How can ISO 13482:2014 account for the ethical and social considerations of robotic exoskeletons?

Eduard Fosch-Villaronga, Carlos José Calleja, Hadassah Drukarch and Diego Torricelli

Technology in Society, 2023, vol. 75, issue C

Abstract: This paper analyzes and classifies regulatory gaps and inconsistencies in ISO 13482:2014 (‘Safety Requirements for Personal Care Robots'), specifically regarding robotic lower-limb exoskeletons, being personal care robots, for everyday activities. Following a systematic literature review, our findings support the conclusion that, even though ISO 13482:2014 has proven to be a substantial step towards regulating that type of wearable robot, it fails to address safety sufficiently and comprehensively. That failure results in a general overlook of critical legal, ethical, and social considerations when designing robots, with the consequence that seemingly safe systems might nonetheless harm end-users. Notwithstanding those limitations and impediments to the development of safe technologies, to date, there has been no thorough assessment of how the standard regulates the development of exoskeletons and whether it requires any improvement in light of ethical, legal, and societal considerations. To bridge this gap, we compile relevant areas for improvement concerning ISO 13482:2014 fueled by these considerations. We do so in an accessible manner and provide concrete recommendations to help decision-makers overcome the standard's drawbacks.

Keywords: ISO 13482:2014; Personal care robots; Policymaking; Robots; Regulation; Safety; Standard-setting; Testbeds; Exoskeletons (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X23001926
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:teinso:v:75:y:2023:i:c:s0160791x23001926

DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102387

Access Statistics for this article

Technology in Society is currently edited by Charla Griffy-Brown

More articles in Technology in Society from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().