Professor Maria Chiara Carrozza believes people in the 21st century will find life more liveable in the growing company of their machine equivalents: robots.Carrozza, president of Italy’s National Research Council, says advanced robots promise across-the-board improvements in the quality of life in Europe and beyond.In places ranging from farms to factories, she foresees robotics being far more an ally of humans than a job threat to them.‘Robotics is a technology which is fundamental,’ said Carrozza, a physicist and engineer who served 11 years ago as Italian minister for research. ‘Robots can be a support for improving the quality of work.’The EU research programme, the third-biggest part of the EU budget with funding of almost €100 billion in 2021-2027, has devoted considerable attention to robotics.EU-funded projects have examined the potential of robots to do everything fromcollaborate with workerson factory floors toimprove operations in hospitals.Carrozza herself has a research focus on robotics. She says that Europe enjoys a competitive advantage in the field because the continent has long been home to world-class automotive manufacturers and they have traditionally deployed such technologies.‘We have the competences, we have the infrastructures, we have the companies – and very good engineers,’ Carrozza said.She says this expertise can be harnessed not just to bolster Europe’s industrial base but also to ensure a prominent European influence over the development of robots for a range of emerging roles.These include agricultural field work that people may have increasing difficulty carrying out as a result of climate change as well as basic home services right down to vacuum cleaning, according to Carrozza.‘That means home-assistance provider – like, for example, supporting elderly people at home but also supporting ordinary life at home by automation of cleaning,’ she said. ‘This will be an important business for the future.’Below is a Horizon Magazine video interview with Carrozza about the prospects for robotics.Watch the video
This article was originally published in Horizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine.