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What is robotics made of? The interdisciplinary politics of robotics research

Author

Listed:
  • Ola Michalec

    (The University of Bristol)

  • Cian O’Donovan

    (University College London)

  • Mehdi Sobhani

    (Bristol Robotics Lab)

Abstract

Under framings of grand challenges, robotics has been proposed as a solution to a wide range of societal issues such as road safety, ageing society, economic productivity and climate change. However, what exactly is robotics research? From its inception, robotics has been an inherently interdisciplinary field, bringing together diverse domains such as engineering, cognitive science, computer science and, more recently, knowledge from social sciences and humanities. Previous research on interdisciplinarity shows that this mode of knowledge production is often driven by societal concerns and political choices. The politics of who gets to make these choices and on what terms is the focus of empirical research in this paper. Using a novel mixed-method approach combining bibliometrics, desk-based analysis and fieldwork, this article builds a narrative of interdisciplinarity at the UK’s largest public robotics lab, the Bristol Robotics Laboratory. This paper argues for the recognition of the plural ways of knowing interdisciplinarity. From citation analysis, through tracing of the emerging fields and disciplines, to, finally, the investigation of researchers’ experiences; each method contributes a distinct and complementary outlook on “what robotics is made of”. While bibliometrics allows visualising prominent disciplines and keywords, document analysis reveals influential and missing stakeholders. Meanwhile, fieldwork explores the logics underpinning robotics and identifies the capabilities necessary to perform the research. In doing so, the paper synthesises plural ways of locating politics in interdisciplinary research and provides recommendations for enabling “structural preparedness for interdisciplinarity”.

Suggested Citation

  • Ola Michalec & Cian O’Donovan & Mehdi Sobhani, 2021. "What is robotics made of? The interdisciplinary politics of robotics research," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:8:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-021-00737-6
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-021-00737-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Helga Nowotny, 2003. "Democratising expertise and socially robust knowledge," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 30(3), pages 151-156, June.
    2. Felicity Callard & Des Fitzgerald & Angela Woods, 2015. "Interdisciplinary collaboration in action: tracking the signal, tracing the noise," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 1(palcomms2), pages 15019-15019, July.
    3. Engwall, Lars, 2018. "Structural Conditions for Interdisciplinarity," European Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(S2), pages 30-40, October.
    4. Paddeu, Daniela & Shergold, Ian & Parkhurst, Graham, 2020. "The social perspective on policy towards local shared autonomous vehicle services (LSAVS)," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 116-126.
    5. Borrás, Susana & Edler, Jakob, 2020. "The roles of the state in the governance of socio-technical systems’ transformation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(5).
    6. Huutoniemi, Katri & Klein, Julie Thompson & Bruun, Henrik & Hukkinen, Janne, 2010. "Analyzing interdisciplinarity: Typology and indicators," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 79-88, February.
    7. Engels, Franziska & Wentland, Alexander & Pfotenhauer, Sebastian M., 2019. "Testing future societies? Developing a framework for test beds and living labs as instruments of innovation governance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    8. Borrás, Susana & Edler, Jakob, 2020. "The roles of the state in the governance of socio-technical systems' transformation," Discussion Papers "Innovation Systems and Policy Analysis" 65, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI).
    9. Cian O’Donovan & Aleksandra (Ola) Michalec & Joshua R. Moon, 2020. "Capabilities for Transdisciplinary Research. An Evaluation Framework and Lessons from the ESRC Nexus Network +," SPRU Working Paper Series 2020-12, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    10. Engels, Franziska & Wentland, Alexander & Pfotenhauer, Sebastian M., 2019. "Testing future societies? Developing a framework for test beds and living labs as instruments of innovation governance," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 48(9), pages 1-11.
    11. Samuele Lo Piano, 2020. "Ethical principles in machine learning and artificial intelligence: cases from the field and possible ways forward," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-7, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Cian O’Donovan & Aleksandra (Ola) Michalec & Joshua R Moon, 2022. "Capabilities for transdisciplinary research," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 31(1), pages 145-158.
    2. Manh-Tung Ho & Peter Mantello & Hong-Kong T. Nguyen & Quan-Hoang Vuong, 2021. "Affective computing scholarship and the rise of China: a view from 25 years of bibliometric data," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-14, December.
    3. Jack Stilgoe & Miloš Mladenović, 2022. "The politics of autonomous vehicles," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-6, December.

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