Humanitarian Technologies & Technology-Public Policy Considerations for Societal Good (Talk)
- Dr. Raj Madhavan
- Humanitarian Robotics Technologies, LLC
Many of the existing Robotics & Automation (R&A) technologies are at a sufficient level of maturity and are widely accepted by the academic (and to a lesser extent by the industrial) community after having undergone the scientific rigor and peer reviews that accompany such works. I believe that most of the past and current research and development efforts in robotics and automation have been squarely aimed at increasing the Standard of Living (SoL) in developed economies where housing, running water, transportation, schools, access to healthcare, to name a few, are taken for granted. Humanitarian R&A, on the other hand, can be taken to mean technologies that can make a fundamental difference in people’s lives by alleviating their suffering in times of need, such as during natural or man-made disasters or in pockets of the population where the most basic needs of humanity are not met, thus improving their Quality of Life (QoL) and not just SoL. My current work focuses on the applied use of robotics and automation technologies for the benefit of under-served and under-developed communities by working closely with them to develop solutions that showcase the effectiveness of R&A solutions in domains that strike a chord with the beneficiaries. This is made possible by bringing together researchers, practitioners from industry, academia, local governments, and various entities such as the IEEE Robotics Automation Society’s Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology (RAS-SIGHT), NGOs, and NPOs across the globe. I will share some of my efforts and thoughts on challenges that need to be taken into consideration including sustainability of developed solutions. I will also outline my recent efforts in the technology and public policy domains with emphasis on socio-economic, cultural, privacy, and security issues in developing and developed economies.
Biography: Raj Madhavan is an internationally recognized expert in humanitarian robotics and automation technologies. His current research interests lie in the application and tailoring of technologies that are cost effective, reliable, efficient, and geared towards improving the quality of lives of people in underserved and underdeveloped communities around the globe with emphasis on ethical, legal, and societal considerations of emerging technologies. He is particularly invested in the development of sustainable technologies and systems in a variety of domains that enable the realization of the UN’s 2030 agenda and the sustainable development goals for the benefit of humanity. Dr. Madhavan is the Founder & CEO of Humanitarian Robotics Technologies, LLC, focusing on applied technology consulting, training, and research. Most recently he was a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Robotics at Amrita University, Kerala, India and from 2001-2013, held appointments with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the University of Maryland, College Park. He received a Ph.D. in Field Robotics from the University of Sydney and an ME (Research) in Systems Engineering from the Australian National University. Within the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, he served as the Founding Chair of the Technical Committee on Performance Evaluation and Benchmarking of Robotics and Automation Systems, TC-PEBRAS (2009-2011), Founding Chair of the Humanitarian Robotics and Automation Technology Challenge, Vice President of the Industrial Activities Board (2012-2015), Chair of the Standing Committee for Standards Activities (2010-2015), since 2012 is the Founding Chair of the Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology (RAS-SIGHT), and is currently the Chair of the Robotics and Automation Research and Practice Ethics Committee (2017-). He is a senior member of IEEE and is the 2016 recipient of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society's Distinguished Service Award for his “distinguished service and contributions to RAS industrial and humanitarian activities”.
Details
- 19 May 2017 • 11:00 - 12:15
- N2.025 (AMD seminar room - 2nd floor)
- Autonomous Motion
