An Investigation on Legal Regulations for Robot Deployment in Urban Areas: A Focus on Italian Law

Abstract

This paper investigates the administrative, criminal and civil aspects of Italian law in order to find out whether and how current legal regulations impact on robot deployment in urban environments. The paper is based on a case study. The objects of this study are two autonomous mobile robots designed to carry out urban hygiene services in pedestrian areas. The paper points out a major problem in Italian law — the lack of legal qualification for autonomous mobile robots operating on public roads. On the contrary, at present, no relevant implications are identified with regard to Italian criminal and civil law. As a matter of fact, although autonomous, the robots that are at the center of this study can still be considered as properties and, therefore, are excluded from any personal liability in case of damage to people or things.