Winfield Alan F T, Swana Matimba, Ives Jonathan, Hauert Sabine
Bristol Robotics Laboratory, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK.
School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TW, UK.
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2025 Jan 30;383(2289):20240142. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2024.0142.
In this paper, we address the question: what practices would be required for the responsible design and operation of real-world swarm robotic systems? We argue that swarm robotic systems must be developed and operated within a framework of ethical governance. We will also explore the human factors surrounding the operation and management of swarm systems, advancing the view that human factors are no less important to swarm robots than social robots. Ethical governance must be anticipatory, and a powerful method for practical anticipatory governance is ethical risk assessment (ERA). As case studies, this paper includes four worked examples of ERAs for fictional but realistic real-world swarms. Although of key importance, ERA is not the only tool available to the responsible roboticist. We outline the supporting role of ethical principles, standards, and verification and validation. Given that real-world swarm robotic systems are likely to be deployed in diverse ecologies, we also ask: how can swarm robotic systems be sustainable? We bring all of these ideas together to describe the complete life cycle of swarm robotic systems, showing where and how the tools and interventions are applied within a framework of anticipatory ethical governance.This article is part of the theme issue 'The road forward with swarm systems'.
在本文中，我们探讨这样一个问题：实际应用中的群体机器人系统要实现负责任的设计与运行需要哪些实践？我们认为，群体机器人系统必须在道德治理框架内进行开发和运行。我们还将探讨群体系统运行和管理过程中的人为因素，提出人为因素对群体机器人而言与社交机器人同样重要的观点。道德治理必须具有前瞻性，而道德风险评估（ERA）是进行实际前瞻性治理的有力方法。作为案例研究，本文包含四个针对虚构但贴近现实的实际群体的ERA工作示例。尽管ERA至关重要，但它并非负责任的机器人专家可用的唯一工具。我们概述了道德原则、标准以及验证与确认的辅助作用。鉴于实际应用中的群体机器人系统可能会部署在多样的环境中，我们还会问：群体机器人系统如何实现可持续发展？我们将所有这些观点整合起来，描述群体机器人系统的完整生命周期，展示在预期性道德治理框架内工具和干预措施的应用位置及方式。本文是主题为“群体系统的未来之路”的一部分。
