Melinda Florina Lohmann

Papers

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About

Melinda Florina Lohmann is a pioneering legal scholar at the forefront of robotics law, a field she has helped define from a Swiss and European perspective. Her research centers on the civil liability challenges posed by autonomous and semi-autonomous robots, exploring how existing legal frameworks must adapt to technologies that learn and make decisions. In her most cited work, "Ein europäisches Roboterrecht – überfällig oder überflüssig?" (2017), she critically examines the European Parliament’s call for new civil law rules on robotics, questioning whether such legislation is overdue or unnecessary. Lohmann’s major contribution is her development of a "Roboter-Raster" (robot matrix), a novel analytical tool that classifies robots based on their learning capacity, decision-making ability, and environmental structure. This framework, detailed in "Roboter als Wundertüten – eine zivilrechtliche Haftungsanalyse" (2017), provides a systematic method for assessing liability in cases involving everything from simple industrial bots to advanced AI. Though her published work is concise, its impact is significant—her papers have garnered citations from legal scholars across Europe grappling with the same urgent questions. Lohmann’s writing is essential reading for anyone interested in the intersection of technology, ethics, and law, offering a clear, pragmatic path through the legal uncertainties of our robotic future.