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Robotics 8: Safety, ethics & field testing

4 weeks · 2 milestones

Find what can go wrong, guard against it, and test outside the lab. Stage 8 of the Varsity Curriculum: Robotics. A simulation-only route counts at every step; free resources only.

Part of: Robotics · Proves for: Engineers, UG

Milestone map

Milestone map

2 milestones

Write the safety case and test the stops

1–3 weeks (about 8 hrs/week, est)

Build a risk assessment for your robot (hazards, who could be hurt, how likely, how bad), the safeguards you built (emergency stop, speed limits, geofence or watchdog), tests that show each safeguard works, and an ethics note on who the robot affects. Keep it in one public repo and commit as you go. No hardware needed: this milestone is done in simulation.

Proof required

Link the public repo with the risk assessment, the safeguard code, the tests and their output, and the ethics note.

What gets checked

  • Every high risk has a safeguard and a test.
  • The emergency stop is tested, with its stopping time.
  • The ethics note names who is affected and how.

Common mistakes

  • One big upload with no commit history.
  • Results the repo cannot reproduce.

Powstik Guide

A public repo with a risk assessment for your robot (hazards, who could be hurt, how likely, how bad), the safeguards you built (emergency stop, speed limits, geofence or watchdog), tests that show each safeguard works, and an ethics note on who the robot affects.

Steps

  1. Make a public repo.
  2. Set up the simulator from its free docs.
  3. Build the smallest version that works, then measure it.
  4. Write a README: what it is, how to launch it, what the numbers show.
  5. Ask someone who knows robotics to check it.

Template

README
Stage 8: Safety, ethics & field testing
What is here:
How to launch it:
Results:
Limits:

What gets sent back

  • No measurements.
  • Code that does not work from the README.
  • Copied code with no history.

Resources

Foundationstart here

What a verifier looks for

  • Every high risk has a safeguard and a test.
  • The emergency stop is tested, with its stopping time.
  • The ethics note names who is affected and how.
  • Open the repo: does the code produce what the recording shows?

You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.

Field-test it with a person present

1 week (about 4 hrs, est)

Show a field test outside your normal setup (a new room, outdoors, or a new simulated world) with a test log, run in person with someone checking the safeguards. Do it in person or on a live video call. Simulation-only route: if you have no hardware, a live run in the simulator counts.

Proof required

Name the person who watched and add the recording or your notes of what happened, including anything that failed.

What gets checked

  • The test plan was written before the test.
  • Every incident is logged.
  • The safeguards are triggered on purpose and work.

Common mistakes

  • A pre-recorded run passed off as live.
  • Cutting the failures.

Powstik Guide

A live demo to one person who knows robotics, with notes or a recording.

Steps

  1. Agree the test with the person first.
  2. Let them choose the conditions.
  3. Show it live and record what happened.
  4. Write down what failed and why.

Template

Demo notes
Who watched:
What they asked for:
What happened:
What failed:

What gets sent back

  • The person did not see it live.
  • No notes or recording.

Resources

What a verifier looks for

  • The test plan was written before the test.
  • Every incident is logged.
  • The safeguards are triggered on purpose and work.
  • Did you watch it happen live?

You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.

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