Applied ontologies and standards for service robots

• We present the ongoing work towards a core ontology dedicated to the field of robotics and automation.
• We describe the role of ontologies in robotics at large.
• We provide a thorough review of service robot ontologies.
• We describe the existing standards for robots, along with the future trends in the domain.
• We define the current issues and solutions possible with ontology development for human–robot interaction.

Service robotics is an emerging application area for human-centered technologies. The rise of household and personal assistance robots forecasts a human–robot collaborative society. One of the robotics community’s major task is to streamline development trends, work on the harmonization of taxonomies and ontologies, along with the standardization of terms, interfaces and technologies. It is important to keep the scientific progress and public understanding synchronous, through efficient outreach and education. These efforts support the collaboration among research groups, and lead to widely accepted standards, beneficial for both manufacturers and users. This article describes the necessity of developing robotics ontologies and standards focusing on the past and current research efforts. In addition, the paper proposes a roadmap for service robotics ontology development. The IEEE Robotics & Automation Society is sponsoring the working group Ontologies for Robotics and Automation. The efforts of the Working group are presented here, aiming to connect the cutting edge technology with the users of these services—the general public.