Making an Opportunity Out of a Crisis: The Inclusive Approach of the Italian Robotics Community

The Covid-19 pandemic is forcing a rethink in robotics. In the form it is known today, robotics was prerogative of a broad community of insiders. But now, in the wreckage left behind by the coronavirus pandemic, a new era is beginning. What does it hold? In front of the crisis, more and more people have manifested the hope that robotics might bring novel solutions. And this interest has emerged beyond the usual boundaries of the experts or the enthusiasts for technology. This provides an opportunity to reinforce the community of people involved in the process of innovation. By involving citizens, the community becomes more plural and diverse. This involvement is going to produce better robots of many shapes and functions. In this paper, we discuss how the Robotics community of one country, Italy, has concretely responded to the pandemic outbreak in the early stages. We also discuss how we are now working to help the recovery phase and to share this experience with the worldwide community, to pass along the many lessons learned.