Research Resources
Scenarios for Human-Robot-Environment Accountability
Appendix
Military Scenario, Autonomous Robot
At 0700 the Commanding Officer (CO) informs the platoon there has been chatter of an attack on a nearby forward operating base (FOB) in less than 8 hours. The platoon is to report to this FOB by 1200. The CO determines the fastest navigational route to the FOB. For additional security, the CO allows an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to recon this route ahead of the platoon. The UGV is a robot that moves and scans its environment for hazardous or dangerous objects. The UGV is fully autonomous with a human operator who monitors the robot from a control station. The UGV makes all decisions on its own and requires no input from the operator to perform actions.
Acting without any human assistance, the UGV actively scans the environment for suspicious activity and hazardous objects along the route. The UGV, acting by itself, identifies a suspicious target. The UGV alerts you and the platoon of the threat and provides a full report of the location. Upon receiving the report, the CO realizes that the UGV was sent down the wrong route. The CO signals the UGV to the correct route. The UGV begins moving along the route and because of the delay it increases its speed to 20mph in an attempt to reach the FOB on time. The objective is failed to be completed on time.
Military Scenario, Nonautonomous Robot
At 0700 the Commanding Officer (CO) informs the platoon there has been chatter of an attack on a nearby forward operating base (FOB) in less than 8 hours. The platoon is to report to this FOB by 1200. The CO determines the fastest navigational route to the FOB. For additional security, the CO allows an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to recon this route ahead of the platoon. The UGV is a robot that moves and scans its environment for hazardous or dangerous objects. The UGV is fully dependent on a human operator who controls the robot’s every movement from a control station. The UGV can make no decisions on its own and requires the input of the operator to perform actions.
The human operator maneuvers the UGV to scan the environment for suspicious activity and hazardous objects along the route. The UGV, controlled by an operator, identifies a suspicious target. The operator controls the UGV to alert the platoon of the threat and provide a full report of the location. Upon receiving the report, the CO realizes that the UGV was sent down the wrong route. The CO signals the UGV to the correct route. The UGV begins moving along the route and because of the delay it increases its speed to 20mph in an attempt to reach the FOB on time. The objective is failed to be completed on time.
Military Scenario, Autonomous Robot
At 0700 the Commanding Officer (CO) informs the platoon there has been chatter of an attack on a nearby forward operating base (FOB) in less than 8 hours. The platoon is to report to this FOB by 1200. The CO determines the fastest navigational route to the FOB. For additional security, the CO allows an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to recon this route ahead of the platoon. The UGV is a robot that moves and scans its environment for hazardous or dangerous objects. The UGV is fully autonomous with a human operator who monitors the robot from a control station. The UGV makes all decisions on its own and requires no input from the operator to perform actions.
Acting without any human assistance, the UGV actively scans the environment for suspicious activity and hazardous objects along the route. The UGV, acting by itself, sends a report of the route to the platoon. Based off of the report the commander chooses to take a bridge which is expected to reduce traveling time.
Upon reaching the bridge the platoon realizes that it has been devastated by harsh weather and is not safe to traverse. The platoon then makes its way back on the original route and resumes traveling to the FOB. The delay causes the platoon to arrive at the FOB at 1300. The platoon failed to meet the time requirements of the objective.
Military Scenario, Nonautonomous Robot
At 0700 the Commanding Officer (CO) informs the platoon there has been chatter of an attack on a nearby forward operating base (FOB) in less than 8 hours. The platoon is to report to this FOB by 1200. The CO determines the fastest navigational route to the FOB. For additional security, the CO allows an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to recon this route ahead of the platoon. The UGV is a robot that moves and scans its environment for hazardous or dangerous objects. The UGV is fully dependent on a human operator who controls the robot’s every movement from a control station. The UGV can make no decisions on its own and requires the input of the operator to perform actions.
The human operator maneuvers the UGV to scan the environment for suspicious activity and hazardous objects along the route. The UGV, being controlled by the operator, sends a report of the route to the platoon. Based off of the report the commander chooses to take a bridge which is expected to reduce traveling time.
Upon reaching the bridge the platoon realizes that it has been devastated by harsh weather and is not safe to traverse. The platoon then makes its way back on the original route and resumes traveling to the FOB. The delay causes the platoon to arrive at the FOB at 1300. The platoon failed to meet the time requirements of the objective.
