RoboLaw: Project Overview
The main objective of the RoboLaw project is to understand the legal and ethical implications of
emerging robotic technologies and to uncover (1) whether existing legal frameworks are
adequate and workable in light of the advent and rapid proliferation of robotics technologies, and (2)
in which ways developments in the field of robotics affect norms, values and social processes we
hold dear. The problem of regulating new technologies has been tackled in Europe almost by every legal
system: Therefore, it is possible to rely on a background which includes a large amount of studies on
the relationship between law and science and between law and technology. Nevertheless, the
RoboLaw project is focused on the extreme frontiers of technological advance, confronting the legal
"status" of robotics, nanotechnologies, neuroprostheses, brain-computer interfaces, areas in which
very little work has been done so far. The radical novelty of these technological applications and
instruments requires an original and more complex investigation, characterized by a multidisciplinary
method and a comparative analysis of the diverse approaches adopted in different legal systems.
Several research institutes worldwide have investigated aspects of the regulatory and legal
consequences of developments in robotics. However, so far the landscape of "robolaw" (in Europe
and outside) is still quite fragmentary. As early as the 1980s legal scholars started to investigate
whether the development of artificially intelligent machines, such as robots, would require an
adaptation or extension of existing legal frameworks, for instance in relation to liability or legal
status. Much of this work was related to agent technology in software systems. Since robotics was
still more science fiction than actual fact, however, many of these investigations were sketchy in
nature. They addressed important legal themes to be covered by (future) law on robotics, but did not
provide concrete measures or rules, nor did they apply to actual legal systems. This project is the first
in-depth investigation into the requirements and regulatory framework(s) of "robolaw" in the age of
the actualization of advanced robotics, and the first study to combine the many different legal themes
that have been investigated in isolation before. Moreover, it is the first research to delve into the legal
and ethical consequences of developments in robotics within specific legal systems within the EU
and to compare these with the US and the Far East, Japan in particular.
The main goal of the RoboLaw project is to achieve a comprehensive study of the various facets of
robotics and law and lay the groundwork for a framework of "robolaw" in Europe. When there is no
specific legislation aimed at regulating these new technologies, the problems they pose need to be
confronted in the frame of extant legal systems; an objective of the research is, therefore, to verify
the applicability of current rules and use the present instruments and categories to formulate possible
solutions. This preliminary investigation will also point towards areas of regulation that are in need
of adjustment or revision in order to accommodate the issues opened up by innovation in the field of
robotics.
The research is set to consider the contents of any possible regulation, in order to decide which is the
rule that better adjust to the specific features of a given technology, possibly distinguishing among
the various technologies examined because different characteristics may suggest different strategies
of regulation. But it will also try and identify the type of legal tool that is best suited to reach the
goals of a certain uniformity of regulation and of spontaneous compliance. The a-territorial quality of
the technological advance asks for an intervention at the European level (at least), but this can take
different forms: soft-law instruments without binding force, although with potential normative
effects, or hard law.
After having examined the Northern-American approach to emerging robotic technologies and the
Eastern perspective, represented especially by the Japanese and the Chinese system, the RoboLaw
project aims at developing a specific European approach on its topic, characterized by core
"European values" enshrined in the European sources of law, like the European Charter of
Fundamental Rights. The final outcome of the research is to elaborate a set of regulatory guidelines
(D6.2 "Guidelines on Regulating Robotics") addressed to the European policy makers and devoted to
promote a technically feasible, yet also ethically and legally sound basis for future robotics
developments.
Workpackages
- WP 1 Management
- WP 2 Integration of Technology into Society: Governance Patterns
- WP 3 Roadmapping RoboLaw
- WP 4 Investigating on the Legal Status of Robotics
- WP 5 Human Enhancement, Human Condition, Future Technologies
- WP 6 Policy Recommendations Defining Guidelines on Regulating Robotics
- WP 7 Dissemination and External Network with Other SiS Stakeholders
Project Details
The RoboLaw Annex I - "Description of Work" was amended on December 12th, 2013
Project acronym: RoboLaw
Project title: Regulating Emerging Technologies in Europe: Robotics Facing Law and Ethics
Funding scheme: Collaborative project
Project number: 289092
Programme: Capacities
Call Identifier: FP7-SCIENCE-IN-SOCIETY-2011- 1
Activity Code: SiS.2011.1.1.1-3: Regulating emerging scientific and technological developments
EU Financial Contribution:1.497.966 EUR
Duration: 24 Months
Starting date: March 1st, 2012
Name of coordinating person: Prof. Erica Palmerini (Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy)
