Introducing the concept of repurposing robots; to increase their useful life, reduce waste, and improve sustainability in the robotics industry

Mcgloin, Helen; Studley, Matthew; Mawle, Richard; Winfield, Alan

Abstract

Based on current definitions of electronic waste, the robotics industry faces a future where products created for both business and consumer markets could be required to meet regulations to manage the control of electronic products at the end of their primary life (e-waste). This paper proposes the new concept of repurposing robots; where a robot at the end of its primary life is repurposed into a new, secondary role, in a process which is generally independent of the Original Equipment Manufacturer [OEM]. By repurposing robots, future waste streams are reduced and the sustainability of the industry is increased. Outlining this new area of work, the authors highlight potential challenges to repurposing which are summarised as topics for future investigation.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: International Conference on Robot Ethics and Standards ICRES 2023
• Start Date: Jul 17, 2023
• End Date: Jul 18, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Dec 31, 2024
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2023
• Deposit Date: Nov 15, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 13, 2024
• Pages: 16-27
• ISBN: 9781739614218
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.13180/icres.2023.17-18.07.007
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11445554
• Publisher URL: https://clawar.org/icres2023/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ICRES2023-Proceedings-Manuscript.pdf