Testing Autonomous Beasts: With Great Value Comes Great Responsibility

After more than a decade in software, I entered a completely different world, the world of robotics, where software and hardware work together. To make the challenge even more interesting, the robots I encounter do not have the privilege of working in isolated environments, nor are they easily tamed. These robots are several-ton autonomous beasts doing live operations in warehouses alongside humans. The robots face many daily uncertainties, such as low-light conditions, unexpected movements, objects, and unpredictable human behavior. The consequences of faults in such environments can result in severe damage or even injuries, so the risks are very high. Much higher than in any other industry I worked in in my career.

This indicates that the value of testing the software that powers the robot's autonomy in such a high-risk context is crucial. Testing helps us gather relevant information to understand the shortcomings, bridge the quality gaps, and act promptly to prevent failures. In this talk, I will share how modern exploratory testing brings value to robotics when the stakes are high, and there is no room for some mistakes because they are unrecoverable.