# Will You Participate? Exploring the Potential of Robotics Competitions on Human-centric Topics

**Authors:** Yuchong Zhang, Miguel Vasco, Mårten Björkman, Danica Kragic  
**arXiv:** [2403.18616](https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.18616)  
**Date:** 2024-03-27  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/arxiv-id/2403.18616v1/

## Key points

- Authors Yuchong Zhang, Miguel Vasco, Mårten Björkman, and Danica Kragic present their paper titled "Will You Participate? Exploring the Potential of Robotics Competitions on Human-centric Topics"
- The study focuses on robotics competitions addressing four human-centric topics: safety, privacy, explainability, and federated learning
- Mainstream robotic researchers prioritize safety and explainability over privacy and federated learning
- Researchers show a strong willingness to invest further in research related to safety and explainability
- Privacy and federated learning are perceived as receiving less attention within the robotics community
- Participants lack enthusiasm for engaging in competitions related to privacy and federated learning
- Authors recommend targeting other communities such as the machine learning community for future competitions focusing on these human-centric topics

## Summary

Authors Yuchong Zhang, Miguel Vasco, Mårten Björkman, and Danica Kragic present their paper titled "Will You Participate? Exploring the Potential of Robotics Competitions on Human-centric Topics," which delves into the current status and potential participation of robotics competitions in addressing four human-centric topics: safety, privacy, explainability, and federated learning. The study involved a survey with 34 participants from three prominent European robotics consortia, with a majority possessing over five years of research experience in robotics. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, the researchers found that mainstream robotic researchers prioritize safety and explainability, showing a strong willingness to invest further in research within these areas. Conversely, privacy and federated learning were identified as receiving less attention and being perceived as having lower potential within the robotics community. Additionally, there was a lack of enthusiasm among participants for engaging in competitions related to these topics. Based on their findings, the authors recommend targeting other communities such as the machine learning community for future competitions focusing on these four human-centric topics. This study sheds light on the preferences and priorities of robotic researchers regarding key issues in the field and suggests avenues for expanding collaboration and innovation across different research communities.