Designing Responsibility:
Principles for Environmental Robots
TBC 2026, Bristol, UK
TBC 2026, Bristol, UK
This workshop aims to explore an unmet policy need: the absence of ethical principles and guidance for environmental robotics. In the workshop, participants will explore the ethical and practical implications of the design, development, and deployment of environmental robotics to draft a set of principles. The workshop will utilise a design thinking-inspired format to stimulate creative and critical reflection and will be structured as follows:
Introduction: Workshop organisers will set the context and explain the objectives
Hopes and Fears Exploration: Individual and group-based thinking of hopes and fears for environmental robotics
Brainstorming Principles: Group discussions to generate an array of principles and definitions
Refine and Pitch: Group discussion to down-select principles and pitch to the other groups
Summary and Next Steps: Conclude with a discussion on future research directions
A summary of the key priorities identified during the session
A report that outlines the next steps for developing the research agenda and how participants can stay involved
A paper with workshop's insights: This publication will provide a reference for researchers, industry practitioners, and policymakers, as a starting point for the development of ethical principles that can be used to guide environmental robotics.
All the findings will be shared on this website. Stay tuned!