Autonomy and Safety Assurance in the Early Development of Robotics and Autonomous Systems
Dhaminda B. Abeywickrama, Michael Fisher, Frederic Wheeler, Louise Dennis
TL;DR
The report analyzes a CRADLE-hosted, cross-sector workshop on ensuring safety for autonomous inspection robots (AIR) in demanding environments. It documents three research questions and five thematic work areas, with four case studies illustrating domain-specific challenges. The findings emphasize heterogeneous V&V, early safety case development, and the need for tailored assurance approaches, accountability mechanisms, and governance. A core contribution is the proposal of reference assurance cases and reusable assurance patterns to standardize safety arguments and accelerate regulator–industry alignment. The work underscores the practical impact of structured assurance practices on developing trustworthy AIR across rail, nuclear, underwater, and aerial applications.
Abstract
This report provides an overview of the workshop titled Autonomy and Safety Assurance in the Early Development of Robotics and Autonomous Systems, hosted by the Centre for Robotic Autonomy in Demanding and Long-Lasting Environments (CRADLE) on September 2, 2024, at The University of Manchester, UK. The event brought together representatives from six regulatory and assurance bodies across diverse sectors to discuss challenges and evidence for ensuring the safety of autonomous and robotic systems, particularly autonomous inspection robots (AIR). The workshop featured six invited talks by the regulatory and assurance bodies. CRADLE aims to make assurance an integral part of engineering reliable, transparent, and trustworthy autonomous systems. Key discussions revolved around three research questions: (i) challenges in assuring safety for AIR; (ii) evidence for safety assurance; and (iii) how assurance cases need to differ for autonomous systems. Following the invited talks, the breakout groups further discussed the research questions using case studies from ground (rail), nuclear, underwater, and drone-based AIR. This workshop offered a valuable opportunity for representatives from industry, academia, and regulatory bodies to discuss challenges related to assured autonomy. Feedback from participants indicated a strong willingness to adopt a design-for-assurance process to ensure that robots are developed and verified to meet regulatory expectations.