ERF2016 SPARC Workshop on Cognitive Robotics
The Partnership for Robotics in Europe
European Robotics Forum 2016 Programme
Contents
Session Title
SPARC Workshop on Cognitive Robotics: Actions for Promoting the Deployment of Cognitive Systems in Industry
Organizers
David Vernon, University of Skövde, Sweden (david@vernon.eu)
Markus Vincze, Technische Universität Wien, Austria (vincze@acin.tuwien.ac.at)
Motivation and Objectives
- The Partnership for Robotics in Europe - brings together euRobotics aisbl and the European Commission. It is supported by a project that was launched in February 2016 which, along with its many other activities, has five goals to promote the deployment of cognitive systems in industry:
- Identify industrial priorities
- Create a catalogue of cognitive systems algorithms
- Create a RockEU2 cognitive architecture schema
- Develop a framework linking cognition and autonomy
- Develop software engineering guidelines for cognitive robotics
This workshop is the first opportunity for the robotics community to engage and become involved in the achievement of these goals. This workshop will result in a clear plan of action and it will provide the first crucial steps in formulating a meaningful strategy to make cognitive robotics a mainstream industrial technology.
Workshop Format
The workshop will be a facilitated brainstorming exercise. There will be five breakout sessions, one for each goal. The attendees will choose which of the five breakout sessions they want to attend, during which they will provide three answers to a small number of focussed questions. A facilitator will then collect these answers and, together with the participants, sort them in to consistent groups. These collective answers will then be presented to the full meeting. After all the participants have had an opportunity to discuss the issues raised and give their own views, we will then identify the follow-up actions needed to move this process forward, effectively and efficiently.
Agenda
14:00 – 14:20 Introduction to objectives & methodology
14:20 – 14:30 Identification of breakout groups
14:30 – 15:30 Five parallel breakout group brainstorming sessions
15:00 – 15:00 Coffee break
16:15 – 17:05 Five 10-minute feedback presentations
17:05 – 17:35 Moderated open discussion
17:35 – 17:45 Identification of short-term goals and follow-up actions
Preparing for the Workshop
All attendees at ERF2016 are warmly invited to participate in the workshop. It promises to be an enjoyable and interesting exercise. We will give an overview of the brainstorming technique to be used at the start of the session, but it would be very helpful if prospective participants familiarized themselves with the following material.
SPARC Cognitive Systems Coordination
In the past, the SPARC coordination and support action (CSA) project led to the creation of euRobotics aisbl (the private partner of the SPARC PPP), and to the development of the Strategic Research Agenda and the Multi-Annual Roadmap, the main guidelines for shaping European robotics R&D&I.
A follow-on CSA has a full work package dedicated to cognitive systems coordination, with five tasks targetting the goals listed above: see here.
Prospective participants are strongly encouraged to read through these task descriptions as they explain exactly what we are setting out to achieve in this workshop.
Briefing Notes for the Breakout Session
The following documents explain how the breakout session will work in practice. The breakout session exercises are provisional for the moment and the questions may change.
General Instructions
Breakout Session Exercises
