Leveraging the cloud for connected service robotics applications

Cloud robotics is a new approach to robotics that exploits the internet as a resource for parallel computing and data sharing. Robots are no more considered as isolated devices but now they can add new functionalities, communicate with the environment and share knowledge base. Exploiting this new technology a robot can also take advantages by off-loading heavy computations to the cloud, thus reducing hardware costs, power consumption. The Joint Open Lab on Connected Robotic Applications laB (JOL CRAB) is a research laboratory created by Telecom Italia in collaboration with Politecnico di Torino. The aim is to investigate technologies and develop concepts where the focus is mainly placed on the relationship between robots and the cloud computing, addressing issues that arise from the use of robotic services in public/enterprise environments not only of technological, legal, economical, sociological or psychological kind, but also related to ergonomics, cognitive perception, and relational experience. The collaboration between university and the industry led to different field trials where issues and feasibility of new services were evaluated and a community of stakeholders was created in the territory. We present these field trials, the different issues that arise and how that can be solved.