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

Participants will be provided with a structured set of worksheets designed to support individual reflection, group discussion, and the collective development of ethical principles for environmental robotics. These materials guide each stage of the workshop, from identifying hopes and concerns to evaluating and selecting proposed principles. All worksheets can be downloaded from the links provided below.

Worksheet 1: Individual hopes and fears 

Worksheet 2: Group Hopes and Fears

Worksheet 3: Ethical Principles

Worksheet 4: Ethical Principles, Feasibility and Impact

Worksheet 5: Ethical Principles selection