BRAC University student team wins IEEE robotics ethics award

A four-member student team of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the BSRM School of Engineering of BRAC University has won a People’s Choice Award in 2023 ICRA Roboethics Competition recently. The four, Upama Adhikary, Zafira Tahseen Hoque, Rifat Rahman and Sayef Mahmood, had presented a report and video titled “‘Runaround’ for today: Asimov’s Law to Ethically Resolve Dilemmas in Robotic Assistance". Their mentors were Lecturers Abdulla Hil Kafi and Raihana Shams Islam Antara.

Held in London, UK from 29 May, 2023 to 2 June, 2023, the 2023 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) is one of the largest events centering robotics and automation. Competitions held as a part of the conference were designed as a hybrid event, enabling participants to choose between online and in-person participation.

One of those was an Ethics Challenge, carried out through online submissions. Participants were presented with a scenario that involved a care robot interacting with residents in an elderly care home while addressing various ethical challenges. Their task was to prepare a written project report outlining the ideal programming behavior for the robot without requiring actual code or programming. Additionally, participants were required to submit a video presentation to convince the technical audience of the feasibility and effectiveness of their proposed behavior. The ultimate goal of the project report was to persuade the technical audience to implement the suggested behavior during the ICRA conference.

The BRAC University team’s project was on an innovative approach to ethically resolving dilemmas in robotic assistance. It demonstrated an understanding of the ethical challenges associated with care robots. By drawing inspiration from Asimov's Laws, they proposed comprehensive guidelines to ensure the safe and responsible behavior of these robots. The team emphasized on prioritizing the well-being, privacy, and autonomy of users and a commitment to ethical principles. Their recognition underscores the significance of incorporating ethics into the development and deployment of robotic systems, inspiring responsible advancements that benefit society.