On the relationship between Benchmarking, Standards and Certification in Robotics and AI
This work addresses the need for structured evaluation and compliance mechanisms in robotics and AI, though it is incremental in its conceptual analysis.
The paper examines the interconnected roles of benchmarking, standards, and certification in robotics and AI, arguing that these processes are essential for promoting Responsible Innovation.
Benchmarking, standards and certification are closely related processes. Standards can provide normative requirements that robotics and AI systems may or may not conform to. Certification generally relies upon conformance with one or more standards as the key determinant of granting a certificate to operate. And benchmarks are sets of standardised tests against which robots and AI systems can be measured. Benchmarks therefore can be thought of as informal standards. In this paper we will develop these themes with examples from benchmarking, standards and certification, and argue that these three linked processes are not only useful but vital to the broader practice of Responsible Innovation.