Robotics in the AI era: A vision for a Hellenic Robotics Initiative

By Kostas Daniilidis, University of Pennsylvania, USA | Leonidas Guibas, Stanford University, USA | Lydia Kavraki, Rice University, USA | Petros Koumoutsakos, Harvard University, USA | Kostas Kyriakopoulos, NTU Athens, Greece | John Lygeros, ETH Zurich, Switzerland | George J. Pappas, University of Pennsylvania, USA, [email protected]  | Michael Triantafyllou, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA | Panagiotis Tsiotras, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

The first HIAS report is now out!


In January 2021, the Hellenic Institute of Advanced Study (HIAS) assembled a panel including world leading roboticists from the Hellenic diaspora, who volunteered their scientific expertise to provide a vision for Robotics in Greece. This monograph, entitled “Robotics in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) era,” will hopefully trigger a dialogue towards the development of a national robotics strategy. Our vision is that Robotics in the AI era will be an essential technology of the future for the safety and security of the Hellenic nation, its environment and its citizens, for modernizing its economy towards Industry 4.0, and for inspiring and educating the next generation workforce for the challenges of the 21st century. To contribute towards making this vision a reality, after reviewing global trends in robotics and assessing the Greek robotics ecosystem, we arrived at the following key findings and recommendations: Firstly, we think that Greece should develop a national Hellenic Robotics Initiative that serves as the nation’s long-term vision and strategy across the entire Greek robotics ecosystem. Also, certain societal drivers should be key in the areas of focus. Safety and security is an area of national importance necessitating a national initiative, while agrifood, maritime and logistics provide opportunities for internationally leading innovation.

Suggested Citation
Kostas Daniilidis, Leonidas Guibas, Lydia Kavraki, Petros Koumoutsakos, Kostas Kyriakopoulos, John Lygeros, George J. Pappas, Michael Triantafyllou and Panagiotis Tsiotras (2021), “Robotics in the AI era: A vision for a Hellenic Robotics Initiative”, Foundations and Trends® in Robotics: Vol. 9: No. 3, pp 201-265. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/2300000069 
Publication Date: 02 Dec 2021
© 2021 K. Daniilidis, L. Guibas, L. Kavraki, P. Koumoutsakos, K. Kyriakopoulos, J. Lygeros, G.J. Pappas, M. Triantafyllou and P. Tsiotras