Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 903-910 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Soft robotics |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Early online date | 9 Dec 2024 |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2024 |
Abstract
Robotics is entering our daily lives. The discipline is increasingly crucial in fields such as agriculture, medicine, and rescue operations, impacting our food, health, and planet. At the same time, it is becoming evident that robotic research must embrace and reflect the diversity of human society to address these broad challenges effectively. In recent years, gender inclusivity has received increasing attention, but it still remains a distant goal. In addition, awareness is rising around other dimensions of diversity, including nationality, religion, and politics. Unfortunately, despite the efforts, empirical evidence shows that the field has still a long way to go before achieving a sufficient level of equality, diversity, and inclusion across these spectra. This study focuses on the soft robotics community—a growing and relatively recent subfield—and it outlines the present state of equality and diversity panorama in this discipline. The article argues that its high interdisciplinary and accessibility make it a particularly welcoming branch of robotics. We discuss the elements that make this subdiscipline an example for the broader robotic field. At the same time, we recognize that the field should still improve in several ways and become more inclusive and diverse. We propose concrete actions that we believe will contribute to achieving this goal, and provide metrics to monitor its evolution.
Keywords
- diversity and inclusion, equality, gender, inclusivity, interdisciplinarity, intersectionality, soft robotics
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Engineering(all)
- Control and Systems Engineering
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Biophysics
- Computer Science(all)
- Artificial Intelligence
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Soft robotics, Vol. 11, No. 6, 12.2024, p. 903-910.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Soft Robotics
T2 - A Route to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity in Robotics
AU - Aracri, Simona
AU - Hughes, Josie
AU - Della Santina, Cosimo
AU - Jovanova, Jovana
AU - Hoh, Sam
AU - Garcia Morales, Ditzia Susana
AU - Barcaro, Rosangela
AU - Tan, Yu Jun
AU - Kortman, Vera G.
AU - Sakes, Aimée
AU - Partridge, Alix J.
AU - Cianchetti, Matteo
AU - Laschi, Cecilia
AU - Mazzolai, Barbara
AU - Stokes, Adam A.
AU - Alvarado, Pablo Valdivia
AU - Yeow, Chen Hua
AU - Odetti, Angelo
AU - Lo Gatto, Valentina
AU - Pisacane, Lucio
AU - Caccia, Massimo
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - Robotics is entering our daily lives. The discipline is increasingly crucial in fields such as agriculture, medicine, and rescue operations, impacting our food, health, and planet. At the same time, it is becoming evident that robotic research must embrace and reflect the diversity of human society to address these broad challenges effectively. In recent years, gender inclusivity has received increasing attention, but it still remains a distant goal. In addition, awareness is rising around other dimensions of diversity, including nationality, religion, and politics. Unfortunately, despite the efforts, empirical evidence shows that the field has still a long way to go before achieving a sufficient level of equality, diversity, and inclusion across these spectra. This study focuses on the soft robotics community—a growing and relatively recent subfield—and it outlines the present state of equality and diversity panorama in this discipline. The article argues that its high interdisciplinary and accessibility make it a particularly welcoming branch of robotics. We discuss the elements that make this subdiscipline an example for the broader robotic field. At the same time, we recognize that the field should still improve in several ways and become more inclusive and diverse. We propose concrete actions that we believe will contribute to achieving this goal, and provide metrics to monitor its evolution.
AB - Robotics is entering our daily lives. The discipline is increasingly crucial in fields such as agriculture, medicine, and rescue operations, impacting our food, health, and planet. At the same time, it is becoming evident that robotic research must embrace and reflect the diversity of human society to address these broad challenges effectively. In recent years, gender inclusivity has received increasing attention, but it still remains a distant goal. In addition, awareness is rising around other dimensions of diversity, including nationality, religion, and politics. Unfortunately, despite the efforts, empirical evidence shows that the field has still a long way to go before achieving a sufficient level of equality, diversity, and inclusion across these spectra. This study focuses on the soft robotics community—a growing and relatively recent subfield—and it outlines the present state of equality and diversity panorama in this discipline. The article argues that its high interdisciplinary and accessibility make it a particularly welcoming branch of robotics. We discuss the elements that make this subdiscipline an example for the broader robotic field. At the same time, we recognize that the field should still improve in several ways and become more inclusive and diverse. We propose concrete actions that we believe will contribute to achieving this goal, and provide metrics to monitor its evolution.
KW - diversity and inclusion
KW - equality
KW - gender
KW - inclusivity
KW - interdisciplinarity
KW - intersectionality
KW - soft robotics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85195060477&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1089/soro.2023.0225
DO - 10.1089/soro.2023.0225
M3 - Article
C2 - 38813671
AN - SCOPUS:85195060477
VL - 11
SP - 903
EP - 910
JO - Soft robotics
JF - Soft robotics
SN - 2169-5172
IS - 6
ER -