Robotics by Design Lab to Celebrate Its First Year of Research with Online Event Feb. 4

PARIS—One hundred years ago, Isaac Asimov, the creator of the term “robotics,” was born. His vision of a life shared with robots and artificial intelligence devices is not quite a reality yet. But in 2018, the French government launched a national research program called “For a Meaningful Artificial Intelligence,” which showed its strong desire to invest in emerging technologies such as AI and robotics. 

In this context, one year ago, Strate School of Design in Paris created Robotics by Design (RbD) Lab, a joint laboratory to bring together companies, academic researchers, robotics experts and world leaders in design and innovation around a focused set of research topics. The lab designs and conducts experiments using AI and social robots to understand how these emerging technologies affect personal and professional lives. Its ultimate goal is to create new ecologies of living together, to foster innovations that make sense and are real opportunities. 

To celebrate its first year of activities, the lab will hold the first of what will become an annual social event on February 4 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm CET / 11:00 am to 1:00 pm EST. The virtual event, which is free and open to the public, will:  

• Showcase the lab’s activities during its first year 
• Bring together its extended communities around a conference on social robotics led by Professor Adriana Tapus of the Autonomous Systems and Robotics Lab at ENSTA Paris, Institut Polytechnique Paris; and 
• Facilitate an informal discussion 

RbD Lab research is organized around four transversal research topics and four professionals PhDs projects: 

• How can AI and robotics contribute to improving the quality of life for staff and residents in nursing homes? 
• “Ikigai” robotics: A lever to increase workers’ engagement and ensure high industrial performance. [“Ikigai” means “reason for being”].  
• Using AI & robots to preserve the pet-human relationship and support aging well at home.
• Behavioral development models for smart creatures in contextual, social and collective interactions.  

In addition to Strate School of Design, three famous French universities (“Grandes Ecoles“) and their academic laboratories are involved: ENSTA Paris of Institut Polytechnique, CESI with its LINEACT laboratory and UPEC with its LISSI laboratory. Other renowned academics participating in the projects include Stéphane Vial, professor of design at the Québec University in Montréal (UQÀM), Luisa Damiano, professor of the epistemology of science, ethics and philosophy of social robots at the University of Messina in Italy, and Gentiane Venture, professor of robotics at TUAT University in Tokyo, Japan.  

The consortium also includes cutting-edge design and industrial partners:  

• Spoon, a French robotics startup 
• Korian, a European leader in homes for the elderly, and the Korian Foundation for Ageing Well
• BNP Paribas Cardif, a global specialist in personal insurance 
• SNCF, France’s national state-owned railway company 
• Altran, the world leader in engineering and R&D services, and frog, one of the world’s leading design and innovation firms, both part of the Capgemini Group. 

The lab’s many activities include seminars and events, studies and prototypes, and publications. Over the next four years, it will hold monthly doctoral student meetings called Robotoriales, RoboCamp – an annual event for all the stakeholders of the joint laboratory – and social events with interactional research guests open to the lab’s extended communities.  

To register for the February 4 celebration, click here. 

For more information, please visit www.roboticslab.design or contact rbd@strate.design.