At least since the use of drones equipped with air-to-ground missiles in 1995 that can be used against ground targets, like e.g. the General Atomics MQ-1, and the resulting collateral damage, the discussion on the international regulation of remote controlled, programmable and autonomous machines attracted public attention. Nowadays, this discussion covers the entire range of programmable, intelligent and/or autonomous machines, drones as well as automation technology combined with Big Data and artificial intelligence. Lately, well-known visionaries like Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and Bill Gates brought the topic to the focus of public attention and awareness. Due to the increasing availability of small and cheap systems for public service as well as commercial and private use, the regulation of robotics in all social dimensions gained a new significance.
