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Prof Noel Sharkey on service robots at Galway International Arts Festival2

Robots making burgers, drone delivery to your door to presiding over wedding ceremonies – the role of robots is changing in today’s world! Prof Noel Sharkey brings you on a tour of service robots around the world and asks what regulations society needs in place now. Service robots date from 2011 with sales of 4.7 million in 2014 for personal & domestic use mainly in Asia & the US. The World Federation in Robotics predicts 38 million by 2018. Prof Sharkey highlights ethical & privacy issues with a focus on robot supervision for children, assistive robotics and policing robots.

Doctor, Who’s in Charge of the Robots is the first thought talks series at NUI Galway by Prof Noel Sharkey as part of the Galway International Arts Festival in August. Aisling Dolan, the MARIO project manager met with Prof Roger Sharkey and Dr Amanda Sharkey (who sits on the MARIO Ethics & Privacy Supervisory Board) and discussed progress to date for our project and public awareness of robotics today. Prof Noel Sharkey is Emeritus Professor of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Sheffield. His current research is focused on the ethics of robot applications. He is the principal spokesperson on the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, is Co-Director of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics and is also Head Judge of BBC’s Robot Wars.


Do check out the Facebook live stream of the event here to find out how robots are becoming part of our everyday lives and ethical considerations for Responsible Robotics. (Scroll to minute 15 for the stream to begin)