Envisioning the future of robotics transforming our economy and society, the Italy-Japan Workshop taking place at the Waseda University on December 5, gathers academics, experts and stakeholders to discuss how robots will enhance human capability and boost economic growth. The 19th workshop “Robots and the future” is an international event dedicated to address ethical and social challenges of advanced automation.

Researchers from the Biorobotics Institute of Sant’Anna School including Paolo Dario, as one of the “Fathers of Robotics” in Italy and the director of Artes 4.0, Cecilia Laschi, as one of the most distinguished scholars in the field of Soft Robotics, Leonardo Ricotti, as the project coordinator of EU funded project Admaiora, and Egidio Falotico, currently working on the  Human Brain Project, will focus on the human-robot symbiosis.

Since 2001, the Italy-Japan Workshop has examined the potential of robotics. In 1973, Waseda University Professor Ichiro Kato created the first full-scale anthropomorphic bipedal walking robot called WABOT-1. This annual event has become firmly fixed on the agenda of the Waseda University as an opportunity to explore robotics development and celebrate Ichiro Kato. The Italy-Japan Workshop 2019 will examine the true potential of autonomous mobile robots performing our routine tasks and their impact on our future lives. Researchers will explain how new technologies will ultimately drive robotics and shape future robots as artificial robotic organisms helping the elder and people with disabilities.