Abstract: Autonomous systems are on their way from an exotic system species to a mainstream technology, where they even reach safety critical and high assurance applications. Yet, efficient design concepts providing the required behavioral guarantees while keeping the benefits of autonomous intelligence are still an open topic, in theory and even more so in engineering practice. Some approaches rely on centralized guidance via infrastructure; others extend individual component capabilities by protective, often model based, functions. Another differentiation is the use of human support in unclear situations, such as in level 4 vehicle automation, vs. independent management with function degradation (e.g. safety layers). The workshop plans to provide examples from very different areas, such as road traffic, UAVs, human assistive robotics, and facility management. The design concepts have a high societal and economic relevance, including legal aspects, such as certification and liability.

Workshop Organization:

After an introduction, the workshop will start with introductory talks by experts from industry and academia from various domains working on different autonomous systems solutions. The session will continue with a panel discussion with these and further experts reflecting the different approaches to autonomy supervision.

Session 1: Introductory talks

Talk 1: Safeguarding Autonomous Systems: Industrial Practices and Challenges

Presenter: Dirk Ziegenbein, Bosch Corporate Research

Talk 2: Simulation Platform for Agile Governance of Mobile Robots and Drones in University Campuses

Presenters: Hiroyuki Tomiyama, Ritsumeikan University, and Norikazu Hayashi, NEXTY Electronics

Talk 3: Legal Outcomes as System Design Features and the Need for Automation Specific Law Reform

Presenter: William Widen, School of Law, University of Miami

Talk 4: Autonomous systems for the visual impaired – the supervision challenge

Presenter : Aman Malhotra, CTO & Co-Founder, NorrSpect AI

Session 2: Panel

• Dirk Ziegenbein, Bosch Corporate Research, DE
• Bill Widen, School of Law, University of Miami, US
• Hiroyuki Tomiyama, Ritsumeikan University, JP
• Marilyn Wolf, U Nebraska-Lincoln, US
• Arwed Schmidt, EasyMile, DE