Episode 120: Evolving robots to explore other planets - Emma Hart
Robot Talk
Claire chatted to Emma Hart from Edinburgh Napier University about algorithms that 'evolve' better robot designs and control systems. is a computer scientist working in the field of evolutionary computation. Her work takes inspiration from the natural world, in particular biological evolution, and uses this to develop algorithms that 'evolve' both the design and control systems of a robot, customised to a specific application. She was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2022, and was awarded the ACM SIGEVO Award for Outstanding Contribution to Evolutionary...
info_outline
Episode 119: Robotics for small manufacturers - Will Kinghorn
Robot Talk
Claire chatted to Will Kinghorn from Made Smarter about how to increase adoption of new tech by small manufacturers. Will Kinghorn is an automation and robotics specialist for the Adoption Programme in the UK. With a background as a chartered manufacturing engineer in the aerospace industry, Will has extensive experience in developing and implementing automation and robotic solutions. He now works with smaller manufacturing companies, assessing their needs, identifying suitable technologies, and guiding them through the adoption process. Last year he released a book called 'Digital...
info_outline
Episode 118: Soft robotics and electronic skin - Miranda Lowther
Robot Talk
Claire chatted to Miranda Lowther from the University of Bristol about soft, sensitive electronic skin for prosthetic limbs. is a PhD researcher at the FARSCOPE-TU Centre for Doctoral Training, a joint venture between University of Bristol, University of West of England, and Bristol Robotics Laboratory, where she is pursuing her passion for using soft robotics and morphological computation to help people in healthcare. For her PhD, she is investigating how soft e-skins and morphological computation concepts can be used to improve prosthetic user health, comfort, and quality of life, through...
info_outline
Episode 117: Robots in orbit - Jeremy Hadall
Robot Talk
Claire chatted to Jeremy Hadall from the Satellite Applications Catapult about robotic systems for in-orbit servicing, assembly, and manufacturing. Jeremy Hadall has worked with robotics for his entire career, developing novel and innovative approaches for manufacturing and logistics industries. He's now turned his experience into the development of robots that enable those tasks in the orbital environment. Prior to joining the Satellite Applications Catapult, he served as Chief Engineer for Intelligent Automation at the Manufacturing Technology Centre for over ten years. He has previously...
info_outline
Episode 116: Evolved behaviour for robot teams - Tanja Katharina Kaiser
Robot Talk
Claire chatted to Tanja Katharina Kaiser from the University of Technology Nuremberg about how applying evolutionary principles can help robot teams make better decisions. is a senior researcher heading the Multi-Robot Systems Satellite Lab at the University of Technology Nuremberg (UTN) in Germany. She and her team focus on the development of adaptive multi-robot systems to solve complex real-world tasks using artificial intelligence. Tanja received her doctorate in robotics from the University of Lübeck in Germany in 2022. Before joining UTN, she held postdoctoral research positions at the...
info_outline
Episode 115: Robot dogs working in industry - Benjamin Mottis
Robot Talk
Claire chatted to Benjamin Mottis from ANYbotics about deploying their four-legged ANYmal robot in a variety of industries. Benjamin Mottis is a Robotics Engineer in charge of ANYmal Research at . After graduating in robotics from EPFL, he joined ANYbotics as a Field Engineer in 2023. He specializes in deploying ANYmal and training customers across all ANYbotics verticals (Oil & Gas, Nuclear, Metals, Chemicals, etc.). Since 2024, as the Global Research Community Manager, he has been working on expanding the ANYmal Research Community and helping world-leading researchers push the boundaries...
info_outline
Episode 114: Reducing waste with robotics - Josie Gotz
Robot Talk
Claire chatted to Josie Gotz from the Manufacturing Technology Centre about robotics for material recovery, reuse and recycling. Josie Gotz is a Senior Research Engineer in the Intelligent Robotics Team at the , she works as the technical lead on a variety of robotics and automation projects from research and development through to integration across a wide variety of manufacturing sectors. She specialises in creating innovative solutions for these industries, combining vision systems and artificial intelligence to build flexible automation systems. Josie has a particular interest in automated...
info_outline
Episode 113: Soft robotic hands - Kaspar Althoefer
Robot Talk
Claire chatted to Kaspar Althoefer from Queen Mary University of London about soft robotic manipulators for healthcare and manufacturing. is Director of the Centre for Advanced Robotics at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). His research focuses on soft robotics, tactile perception, intelligent manipulation, and machine learning techniques for sensor signal interpretation. His research advancements have significant applications in robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery, rehabilitation, assistive technologies, and human-robot interactions within a range of scenarios, including...
info_outline
Episode 112: Getting creative with robotics - Vali Lalioti
Robot Talk
Claire chatted to Vali Lalioti from the University of the Arts London about how art, culture and robotics interact. is a pioneering designer, computer scientist and innovator. She has a PhD in Computer Science, an MRes in Design and an MBA, and extensive international leadership, research and innovation experience in Silicon Valley, Africa, China, Japan and Europe. Vali is passionate about how technology interacts with society and talks globally on women in tech, art and technology education and her research in societal applications for well-being, healthy ageing and art. She developed the...
info_outline
Episode 111: Robots for climate action - Patrick Meier
Robot Talk
Claire chatted to Patrick Meier from the Climate Robotics Network about how robots can help scale action on climate change. Patrick Meier has 15+ years of leadership and field experience at the intersection of emerging tech, innovation, and social impact. He founded the and currently leads the UK FCDO project on Robotics for Global Development in low- and middle-income countries. Previously, he served as Strategy Lead for Robotics at the Swiss Institute of Technology (EPFL) and Innovation Booster Robotics. He also co-founded and led WeRobotics, an international technology nonprofit with labs...
info_outlineI chatted to Isabella Fiorello from the University of Freiburg about plant-inspired robots made from living materials.
Isabella Fiorello is a Junior Group Leader and Principal Investigator of the Bioinspired Plant-hybrid Materials group at the University of Freiburg in Germany. She has a Master’s Degree in Industrial Biotechnology from the University of Turin in Italy and a PhD in Biorobotics from Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Italy. Her research focusses on the development of biologically-inspired microfabricated living materials able to precisely interact with complex unstructured surfaces for applications in precision agriculture, smart fabrics, space, and soft robotics.
Join the Robot Talk community on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ClaireAsher