Military Scenario, Autonomous Robot
At 0700 the Commanding Officer (CO) informs the platoon there has been chatter of an attack on a nearby forward operating base (FOB) in less than 8 hours. The platoon is to report to this FOB by 1200. The CO determines the fastest navigational route to the FOB. For additional security, the CO allows an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to recon this route ahead of the platoon. The UGV is a robot that moves and scans its environment for hazardous or dangerous objects. The UGV is fully autonomous with a human operator who monitors the robot from a control station. The UGV makes all decisions on its own and requires no input from the operator to perform actions.
Acting without any human assistance, the UGV actively scans the environment for suspicious activity and hazardous objects along the route. There is a suspicious target along the route but the UGV, acting by itself and scanning the environment, fails to identify it. The UGV then reports to the platoon that the route is clear of all hazards. Based on the report, the CO confirms the route is clear and commands the platoon to begin movement.
The UGV arrives at the FOB at 0600, giving the platoon enough time to arrive by 1130. The platoon arrives at the route location where the suspicious target was. The target is a roadside bomb which triggers when the platoon is within close proximity, causing severe injury to several soldiers. The platoon is then forced to call for emergency medical attention in addition to selecting a new route. After selecting a new route the platoon begins movement and successfully arrives at the FOB at 1400, missing the objective time.
Military Scenario, Nonautonomous Robot
At 0700 the Commanding Officer (CO) informs the platoon there has been chatter of an attack on a near by forward operating base (FOB) in less than 8 hours. The platoon is to report to this FOB by 1200. The CO determines the fastest navigational route to the FOB. For additional security, the CO allows an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to recon this route ahead of the platoon. The UGV is a robot that moves and scans its environment for hazardous or dangerous objects. The UGV is fully dependent on a human operator who controls the robot’s every movement from a control station. The UGV can make no decisions on its own and requires the input of the operator to perform actions.
The human operator maneuvers the UGV to scan the environment for suspicious activity and hazardous objects along the route. There is a suspicious target along the route but the UGV's scanners fail to identify it. The operator commands the UGV to send a report to the platoon. The report states that the route is clear of all hazards. Based on the report, the CO confirms the route is clear and commands the platoon to begin movement.
The UGV arrives at the FOB at 0600, giving the platoon enough time to arrive by 1130. The platoon arrives at the route location where the suspicious target was. The target is a roadside bomb which triggers when the platoon is within close proximity, causing severe injury to several soldiers. The platoon is then forced to call for emergency medical attention in addition to selecting a new route. After selecting a new route the platoon begins movement and successfully arrives at the FOB at 1400, missing the objective time.
Hospital Scenario, Autonomous Robot
At 8:00am operating room 4a is prepared by hospital staff to regulation standards. The operating room is ready for use for surgery by the time that the patient arrives to the hospital at 8:23am. After checking in with the reception desk the patient is escorted to the operating room by the nurses and after being helped and secured to the operating table the anesthesiologist administers an appropriate dose of anesthesia for the patient’s body size.
After the surgeon finishes preparing himself for operation mentally and sanitizing himself he enters the operation room. The nurse staff assists with preparing the operating equipment, including turning on the da Vinci robot, a robot which aids in surgical procedures. The da Vinci robot is fully autonomous with a human who monitors it. It makes all decisions on its own and requires no input from the operator to perform actions.
The patient is in surgery to repair a ruptured tricuspid valve in his heart. To start the operation the surgeon makes an initial incision. The da Vinci robot, acting without any human assistance, successfully repairs a ruptured valve. The surgeon begins the final incision but one of the operating table legs, which had become loose, causes the table to wobble slightly. This movement causes the patient to shake during the surgeon’s incision, causing partial severing of the inferior vena cava, a vein located in the same region as the tricuspid valve. The surgeon takes note of the severed vein and starts to manually work to mend it, causing the surgery to run longer than expected. After correcting for the error the surgery is successfully completed and the patient is kept at the hospital for standard recovery care. The recovery takes longer than what is considered standard because of the unintentional severance of the vein.
Hospital Scenario, Nonautonomous Robot
At 8:00am operating room 4a is prepared by hospital staff to regulation standards. The operating room is ready for use for surgery by the time that the patient arrives to the hospital at 8:23am. After checking in with the reception desk the patient is escorted to the operating room by the nurses and after being helped and secured to the operating table the anesthesiologist administers an appropriate dose of anesthesia for the patient’s body size.
After the surgeon finishes preparing himself for operation mentally and sanitizing himself he enters the operation room. The nurse staff assists with preparing the operating equipment, including turning on the da Vinci robot, a robot that aids in surgical procedures. The da Vinci robot is fully dependent on a human operator who controls the robot’s every movement from a control station. It can make no decisions on its own and requires the input of the operator to perform actions.
