IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2022 - 93

as well as the collective experience of
the robotics community.
During the workshop, nine experts,
organized in three different panels, held
discussions of 30 min each, as listed in
Table 1. In addition, several contributions
were included as spotlights, presentations,
and posters. This article is a
summary of the discussions that took
place during the workshop and aims to
enrich the reflection on sustainability in
the robotics community.
Opportunities for Robotics
and the SDGs
There was clear agreement among the
panelists that robotics can help to
achieve the SDGs, some more directly
than others. These technologies have
the possibility to help in various ways,
and numerous examples were given by
the contributors [5]. The following
arguments only encompass the opportunities
identified during the panel.
This section is thus not exhaustive but
serves to show the variety of fields and
applications where robotics can enable
the SDGs. These opportunities are symbolically
illustrated in Figure 1.
Robotics, as defined in [6], was identified
as particularly relevant to SDG 3
( " Good Health " ). Health robots already
contribute to improving the quality of
medical care [7], [8]. Access to medication
can be improved through drone
delivery services [9], and social robots
can promote hand hygiene [10] or assist
the development of children with
autism [11].
Robotics can also significantly contribute
to SDG 8 ( " Good Jobs and Economic
Growth " ) by replacing humans
working in tedious or dangerous jobs
[12], especially in the context of aging
populations [13]. They can also be used
for training, from unskilled populations
[14], [15] to highly specialized skilled
workers such as cardiovascular surgeons
[16], or to improve ergonomics at
workplaces [17]. A panelist also presented
an initiative where robots are
used to teach technical skills to women
in nations where their participation in
the workforce is very low. They found
that technology was often a better interface
for women than a male teacher,
leaping beyond cultural inhibitions and
increasing their comfort levels, especially
for traditionally male skills such as
plumbing [18], [19]. This is also an
interesting contribution toward SDG 5
( " Gender Equality " ).
Robots can improve the quality of
education (SDG 4 " Quality Education " ):
an example that was mentioned is the
use of underwater robots by a school to
have children remotely explore the
ocean and learn about ecosystems,
resources, and pollution [20], which
also helps toward SDG 14 ( " Life Below
Water " ).
Special attention was put on the use
of robotics in the prevention and
response to disasters [21], reducing
their negative impacts on the SDGs.
Robots cannot only be used to access
dangerous environments but also to
enable faster recovery. For example,
they can accelerate the surveying necessary
to ensure that the environment is
safe for the reopening of economic
activities [22].
Surveying and mapping was also
mentioned as an opportunity to help
producing affordable and clean energy
(SDGs 7 and 13, " Renewable Energy "
and " Climate Action, " respectively),
allowing optimal positioning for infrastructures
such as offshore wind farms
[23]. Similarly, they can help monitor
for pollution and protection of ecosystems
[24] (SDGs 14 and 15, " Life Below
Water " and " Life On Land, " respectively).
The panelists also mentioned the
role of robotics in inspecting and maintaining
the infrastructures supporting
Figure 1. A symbolic representation of the opportunities for robotics within the context of the UN SDGs.
MARCH 2022 * IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE *
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IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2022

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