# Autonomy and Safety Assurance in the Early Development of Robotics and Autonomous Systems

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.18448 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.18448/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 4 of its 15 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 30 Jan 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [Assured Autonomy: Path Toward Living With Autonomous Systems We Can Trust](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.14443/) (2020)
- [A Corroborative Approach to Verification and Validation of Human--Robot Teams](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1608.07403/) (2016)
- [Autonomous Systems' Safety Cases for use in UK Nuclear Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.02344/) (2023)
- [Autonomous Robotic Swarms: A Corroborative Approach for Verification and Validation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.15475/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This report provides an overview of the workshop titled Autonomy and Safety Assurance in the Early Development of Robotics and Autonomous Systems, hosted by the Centre for Robotic Autonomy in Demanding and Long-Lasting Environments (CRADLE) on September 2, 2024, at The University of Manchester, UK. The event brought together representatives from six regulatory and assurance bodies across diverse sectors to discuss challenges and evidence for ensuring the safety of autonomous and robotic systems, particularly autonomous inspection robots (AIR). The workshop featured six invited talks by the regulatory and assurance bodies. CRADLE aims to make assurance an integral part of engineering reliable, transparent, and trustworthy autonomous systems. Key discussions revolved around three research questions: (i) challenges in assuring safety for AIR; (ii) evidence for safety assurance; and (iii) how assurance cases need to differ for autonomous systems. Following the invited talks, the breakout groups further discussed the research questions using case studies from ground (rail), nuclear, underwater, and drone-based AIR. This workshop offered a valuable opportunity for representatives from industry, academia, and regulatory bodies to discuss challenges related to assured autonomy. Feedback from participants indicated a strong willingness to adopt a design-for-assurance process to ensure that robots are developed and verified to meet regulatory expectations.