Response of the Rector Magnificus

At TU Delft, we develop technology that has a high impact on society. To contribute to an informed societal debate we establish Vision Teams around such high-impact technologies. Vision Teams shine their light on the current state of the art and separate fact from (science) fiction. The researchers in such a team also engage in dialogue with stakeholders, to make sure we don’t design new technology in isolation. 

Robotics is such a technology: a development that society looks at with expectation, but also with some concern. That is why in the spring of 2020 we set up the Vision Team Robotics. This group of scientists from different faculties conducted open discussions with people whose lives are likely to be affected by robotics. They did so in three areas where robotic technologies will have an impact: private (human augmentation), work (robotic assistance in the workplace), and public (intelligent vehicles).

I was impressed by the enthusiasm of both the diverse group of stakeholders and our community of researchers, and by the documentary, podcast and visuals the discussions have led to. The results show how stakeholders and researchers alike recognise how important it is to take the impact of technology on people's lives into account. For me, this highlights the mutual value that TU Delft researchers and societal stakeholders can offer each other.

We should create more and more opportunities for such insightful conversations with various stakeholders, so that we can jointly shape a responsible future around robotics.