https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108816 Sat, 04 Apr 2026 08:07:10 GMT 2026-04-04T08:07:10Z https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/145635.2 Self-employment for autonomous robots using smart contracts Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo; Berman, Ivan; Kapitonov, Aleksandr; Manaenko, Vadim; Chernyaev, Makar; Tarasov, Pavel; Wilson, Bryan; Greenwood, Dazza; Walters, Ed The physical autonomy of robots is well understood both theoretically and practically. By contrast, there is almost no research exploring a robot's potential economic autonomy. In this paper, we present the first economically autonomous robot---a robot able to produce marketable goods while having full control over the use of its generated income. In our proof-of-concept, the robot is self-employed as an artist. It produces physical artistic goods and uses blockchain-based smart contracts on the Ethereum network to autonomously list its goods for sale in online auctions. Using the blockchain-based smart contract, the robot then uses its income from sales to autonomously order more materials from an online shop, pay for its consumables such as network fees, and remunerate human assistance for support tasks. The robot also uses its income to repay investor loans that funded its initial phase of production. In these transactions, the robot interacts with humans as a peer, not as a tool. In other words, the robot makes peer financial transactions with humans in the same way that another human would, first as an investment vehicle, then as a seller at an auction, and then as a shop customer and a client. Our proof-of-concept is conducted as an in-lab experiment, but gives rise to an important discussion of the legal implications of economically autonomous robots, which under existing frameworks can already be embedded in corporate entities that are classed as artificial persons. Sat, 01 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/145635.2 2022-10-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/145635 Self-employment for autonomous robots using smart contracts Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo; Berman, Ivan; Kapitonov, Aleksandr; Manaenko, Vadim; Chernyaev, Makar; Tarasov, Pavel; Wilson, Bryan; Greenwood, Dazza; Walters, Ed The physical autonomy of robots is well understood both theoretically and practically. By contrast, there is almost no research exploring a robot's potential economic autonomy. In this paper, we present the first economically autonomous robot---a robot able to produce marketable goods while having full control over the use of its generated income. In our proof-of-concept, the robot is self-employed as an artist. It produces physical artistic goods and uses blockchain-based smart contracts on the Ethereum network to autonomously list its goods for sale in online auctions. Using the blockchain-based smart contract, the robot then uses its income from sales to autonomously order more materials from an online shop, pay for its consumables such as network fees, and remunerate human assistance for support tasks. The robot also uses its income to repay investor loans that funded its initial phase of production. In these transactions, the robot interacts with humans as a peer, not as a tool. In other words, the robot makes peer financial transactions with humans in the same way that another human would, first as an investment vehicle, then as a seller at an auction, and then as a shop customer and a client. Our proof-of-concept is conducted as an in-lab experiment, but gives rise to an important discussion of the legal implications of economically autonomous robots, which under existing frameworks can already be embedded in corporate entities that are classed as artificial persons. Sat, 01 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/145635 2022-10-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/130909 Secure and secret cooperation in robotic swarms Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo; Hardjono, Thomas; Pentland, Alex 'Sandy'; Dorigo, Marco The importance of swarm robotics systems in both academic research and real-world applications is steadily increasing. However, to reach widespread adoption, new models that ensure the secure cooperation of large groups of robots need to be developed. This work introduces a novel method to encapsulate cooperative robotic missions in an authenticated data structure known as Merkle tree. With this method, operators can provide the "blueprint" of the swarm's mission without disclosing its raw data. In other words, data verification can be separated from data itself. We propose a system where robots in a swarm, to cooperate towards mission completion, have to "prove" their integrity to their peers by exchanging cryptographic proofs. We show the implications of this approach for two different swarm robotics missions: foraging and maze formation. In both missions, swarm robots were able to cooperate and carry out sequential operations without having explicit knowledge about the mission's high-level objectives. The results presented in this work demonstrate the feasibility of using Merkle trees as a cooperation mechanism for swarm robotics systems in both simulation and real-robot experiments, which has implications for future decentralized robotics applications where security plays a crucial role such as environmental monitoring, infrastructure surveillance, and disaster management. Mon, 07 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/130909 2021-06-07T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/120583 Urban Swarms: A new approach for autonomous waste management Alfeo, Antonio Luca; Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo; Lizarribar Carrillo, Yago; Grignard, Arnaud; Alonso Pastor, Luis; Sleeper, Dylan T.; Cimino, Mario G.C.A.; Lepri, Bruno; Vaglini, Gigliola; Larson, Kent; Dorigo, Marco; Pentland, Alex ('Sandy') Modern cities are growing ecosystems that face new challenges due to the increasing population demands. One of the many problems they face nowadays is waste management, which has become a pressing issue requiring new solutions. Swarm robotics systems have been attracting an increasing amount of attention in the past years and they are expected to become one of the main driving factors for innovation in the field of robotics. The research presented in this paper explores the feasibility of a swarm robotics system in an urban environment. By using bio-inspired foraging methods such as multi-place foraging