. By addressing immediate challenges and laying the groundwork for future innovation, the agenda ensures that robotics and AI can be pivotal in tackling pressing societal, economic, and environmental issues. This unified approach positions the EU as a leader in shaping technology for the public good while fostering ethical and sustainable development.
The societal impact of euROBIN's Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) is broad and focuses on a number of important aspects:
- Improving quality of life by developing robots capable of assisting elderly and disabled people. This is in line with societal needs for improved elderly care, rehabilitation and disaster response.
Such robots can also work closely with humans, allowing them to share many tasks in homes, workplaces and even public areas. - Ethical and inclusive development of AI, fostering trust in robotics, addressing cultural and psychological attitudes towards automation. This is done by paying particular attention to safety, transparency and regulatory frameworks, thus ensuring societal benefits while minimising risks of misuse.
- It enables skills transfer and lifelong learning, as robots with lifelong learning capabilities can be adapted to many different fields including education, healthcare and social services.
If we focus on analysing the economic impact that euROBIN's RAS can have, the main aspects that can be highlighted are:
- An improvement in productivity as it boosts the growth of traditionally low-automated industries such as textiles, agriculture and logistics. Also in the case of SMEs, through the so-called collaborative robots (co-bots).
- Supporting the circular economy by incorporating robots in the recovery, sorting and recycling of materials, thereby reducing waste and conserving resources.
- On the other hand, the SRA also promotes collaboration between academia, industry and policy makers, fostering innovation ecosystems, as e.g. digital twins and simulation technologies further accelerate technology transfer and commercialisation.
Finally, the environmental impact of the SRA focuses primarily on these improvements:
- Climate change mitigation, as there are some robots specially designed for environmental monitoring and precision agriculture, which allows for more sustainable practices.
- Robotics applications in search and rescue, environmental recovery and infrastructure inspection after natural or man-made disasters also contribute directly to increasing climate resilience.
- Some robotic systems, such as artificial muscles, tactile skins and neuromorphic computing, also contribute to energy efficiency and sustainability, contributing to sustainable design principles.
See here for the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA)