One of the objectives of INBOTS is to develop a standardization and benchmarking strategy to horizontal aspects, such as the safety or the performance of interactive robots in different application domains, such as medical, industry, customer and service ones. To reach this purpose INBOTS is collaborating with other projects which are already developing benchmarking frameworks to make sure that they cover the needs and gaps previously identified by INBOTS and they reach the safety and performance standards that INBOTS will contribute to develop. One of these projects is EUROBENCH: “EUropean ROBotic framework for bipedal locomotion bENCHmarking”
What is EUROBENCH about?
Human-centred robots such as prostheses, exoskeletons and humanoids, are becoming increasingly relevant worldwide. Many prototypes are moving out of the lab into everyday applications, in a wide range of market domains. Several roadblocks exist in this process, some of these are technical, while others are related to the lack of reliable performance/safety indicators for these devices to meet international certifications and standardization requirements. The Robotic Research Agenda has emphasized benchmarking as an important instrument to assess the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and to quantify how robotic solutions match user needs.
However, a consolidated benchmarking methodology for Robotics has not been reached yet. In this direction, the Multi Annual Roadmap for Robotics in Europe (MAR)2 has proposed a comprehensive list of System Abilities to help quantifying the performance of a system by decomposing it in a number of measurable items (system abilities levels). Nevertheless, due to the high variability of robotic applications and technologies, it is still not clear how System Ability Levels can be quantified and measured on a realistic and application-specific basis.
In order to fill these gaps, EUROBENCH aims to create the first European framework for the application of benchmarking methodology on robotic systems. The framework, specifically focused on bipedal robotic technologies, will include methods and tools to measure System Ability Levels on a rigorous, quantitative and replicable way.
What is the goal and activity of EUROBENCH?
The EUROBENCH project aims to create the first unified benchmarking framework for robotic systems in Europe. This framework will allow companies and/or researchers to test the performance of their robots at any stage of development. The project is mainly focused on bipedal machines, i.e. exoskeletons, prosthetics and humanoids, but aims to be also extended to other robotic technologies. To this aim, EUROBENCH will develop:
- TWO BENCHMARKING FACILITIES, one for wearable robots (including exoskeletons and prostheses) and the other for humanoid robots, to allow companies and/or researchers to perform standardized tests on advanced robotic prototypes in a unique location, saving resources and time.
- A unified BENCHMARKING SOFTWARE, which will allow researchers, developers and end-users worldwide to design and run the tests in their own laboratory settings.
To realize these goals, EUROBENCH will count on the collaboration of external entities, a.k.a. Third Parties, offering them financial support for developing and validate specific sub-components of the Facilities and the Software. This Cascade Funding action, called “FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO THIRD PARTIES” (FSTP) will be organized in two competitive Open Calls, the first of which is remaining available until next October 31st.
Why can EUROBENCH and INBOTS mutually benefit from collaboration?
EUROBENCH will develop the first benchmarking framework for robotics and working together and at the same time will contribute to create a unique benchmarking paradigm from a specific scenario, bipedal robotics, which sets one of the highest development challenges and will facilitate the transportation of this benchmarking framework to other robotic technologies.