t may be premature to think about automating humanitarian relief activities, but Robert Richardson, who works on robotics at the University of Manchester in the UK, suggests that there definitely is potential for the future.
Richardson has recently been briefing representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Médecins Sans Frontières-UK, the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) and several academic institutions in London as part of the Humanitarian Futures Programme’s framework for dialogue between humanitarian policymakers and scientists.
cost of using robot-driven transport vehicles during emergency situations will be prohibitively expensive for the next few decades
other uses where robots, or autonomous machines, can prove extremely usefu
One of the most promising areas is in quick aerial surveillance.
“The idea is to get people involved in humanitarian issues to start thinking about these things,” he said. “We are trying to open doors.”
clipped from: www.irinnews.org 
