The Operating Theatre Journal August 2021

UK ROBOTICS: NEW WHITEPAPERS SET OUT VISION FOR WIDESPREAD
ADOPTION OF ROBOTICS IN THE WORKPLACE AND SURGICAL SETTINGS
Major new whitepapers outline skills, education and regulatory roadmap for accelerated uptake of robotics
technology across key applications in the UK
Two major new robotics whitepapers setting
out the vision for widespread adoption of
robotics technology across the workplace
and in surgical settings have recently been
published by the EPSRC UK Robotics &
Autonomous Systems (UK-RAS) Network.
These new landmark whitepapers – released
to mark the successful conclusion of the
inaugural Robotics Summer Showcase – were
launched during a virtual online event and are
freely available to download now:
• Preparing the workforce for 2030: Skills
and Education for Robotics & Autonomous
Systems
(https://www.ukras.org/
publications/white-papers/skills-andeducation-for-robotics-autonomoussystems/)
• Surgical Robotics: Towards Measurable
Patient Benefits and Widespread Adoption
(https://www.ukras.org/publications/
white-papers/surgical-robotics-towardsmeasurable-patient-benefits-widespreadadoption/)
The UK-RAS Network whitepapers are intended
to serve as a basis for discussing UK industrial
and social strategies, and for engaging the
wider community and stakeholders, as well as
policy makers.
The Skills and Education whitepaper explores
the need to reskill the current workforce to
work safely and effectively alongside robots, to
train managers to understand and effectively
deploy automation, and to ensure that, across
all levels of education, people from diverse
backgrounds have the skills they need to be
part of the 2030 workforce. The whitepaper
summarises the opportunities and challenges,
identifying promising recent initiatives in skills
training, both in the UK and across the world,
and highlights future interventions in UK-
RAS education that are both affordable and
scalable, and that could help the UK maintain
its place as a leading technological economy.
Lead authors for the Skills and Education
whitepaper include:
• Richard Waterstone – Co-Lead of SERAS, a
UK-RAS strategic task group for Skills and
Education in Robotics and Autonomous
Systems; MD Cyberselves Universal Ltd.
• Dr Patricia Charlton – Senior Lecturer in AI
and Data Science at the Open University
• David Gibbs – Senior Subject Specialist at
the National STEM Learning Centre
• Professor Tony J Prescott – Chair in Cognitive
Robotics at the University of Sheffield; colead
of the SERAS task group
The Surgical Robotics whitepaper revisits the
first UK-RAS whitepaper on the topic, published
five years ago, in light of the significant changes
in technology and regulatory processes, and
increased adoption. The new whitepaper
summarises the latest achievements in the
sector and offers a measured view about the
future of surgical robotics in the UK – including
the outlook for creating shared resources
and clusters, attracting a skilled workforce
from around the world and fostering
international collaborations. It also identifies
existing translational barriers and offers key
recommendations.
The lead authors for the Surgical Robotics
whitepaper are:
• Dr. Christos Bergeles, Associate Professor,
King’s College London
• Dr. Ana Cruz Ruiz, Manager of the Robotics
Forum and project manager for the UK
node of the EU project DIH-HERO, Imperial
College London
• Professor Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena,
Professor of Medical Robotics and Co-
Director of the Hamlyn Centre, Imperial
College London
• Professor Pietro Valdastri, Chair in Robotics
& Autonomous Systems, University of Leeds
Commenting on today’s whitepaper launch,
Professor Robert Richardson, EPSRC UK-RAS
Network Chair said: “Both COVID-19 and
Brexit have accelerated the rise of robotics
in the social and economic life of the UK,
and we expect huge interest in these muchanticipated
publications from across academia,
industry and government. By drawing on the
UK’s world-leading robotics knowledge base in
these two key areas, these documents provide
a unique perspective on the unprecedented
challenges and opportunities ahead, as the
UK moves to become a leading player in the
4th Industrial Revolution. We’d like to thank
all the contributors to this important body
of knowledge, which provides an invaluable
blueprint for informing future strategies, and
cements the UK’s position as a robotics and
autonomous systems innovation powerhouse.”
The EPSRC UK-RAS Network’s first Robotics
Summer Showcase of cutting-edge robotics
research and innovation, which has run from
May through to the end of July, has delivered
a variety of free-to-register lectures,
workshops, demonstrations and unique events
held by Network partners. The UK Festival of
Robotics annual celebration was held at the
end of June, and was hosted by the EPSRC UK-
RAS Network as part of its mission to provide
academic leadership in robotics, including
coordinating activities at over 30 partner
universities across the UK.
For more information about the activities
held during UK Festival of Robotics and the
Robotics Summer Showcase, please visit:
https://www.ukras.org/robotics-festival/
https://www.ukras.org/robotics-summershowcase/
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