PlayIn this episode we hear from Professor Gurvinder Virk from the University of Gävle about how international standards are created in the ISO. He also tells us why he thinks they are essential for robotics and how you can participate and contribute.
Gurvinder Virk
Gurvinder Virk is a Professor of Robotics and the Built Environment, at University of Gävle, Sweden as well as Professor of Robotics and autonomous systems at KTH, Sweden.
He is also Chairman of CLAWAR Association Ltd. in a voluntary capacity. CLAWAR is a UK registered charity with the mission to advance education and science for the public benefit in the field of robotics and associated technologies.
He is a technical expert in control theory and its applications with particular experience in service robotics and building management systems, and the use of advanced model-based control to a variety of applications. His current interests are in personal care robots, physical assistance exoskeletons, medical robots, olfactory navigation for mobile robots, and renewable energy systems for buildings. He has extensive experience of project management and leading large international projects. He has produced over 300 papers and 11 books.
Prof. Virk is a leading actor in international robot standardisation and the Convener of two robot safety work groups, ISO TC184/SC2/WG7 Personal care robot safety, and IEC TC62/SC62A & ISO TC184/SC2 JWG9 Medical electrical equipment and systems using robotic technology.
Links:
While the interview was interesting enough to keep me their to the end; considering the time taken I expected the interviewer to ask some technical questions related to the robotic challenges considered by the committee. In particular related to the safety aspect of personal care robots. For instance, what will be the key challenges facing designers wishing to comply with the standard. After nearly 50 minutes all we had were questions related to clarifying the committee process most of which required no clarification. Please think about the interests of the listener. A lost opportunity in my opinion to get some insight from the chairman on robotics issues.