07.01.2024
Summary of an eventful year 2024
In its second year, ZEN-MRI was able to gather many valuable
insights through studies and in citizen dialogue at events.
At the beginning of the year, our consortium partner ADLATUS Robotics GmbH coordinated an event of the Ulm Working Group for Innovation Management.
Thanks to the close cooperation with the municipal subsidiary PBG, the Ulm working group was able to present a live demonstration
of PBG’s autonomous cleaning robots in a parking deck of the parking garage at the train station. In this context, ADLATUS Robotics GmbH also presented its path from start-up to innovation leader for industrial floor cleaning robot systems. In the evening, there was a lively discussion about the opportunities and challenges of automated cleaning in public spaces and knowledge and experience were exchanged.
At the end of February, the project management agency VDI/VDE was able to get an idea of our work for itself and visited us in Ulm for our annual consortium meeting. There we had the opportunity to present the current status of our work and to provide insightful insights. The meeting was rounded off by the live presentation of all three ADLATUS robots on Münsterplatz. They made their rounds there for the first time and quickly attracted curious glances and the attention of uninvolved passers-by.
In mid-March, the time had come: The way was paved for Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz to take over the consortium leadership of ZEN-MRI. Our consortium leader Jun. Prof. Dr. Johannes Kraus followed the call of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and with him the leadership of the consortium changed. The project partners were pleased that the expertise of the Department of General Experimental Psychology, where Johannes Kraus’ junior professorship is located, is now also contributing its expertise in the study of autonomous robots in public spaces. To this end, robot communication was examined more closely using an experimental psychological approach and tested prototypically in a virtual reality environment that replicates the Ulm train station passage.
At the digital ethics conference IDEepolis at the Stuttgart Media University (HdM) in June, ZEN-MRI was able to present the results obtained so far and provided a basis for discussion for other experts. A few weeks later, ZEN-MRI was invited to Berlin on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for a networking meeting on the topic of “Robots for Assistance Functions: Interaction in Practice”. In addition to representatives from other competence centers, the project management agency VDI/VDE was also present. The meeting provided a platform for a constructive exchange on all project-relevant aspects – including the development status of test scenarios, metrics and benchmarks.
In September, ZEN-MRI returned to its own research on human-robot interaction and conducted a second wave of surveys in Ulm. For a whole week, citizens had the unique opportunity to become part of our research project. They had the chance to get to know our robots on site and make a valuable contribution to research. The study examined the perception of the different robots, as well as the reactions of the test subjects in interactions with them in different situations. The aim of the study was to develop a deeper understanding of appropriate human-robot communication in public spaces.
Our year was rounded off in November with a citizens’ event in the Ulm town hall. Interested citizens were invited to listen to interesting presentations by the consortium partners, ask questions and take part in a lively citizen discussion. In addition, visitors had the opportunity to experience the robots up close and test a virtual reality environment.
The new year continues to be exciting… Continue to visit us on www.zen-mri.de or on social media.
We look forward to seeing you,
Your ZEN-MRI team