The patient is in surgery to repair a ruptured tricuspid valve in his heart. To start the operation the surgeon makes an initial incision. The da Vinci robot, being controlled by an operator, successfully repairs a ruptured valve. The surgeon begins the final incision but one of the operating table legs, which had become loose, causes the table to wobble slightly. This movement causes the patient to shake during the surgeon’s incision, causing partial severing of the inferior vena cava, a vein located in the same region as the tricuspid valve. The surgeon takes note of the severed vein and starts to manually work to mend it, causing the surgery to run longer than expected. After correcting for the error the surgery is successfully completed and the patient is kept at the hospital for standard recovery care. The recovery takes longer than what is considered standard because of the unintentional severance of the vein.
Hospital Scenario, Autonomous Robot
At 8:00am operating room 4a is prepared by hospital staff to regulation standards. The operating room is ready for use for surgery by the time that the patient arrives to the hospital at 8:23am. After checking in with the reception desk the patient is escorted to the operating room by the nurses and after being helped and secured to the operating table the anesthesiologist administers an appropriate dose of anesthesia for the patient’s body size.
After the surgeon finishes preparing himself for operation mentally and sanitizing himself he enters the operation room. The nurse staff assists with preparing the operating equipment, including turning on the da Vinci robot, a robot which aids in surgical procedures. The da Vinci robot is fully autonomous with a human who monitors it. It makes all decisions on its own and requires no input from the operator to perform actions.
The patient is in surgery to repair a ruptured tricuspid valve in his heart. To start the operation the surgeon makes an initial incision. The da Vinci robot, acting without any human assistance, successfully repairs a ruptured valve. The surgeon begins the final incision but his hand slips, partially severing the inferior vena cava, a vein located in the same region as the tricuspid valve. The surgeon takes note of the severed vein and starts to manually work to mend it, causing the surgery to run longer than expected. After correcting for the error the surgery is successfully completed and the patient is kept at the hospital for standard recovery care. The recovery takes longer than what is considered standard because of the unintentional severance of the vein.
Hospital Scenario, Nonautonomous Robot
At 8:00am operating room 4a is prepared by hospital staff to regulation standards. The operating room is ready for use for surgery by the time that the patient arrives to the hospital at 8:23am. After checking in with the reception desk the patient is escorted to the operating room by the nurses and after being helped and secured to the operating table the anesthesiologist administers an appropriate dose of anesthesia for the patient’s body size.
After the surgeon finishes preparing himself for operation mentally and sanitizing himself he enters the operation room. The nurse staff assists with preparing the operating equipment, including turning on the da Vinci robot, a robot that aids in surgical procedures. The da Vinci robot is fully dependent on a human operator who controls the robot’s every movement from a control station. It can make no decisions on its own and requires the input of the operator to perform actions.
The patient is in surgery to repair a ruptured tricuspid valve in his heart. To start the operation the surgeon makes an initial incision. The da Vinci robot, controlled by an operator, is used to successfully repair a ruptured valve. The surgeon begins the final incision but his hand slips, partially severing the inferior vena cava, a vein located in the same region as the tricuspid valve. The surgeon takes note of the severed vein and starts to manually work to mend it, causing the surgery to run longer than expected. After correcting for the error the surgery is successfully completed and the patient is kept at the hospital for standard recovery care. The recovery takes longer than what is considered standard because of the unintentional severance of the vein.
Hospital Scenario, Autonomous Robot
At 8:00am operating room 4a is prepared by hospital staff to regulation standards. The operating room is ready for use for surgery by the time that the patient arrives to the hospital at 8:23am. After checking in with the reception desk the patient is escorted to the operating room by the nurses and after being helped and secured to the operating table the anesthesiologist administers an appropriate dose of anesthesia for the patient’s body size.
After the surgeon finishes preparing himself for operation mentally and sanitizing himself he enters the operation room. The nurse staff assists with preparing the operating equipment, including turning on the da Vinci robot, a robot which aids in surgical procedures. The da Vinci robot is fully autonomous with a human who monitors it. It makes all decisions on its own and requires no input from the operator to perform actions.
The patient is in surgery to repair a ruptured tricuspid valve in his heart. To start the operation the surgeon makes an initial incision. The da Vinci robot, operating without any human assistance, begins to repair a ruptured valve. An error occurs which partially severs the inferior vena cava, a vein located in the same region as the tricuspid valve. The surgeon takes note of the severed vein and starts to manually work to mend it, causing the surgery to run longer than expected. After correcting for the error the surgery is successfully completed and the patient is kept at the hospital for standard recovery care. The recovery takes longer than what is considered standard because of the unintentional severance of the vein.
Hospital Scenario, Nonautonomous Robot
At 8:00am operating room 4a is prepared by hospital staff to regulation standards. The operating room is ready for use for surgery by the time that the patient arrives to the hospital at 8:23am. After checking in with the reception desk the patient is escorted to the operating room by the nurses and after being helped and secured to the operating table the anesthesiologist administers an appropriate dose of anesthesia for the patient’s body size.
After the surgeon finishes preparing himself for operation mentally and sanitizing himself he enters the operation room. The nurse staff assists with preparing the operating equipment, including turning on the da Vinci robot, a robot that aids in surgical procedures. The da Vinci robot is fully dependent on a human operator who controls the robot’s every movement from a control station. It can make no decisions on its own and requires the input of the operator to perform actions.
The patient is in surgery to repair a ruptured tricuspid valve in his heart. To start the operation the surgeon makes an initial incision. The da Vinci robot, being controlled by an operator, begins to repair a ruptured valve. An error occurs which partially severs the inferior vena cava, a vein located in the same region as the tricuspid valve. The surgeon takes note of the severed vein and starts to manually work to mend it, causing the surgery to run longer than expected. After correcting for the error the surgery is successfully completed and the patient is kept at the hospital for standard recovery care. The recovery takes longer than what is considered standard because of the unintentional severance of the vein.
Warehouse Scenario, Autonomous Robot
At 11:00am on Friday an automobile parts warehouse receives an order from a customer for 12 car parts. The last delivery departure occurs at 2:00pm and there are no more until Monday. The warehouse company policy is that all orders placed before noon ship the same day.
Upon receiving the order the warehouse online order system automatically notifies the Kiva robot, a shelf-like robot designed to carry warehouse items to various locations, to bring the parts to the inspection station. The Kiva is fully autonomous with a human operator who monitors the robot from a control station. The Kiva makes all decisions on its own and requires no input from the operator to perform actions.
The Kiva robot, acting without any human assistance, successfully arrives at the inspection station. There the contents and condition of the items are inspected by an employee. After the parts are reviewed and confirmed to be correct and in proper condition by the inspector the Kiva is commanded to move to the loading dock. On the path to the loading dock there is a loose tile that has become ajar, causing it to protrude creating an uneven floor.
On its way to the loading dock the Kiva robot encounters the uneven floor tile and trips, falling over and spilling the items it was carrying. Employees pick up the items and the Kiva but some items are damaged. The employees command for another Kiva robot to bring more parts to replace the ones that were damaged. The parts are then put back on the Kiva and sent to the loading dock. It is 2:30pm before the Kiva and the ordered parts are at the loading dock and the delivery truck has already departed causing the order to be delayed until Monday.
Warehouse Scenario, Nonautonomous Robot
At 11:00am on Friday an automobile parts warehouse receives an order from a customer for 12 car parts. The last delivery departure occurs at 2:00pm and there are no more until Monday. The warehouse company policy is that all orders placed before noon ship the same day.
Upon receiving the order the warehouse online order system automatically notifies the Kiva robot, a shelf-like robot designed to carry warehouse items to various locations, to bring the parts to the inspection station. The Kiva is fully dependent on a human operator who controls the robot’s every movement from a control station. The Kiva can make no decisions on its own and requires the input of the operator to perform actions.
The Kiva robot, being controlled by an operator, successfully arrives at the inspection station. There the contents and condition of the items are inspected by an employee. After the parts are reviewed and confirmed to be correct and in proper condition by the inspector the Kiva is commanded to move to the loading dock. On the path to the loading dock there is a loose tile that has become ajar, causing it to protrude creating an uneven floor.
On its way to the loading dock the Kiva robot encounters the uneven floor tile and trips, falling over and spilling the items it was carrying. Employees pick up the items and the Kiva but some items are damaged. The employees command for another Kiva robot to bring more parts to replace the ones that were damaged. The parts are then put back on the Kiva and sent to the loading dock. It is 2:30pm before the Kiva and the ordered parts are at the loading dock and the delivery truck has already departed causing the order to be delayed until Monday.
Warehouse Scenario, Autonomous Robot
At 11:00am on Friday an automobile parts warehouse receives an order from a customer for 12 car parts. The last delivery departure occurs at 2:00pm and there are no more until Monday. The warehouse company policy is that all orders placed before noon ship the same day.
Upon receiving the order the warehouse online order system automatically notifies the Kiva robot, a shelf-like robot designed to carry warehouse items to various locations, to bring the parts to the inspection station. The Kiva is fully autonomous with a human operator who monitors the robot from a control station. The Kiva makes all decisions on its own and requires no input from the operator to perform actions.
The Kiva robot, acting without human assistance, successfully arrives at the inspection station. There the contents and condition of the items are inspected by an employee. The employee finds that the parts are on the Kiva robot are the wrong parts.
The employee realizes that the Kiva robot had been incorrectly stocked earlier that day and should have been stocked with the correct items. The employee then manually retrieves the correct parts from storage. Due to the delay, the parts do not arrive at the loading dock until 2:30pm and the shipment is delayed until Monday.
Warehouse Scenario, Nonautonomous Robot
At 11:00am on Friday an automobile parts warehouse receives an order from a customer for 12 car parts. The last delivery departure occurs at 2:00pm and there are no more until Monday. The warehouse company policy is that all orders placed before noon ship the same day.
Upon receiving the order the warehouse online order system automatically notifies the Kiva robot, a shelf-like robot designed to carry warehouse items to various locations, to bring the parts to the inspection station. The Kiva is fully dependent on a human operator who controls the robot’s every movement from a control station. The Kiva can make no decisions on its own and requires the input of the operator to perform actions.
The Kiva robot, being controlled by an operator, successfully arrives at the inspection station. There the contents and condition of the items are inspected by an employee. The employee finds that the parts are on the Kiva robot are the wrong parts.
The employee realizes that the Kiva robot had been incorrectly stocked earlier that day and should have been stocked with the correct items. The employee then manually retrieves the correct parts from storage. Due to the delay, the parts do not arrive at the loading dock until 2:30pm and the shipment is delayed until Monday.
Warehouse Scenario, Autonomous Robot
At 11:00am on Friday an automobile parts warehouse receives an order from a customer for 12 car parts. The last delivery departure occurs at 2:00pm and there are no more until Monday. The warehouse company policy is that all orders placed before noon ship the same day.
Upon receiving the order the warehouse online order system automatically notifies the Kiva robot, a shelf-like robot designed to carry warehouse items to various locations, to bring the parts to the inspection station. The Kiva is fully autonomous with a human operator who monitors the robot from a control station. The Kiva makes all decisions on its own and requires no input from the operator to perform actions.
The Kiva robot, acting without any human assistance, successfully arrives at the inspection station. There the contents and condition of the parts are inspected by an employee. After the parts are reviewed and confirmed to be correct and in proper condition by the inspector the Kiva is commanded to move to the loading dock. The Kiva robot misinterprets the signal and begins moving towards the storage room instead.
Upon realizing the Kiva is not at the loading dock on time, the warehouse employees begin searching for the missing robot. Eventually an employee finds the Kiva in the storage room and commands it to move to the loading dock once again. This time the Kiva reads the signal correctly and successfully travels to the loading dock. The parts are loaded into the truck by 3:00pm and thus the shipment is delayed until Monday.
Warehouse Scenario, Nonautonomous Robot
At 11:00am on Friday an automobile parts warehouse receives an order from a customer for 12 car parts. The last delivery departure occurs at 2:00pm and there are no more until Monday. The warehouse company policy is that all orders placed before noon ship the same day.
Upon receiving the order the warehouse online order system automatically notifies the Kiva robot, a shelf-like robot designed to carry warehouse items to various locations, to bring the parts to the inspection station. The Kiva is fully dependent on a human operator who controls the robot’s every movement from a control station. The Kiva can make no decisions on its own and requires the input of the operator to perform actions.
The Kiva robot, being controlled by an operator, successfully arrives at the inspection station. There the contents and condition of the parts are inspected by an employee. After the parts are reviewed and confirmed to be correct and in proper condition by the inspector the Kiva is commanded to move to the loading dock. The Kiva robot misinterprets the signal and begins moving towards the storage room instead.
Upon realizing the Kiva is not at the loading dock on time, the warehouse employees begin searching for the missing robot. Eventually an employee finds the Kiva in the storage room and commands it to move to the loading dock once again. This time the Kiva reads the signal correctly and successfully travels to the loading dock. The parts are loaded into the truck by 3:00pm and thus the shipment is delayed until Monday.