and stigmergy-based navigation, a swarm of robots is able to improve the efficiency and autonomy of the urban waste management system in a realistic scenario. To achieve this, a diverse set of simulation experiments was conducted using real-world GIS data and implementing different garbage collection scenarios driven by robot swarms. Results presented in this research show that the proposed system outperforms current approaches. Moreover, results not only show the efficiency of our solution, but also give insights about how to design and customize these systems. Thu, 18 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/120583 2018-10-18T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/115883 Managing Byzantine Robots via Blockchain Technology in a Swarm Robotics Collective Decision Making Scenario Strobel, Volker; Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo; Dorigo, Marco While swarm robotics systems are often claimed to be highly fault-tolerant, so far research has limited its attention to safe laboratory settings and has virtually ignored security issues in the presence of Byzantine robots—i.e., robots with arbitrarily faulty or malicious behavior. However, in many applications one or more Byzantine robots may suffice to let current swarm coordination mechanisms fail with unpredictable or disastrous outcomes. In this paper, we provide a proof-of-concept for managing security issues in swarm robotics systems via blockchain technology. Our approach uses decentralized programs executed via blockchain technology (blockchain-based smart contracts) to establish secure swarm coordination mechanisms and to identify and exclude Byzantine swarm members. We studied the performance of our blockchain-based approach in a collective decision-making scenario both in the presence and absence of Byzantine robots and compared our results to those obtained with an existing collective decision approach. The results show a clear advantage of the blockchain approach when Byzantine robots are part of the swarm. Fri, 25 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/115883 2018-05-25T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113674 RoboChain: A Secure Data-Sharing Framework for Human-Robot Interaction Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo; Rudovic, Ognjen (Oggi); Hardjono, Thomas; Pentland, Alexander (Sandy) Robots have potential to revolutionize the way we interact with the world around us. One of their largest potentials is in the domain of mobile health where they can be used to facilitate clinical interventions. However, to accomplish this, robots need to have access to our private data in order to learn from these data and improve their interaction capabilities. Furthermore, to enhance this learning process, the knowledge sharing among multiple robot units is the natural step forward. However, to date, there is no well-established framework which allows for such data sharing while preserving the privacy of the users (e.g., the hospital patients). To this end, we introduce RoboChain - the first learning framework for secure, decentralized and computationally efficient data and model sharing among multiple robot units installed at multiple sites (e.g., hospitals). RoboChain builds upon and combines the latest advances in open data access and blockchain technologies, as well as machine learning. We illustrate this framework using the example of a clinical intervention conducted in a private network of hospitals. Specifically, we lay down the system architecture that allows multiple robot units, conducting the interventions at different hospitals, to perform efficient learning without compromising the data privacy. Wed, 14 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113674 2018-02-14T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108829 A wearable general-purpose solution for Human-Swarm Interaction Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo Swarms of robots will revolutionize many industrial applications, from targeted material delivery to precision farming. Controlling the motion and behavior of these swarms presents unique challenges for human operators, who cannot yet effectively convey their high-level intentions to a group of robots in application. This work proposes a new human-swarm interface based on novel wearable gesture-control and haptic-feedback devices. This work seeks to combine a wearable gesture recognition device that can detect high-level intentions, a portable device that can detect Cartesian information and finger movements, and a wearable advanced haptic device that can provide real-time feedback. This project is the first to envisage a wearable Human-Swarm Interaction (HSI) interface that separates the input and feedback components of the classical control loop (input, output, feedback), as well as being the first of its kind suitable for both indoor and outdoor environments. Thu, 11 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108829 2017-05-11T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108828 The blockchain: a new framework for robotic swarm systems Castelló Ferrer, Eduardo Swarms of robots will revolutionize many industrial applications, from targeted material delivery to precision farming. However, several of the heterogeneous characteristics that make them ideal for certain future applications --- robot autonomy, decentralized control, collective emergent behavior, etc. --- hinder the evolution of the technology from academic institutions to real-world problems. Blockchain, an emerging technology originated in the Bitcoin field, demonstrates that by combining peer-to-peer networks with cryptographic algorithms a group of agents can reach an agreement on a particular state of affairs and record that agreement without the need for a controlling authority. The combination of blockchain with other distributed systems, such as robotic swarm systems, can provide the necessary capabilities to make robotic swarm operations more secure, autonomous, flexible and even profitable. This work explains how blockchain technology can provide innovative solutions to four emergent issues in the swarm robotics research field. New security, decision making, behavior differentiation and business models for swarm robotic systems are described by providing case scenarios and examples. Finally, limitations and possible future problems that arise from the combination of these two technologies are described. Thu, 11 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108828 2017-05-11T00:00:00Z