Physically Assistive Robots
Physically Assistive robots (PAR) are construed as robots that assist humans by performing physical tasks and activities. The legal definition of PAR does not emanate from a legislation, but instead from ISO 13482:2014 (Standard on Safety requirements for personal care robots), which categorises PAR as one type of ‘personal care robots’.
However, when ISO 13482:2014 has been analysed from the perspective of lower limb exoskeletons (which is one type of PAR), several dissonances in the standard were noticed (Fosch-Villaronga et. al., 2023). These dissonances include issues in the concepts and scope of ISO 13482:2014, and in certain hazards not being adequately addressed by ISO 13482:2014. Research has also noted that ISO 13482:2014 overlooks certain gender and sex considerations in exoskeleton design, which can affect user safety (Fosch-Villaronga & Drukarch, 2023).
Therefore, the present project shall focus on analysing PAR and the regulatory regime governing it (including but not limited to ISO 13482:2014), in order to understand potential regulatory gaps and to address them. The project aims to use scientific experimentation to examine regulatory dissonances so that policy relevant knowledge can be delivered to the various stakeholders associated with PAR. Thus, the project focuses on using science for developing robotics policy so that PAR are more ‘SAFE and SOUND’ in the future.
M. Raiz Shaffique
Mohammed Raiz Shaffique is a Researcher and PhD candidate at eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies. He is conducting research on Age Assurance and Online Child Safety, as part of the Better Internet for Kids+ initiative of the European Union. He is doing his PhD on Law and Robotics (Physical Assistant Robots) as part of the ERC StG SAFE & Sound project. As part of his PhD, he is analysing how data relevant for policy decisions can be generated through testing of physical assistant robots in robot testing zones, in order to address gaps and dissonances associated with regulations governing such robots.
Prior to working in Leiden University, Raiz was a student of the Advanced Master in Law and Digital Technologies (2022-23) at the University, which program he graduated as Summa Cum Laude and Valedictorian (1st in Class). He wrote his Master's Thesis on the Cyber Resilience Act Proposal of the EU and how it addresses cybersecurity of IoT devices.
Raiz is an India qualified Lawyer with 6 years of professional experience. His areas of expertise include Cyber Law compliance, White-Collar Crimes and Dispute Resolution. He has also co-authored a book titled ‘White-Collar Crimes in India: Contemporary Issues and Complexities’, which was published by Thomson Reuters in July 2021.