Walking with Robots
Lead Research Organisation:
University of the West of England
Department Name: Faculty of Environment and Technology
Abstract
How would you like to have your house cleaned automatically by a robot? Would you want that robot to look human? Can you tell the difference between science fact and science fiction? How far do you think robotics technology has actually advanced? What is the most sophisticated robot available in the present day? If a fully-functional, thinking robot could be developed, would you consider it human?Walking with Robots is a three-year programme of events and activities designed to delight audiences with the potential of robotics research whilst encouraging them to consider both the technical challenges and ethical implications of that research.The Walking with Robots team consists of top researchers in intelligent robotics from throughout the UK, as well as experts in engaging public audiences with science and engineering. The robotics expertise ranges from designing and building robots for extreme environments (such as space or volcanoes), to developing robots that mimic nature (both physically and mentally), through to researching the emotions of robot-human interaction.A wide variety of activities have been proposed, with the key intention of combining innovation with experience in order to maximise interest and impact. Many of the researchers involved in the network have a long history of running successful public engagement projects in their area, exciting and educating public audiences of all ages. The Walking with Robots programme seeks to combine and extend these activities to produce a prominent UK-wide campaign for promoting awareness of and interest in robotics amongst public audiences. Highly successful existing activities will be extended and developed across the network, and new activities will be devised, based on the expertise of the network members and identified needs of the target audiences.
Organisations
- University of the West of England (Lead Research Organisation)
- UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (Collaboration)
- University of Sussex (Collaboration)
- The Open University (Collaboration)
- ABERYSTWYTH UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- University of Hertfordshire (Collaboration)
- At-Bristol (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS (Collaboration)
| Description | The key objectives of the Walking with Robots programme were: * To improve the public perception of engineering, particularly among young people; * To encourage a greater proportion of young men and women to consider engineering as a career; * To increase public awareness of intelligent robotics related issues and contemporary technologies; * To develop dialogue between robotics researchers and specific public interest groups in order to inform future research activities; * To extend and enhance public engagement expertise within the robotics research community; * To establish a UK-wide network of roboticists who are active in public engagement; * To build a network of contacts between robotics experts and centres of science communication (e.g. science centres and festivals, SETPoints, learned institutions, etc) across the UK, and * To promote the successes of the programme to the wider science communication and robotics research communities. |
| Exploitation Route | Drawing on expertise from within the network Walking with Robots ran training events to equip young researchers with the skills and confidence to engage with public audiences. As a result there is now a community of young roboticists ready and able to promote engineering to the public. |
| Sectors | Other |
| URL | http://www.alanwinfield.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Walking%20with%20Robots |
| Description | Walking with Robots delivered four high profile projects: * Robot Thought (2005-2007); * One Man and his Bot (2007); * Heart Robot (2008), and * Robotic Visions (2009-2010). In summary, the project: 1. Organised and supported over 100 separate events throughout the UK with a very broad range of event types, subject matter and target audiences; 2. Achieved extensive audience reach: at least 60,000 people, of which the majority (58%) were family audiences; 3. Facilitated a high level of involvement in public engagement amongst the UK robotics community, both at senior (e.g. professorial) level as well as more junior researchers; 4. Attained a wide and high level of regional, national and international media coverage; 5. Developed various support mechanisms for network members including an evaluation toolkit and website; 6. Developed significant partnerships throughout the UK including working with industry, science and discovery centres, learned institutions professional networks and other STEM Public Engagement practitioners, and 7. Accomplished a high level of recognition within the wider stakeholder communities including robotics research, STEM communication, policy makers, and learned institutions. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2009 |
| Sector | Other |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | Aberystwyth University |
| Organisation | Aberystwyth University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | At-Bristol |
| Organisation | At-Bristol |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | Open University |
| Organisation | Open University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | University of Edinburgh |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | University of Hertfordshire |
| Organisation | University of Hertfordshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | University of Leeds |
| Organisation | University of Leeds |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | University of Sussex |
| Organisation | University of Sussex |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | Christmas Lecture, Nottingham Medico-Chirurgical Society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This evening Christmas lecture for families and medical practitioners, organised by the Nottingham Medico-Chirurgical Society, sparked a great deal of discussion and interest. Several audience members remarked that they were much less afraid of robots than they had been; others said that the talk had helped them to better understand and interpret developments in robotics that appear in the press and media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | Ikeda elementary school talk, Osaka, Japan |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Organised and facilitated by the British Embassy, Tokyo, this talk and swarm robotics demonstration generated discussion about robotics with children, parents and teachers. No notable impacts that I am aware of. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| URL | http://www.alanwinfield.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/e-pucks-in-osaka.html |
| Description | International Robot Workshop, Osaka, Japan |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Organised and facilitated by the Bristol Embassy in Tokyo, the talk sparked a great deal of interest in the work of the Bristol Robotics Lab. Strengthening links between UK and Japanese robotics communities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | Talk for University of the Third Age (U3A), Weston super Mare |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The talk sparked a great deal of discussion afterwards, and several people contacted me directly as a result with follow-up questions. After the talk, several audience members remarked that they were much less fearful of robots than they had been; others said that the talk would help them to better understand and interpret developments in robotics that appear in the press and media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | Tomorrow's Technology talk, Royal Institution, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The talk prompted great excitement, questions and discussion. Several people attending the talk asked me how they could pursue robotics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |