Cloud services for robotic nurses? Assessing legal and ethical issues in the use of cloud services for healthcare robots

Abstract

This paper explores ethical and legal implications arising from the intertwinement of cloud services, healthcare and robotics in recent developments towards increasing reliance on cloud-based services for healthcare robots. It closes an existing gap in the literature by highlighting the distinctive ethical and legal concerns associated with the interdependence of the cyber-and the physical aspects of healthcare cloud robotics. The identified core concerns include uncertainties with regard to data protection requirements; distributed responsibilities for robot behavior; the achievement of transparency and meaningful consent for cloud robot services especially for vulnerable robot users; secondary uses of cloud data derived from robot activities; data security; and wider social issues such as the digital divide and the assignment of responsibilities for social consequences to robot designers. The paper aims to raise awareness and stimulate reflection with regard to the legal and ethical impacts on different stakeholders arising from the use of cloud services in healthcare robotics. It shows that due to the complexity of these concerns the design and implementation of such robots in healthcare requires an interdisciplinary development and impact assessment process. In light of legal requirements and ethical responsibilities towards end-users and other stakeholders, we draw special attention to practical considerations that engineers should be cognizant of when developing cloud services for robots in the healthcare field.

Responsible Human-Robot Interaction with Anthropomorphic Service Robots: State of the Art of an Interdisciplinary Research Challenge

“…Despite its significance, the requirements of GDPR-compliant robotics formulated in the literature are surprisingly few. The existing works neither reflect the new legal framework introduced by the GDPR [58] nor focus on other areas of robot use, e.g., health [59] or delivery [60] services. Others delve into the specifics of certain platforms, such as robots using cloud computing [59,61].…”

“…The existing works neither reflect the new legal framework introduced by the GDPR [58] nor focus on other areas of robot use, e.g., health [59] or delivery [60] services. Others delve into the specifics of certain platforms, such as robots using cloud computing [59,61]. Some analyze at least some GDPR principles, e.g., transparency, in certain contexts [62].…”

Robots and Transparency: The Multiple Dimensions of Transparency in the Context of Robot Technologies

“…The broader context of robot deployment, involving different roles and responsibilities among various stakeholders, demands a comprehensive understanding of transparency (IEEE P7001). A typical robot ecosystem, in the healthcare sector for instance, would involve the healthcare organization's management who initially decided to deploy the robot, healthcare staff who implement the robot in therapies or daily care, family members who make decisions about their relative's engagement with the robot, the end user; the robot's developer, and infrastructure providers (Fosch-Villaronga et al, 2018;Lutz & Tamo, 2018). Weller's (2017) investigation into the roles and types of transparency in the context of human intelligibility of robotic systems explores this issue.…”

“…When users interact with a robot, it might not be clear that the robot is not the only relevant entity in the interaction; third parties also provide significant aspects of its functioning (Fosch-Villaronga et al, 2018). Complex cyber-physical environments challenge a straightforward notion of transparency, especially when autonomous social robots make decisions and perform actions of social and moral significance for users.…”

Machine Vision-based Obstacle Avoidance for Mobile Robot

“…In recent years, personal service robots, robots designed to help people with special needs or older people in their daily activities, have attracted the attention of researchers in the field of robotics [1] [2]. Daily activities that we do, for example, in the home, it is very challenging to be carried out by a robotic system [3] [4], because the environmental conditions are complex, dynamic and designed for human needs.…”