Robotics in the AI era: A vision for a Hellenic Robotics Initiative

In January 2021, the Hellenic Institute of Advanced Study (HIAS) assembled a panel including world leading roboticists from the Hellenic diaspora, who volunteered their scientific expertise to provide a vision for Robotics in Greece. This monograph, entitled “Robotics in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) era,” will hopefully trigger a dialogue towards the development of a national robotics strategy. Our vision is that Robotics in the AI era will be an essential technology of the future for the safety and security of the Hellenic nation, its environment and its citizens, for modernizing its economy towards Industry 4.0, and for inspiring and educating the next generation workforce for the challenges of the 21st century. To contribute towards making this vision a reality, after reviewing global trends in robotics and assessing the Greek robotics ecosystem, we arrived at the following key findings and recommendations: Firstly, we think that Greece should develop a national Hellenic Robotics Initiative that serves as the nation’s long-term vision and strategy across the entire Greek robotics ecosystem. Also, certain societal drivers should be key in the areas of focus. Safety and securi