Libsyn Directory

Episode 162: The robot doctor will see you now - Robot Talk Live

Release Date: 06/26/2026

Episode 166: Evolving robot bodies and brains - Rika Antonova

Robot Talk

Claire chatted to Rika Antonova from the University of Cambridge about using artificial intelligence to develop complimentary robot hardware and algorithms. is an Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge. Her research interests include co-design, automated algorithm discovery, data-efficient reinforcement learning, exploration, active learning, and robotics. After completing a research Master’s degree at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University and a PhD at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Rika undertook a Computing Innovation Fellowship at Stanford University....

Episode 165: Robots behind the research - Kushant Patel

Robot Talk

Claire chatted to Kushant Patel from Brookhaven National Laboratory about robots that work in scientific facilities, such as particle accelerators. builds software that helps robots and instruments perceive, map, and move through the physical world. After completing a Master’s in Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo, he spent two years at the University of California, Berkeley teaching quadruped robots to map and inspect nuclear material, and a year at the University of California, Davis building closed-loop brain-computer interfaces. At Brookhaven...

Bonus Episode: Marine robotics' journey through different lenses

Robot Talk

Last month, Claire hosted a panel discussion at exploring how progress in marine autonomy resonates with different audiences, from engineers who are developing the technology, to the end users in science, industry and defence, and the young people who will become the next generation of engineers. She was joined by five panellists: Gwyn Griffiths, Daniel Hook, Emma Curtis, Sara Aldhaheri, and Edith-Clare Hall. This bonus episode is brought to you by the and the AUV Southampton organising committee, in partnership with and . Get access to the full catalogue of bonus episodes by becoming...

Bonus Episode: Restoring marine ecosystems with robots

Robot Talk

During my recent visit to The in Edinburgh, I was lucky enough to get the chance to speak to some of the Robotarium's resident companies. In this interview, I talked to Niall McGrath, CEO of , a company building and deploying robots to restore seagrass meadows – one of the most important marine ecosystems on Earth. This episode was made possible by , a programme supporting Research Technical Professionals in robotics and autonomous systems in the UK.

Episode 164: Accelerating robot learning - Michelle Lu

Robot Talk

Claire chatted to Michelle Lu from Vsim Technology about using simulation and artificial intelligence to teach robots new skills. Michelle Lu is co-founder and CEO of . She was previously a Director of Simulation Technology at NVIDIA, where she and her co-founder created the world’s first end-to-end GPU-accelerated reinforcement learning (RL) framework, Isaac Gym, which set the template for how modern GPU-accelerated simulation-based RL is performed in robotics. In 2022, Michelle and her co-founder left NVIDIA to create Vsim, driven to solve the limitations that plague simulation-based...

Episode 163: Robots helping people - Aaron Edsinger

Robot Talk

Claire chatted to Aaron Edsinger from Hello Robot about their Stretch robots that can help people with mobility issues live more independently. Aaron Edsinger is CEO and Co-Founder of , a robotics company dedicated to developing practical, safe, and accessible robots for people. With a passion for building robots and robot companies, Aaron has founded four companies focused on bringing human collaborative robots to the consumer, manufacturing, healthcare and research markets. As Robotics Director at Google, he led the business, product and technical development of two of Google’s central...

Bonus Episode: Revolutionising agriculture with 'grain-swimming' robots

Robot Talk

During my recent visit to The in Edinburgh, I was lucky enough to get the chance to speak to some of the Robotarium's resident companies. In this interview, I spoke to Lorenzo Conti, Founder and CEO of , a company developing robots for autonomous grain storage management. This episode was made possible by , a programme supporting Research Technical Professionals in robotics and autonomous systems in the UK.

Bonus Episode: Giving robots the power of human touch

Robot Talk

During my recent visit to The in Edinburgh, I was lucky enough to get the chance to speak to some of the Robotarium's resident companies. In this interview, I chatted to Vladimir Ivan, Vice President of Robotics at , a company developing e-skins to give robots the power of human touch. This episode was made possible by , a programme supporting Research Technical Professionals in robotics and autonomous systems in the UK.

Bonus Episode: Behind the scenes at the UK's leading robotics centre

Robot Talk

Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to get a behind the scenes tour of The , a global robotics research institute based at in Edinburgh. Thomas McGravie, Senior Technician at the National Robotarium, showed me around their ground-breaking facilities. I also spoke to Steve Maclaren, Chief Operating Officer at The National Robotarium about the centre's history, goals and successes so far, and I had a brief chat with a humanoid robot called . During my visit, I also had the opportunity to interview three of the Robotarium's resident companies: , and . Watch this space for those interviews...

Bonus Episode: Robotics for Sustainability (ERF 2026)

Robot Talk

This bonus episode features interviews from academic and industry experts at this year's European Robotics Forum in Stavanger, Norway. During the conference, there were several workshops on sustainability, conservation, and environmental issues and I spoke to some of the presenters and attendees to find out about their reflections on the workshops. This bonus episode was produced in collaboration with — an international non-profit association that aims to boost European robotics research, development, and innovation.

More Episodes

Since the first robot-assisted surgery was performed, over 40 years ago, major advances in robotics, computer vision and artificial intelligence have fundamentally changed medicine and healthcare. Innovative new technologies are already aiding skilled medical professionals in diagnosis, surgery, rehabilitation and beyond. But many questions remain: What ethical issues arise as medical tools become increasingly autonomous? How do we regulate technologies that can learn and change over time? And how can we ensure that cutting-edge medical devices are accessible to all?

In this special live recording at Imperial College London as part of the Great Exhibition Road Festival, Claire chatted to George Mylonas (Imperial College London), Antonia Tzemanaki (University of Bristol) and Tom Vercauteren (King’s College London) about robotics and AI in medicine and healthcare.

George Mylonas is an Associate Professor in Robotics and Technology in Cancer at Imperial College London, and the director of the Human-centred Automation, Robotics and Monitoring in Surgery lab at The Hamlyn Centre, Institute of Global Health Innovation and the Department of Surgery & Cancer, Faculty of Medicine. He is leading research in the areas of surgical robotics, soft robotics, minimal access surgical technology, perceptual human-robot and human-computer interfaces, and smart data-driven operating theatres. He is a member of the European Association of Endoscopic Surgery Technology Committee.

Antonia Tzemanaki is a Senior Lecturer in Robotics at the University of Bristol and a core member of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory. She leads the Dexterous Manipulation and Wearable Robotics group which develops robotic simulators and interventions, including robotic needle steering, abdominal, urology, skull and hand models, for surgical and physical therapy treatments of disease including cancers, neurological, prostate and urinary disorders. The group provides wide expertise in precision manipulation, robot hands, hand exoskeletons, kinematics, haptics and wearable robotics, especially with applications in surgery, preventative medicine, rehabilitation, physiotherapy and dexterous tele-operation.

Tom Vercauteren is a Professor of Interventional Image Computing at King’s College London, where he leads the Contextual Artificial Intelligence for Computer Assisted Interventions research group. His research focuses on medical image computing, machine learning and imaging for surgery and interventional sciences. He is also co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Hypervision Surgical, a spin-out company developing safe, non-invasive optical imaging for use during surgery. His work is now used in hundreds of hospitals worldwide. Tom is also a supporter of open-source software and patient involvement.

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