Robot Talk

Claire chatted to Rika Antonova from the University of Cambridge about using artificial intelligence to develop complimentary robot hardware and algorithms. Rika Antonova 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 completi...

Claire chatted to Kushant Patel from Brookhaven National Laboratory about robots that work in scientific facilities, such as particle accelerators. Kushant Patel 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 Californi...

Last month, Claire hosted a panel discussion at AUV 2026 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,...

During my recent visit to The National Robotarium 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 Robocean , 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 UK RAS STEPS , a pro...

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 Vsim Technology . 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 tem...

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 Hello Robot , 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...

During my recent visit to The National Robotarium 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 Crover , a company developing robots for autonomous grain storage management.  This episode was made possible by UK RAS STEPS , a programme supporting Research Technical Professi...

During my recent visit to The National Robotarium 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 Touchlab , a company developing e-skins to give robots the power of human touch. This episode was made possible by UK RAS STEPS , a programme supporting Research Tec...

Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to get a behind the scenes tour of The National Robotarium , a global robotics research institute based at Heriot-Watt University 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 hi...

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...

This bonus episode features interviews from academic and industry experts at this year's European Robotics Forum in Stavanger, Norway. During the conference, I attended a workshop on ' Drones for Difficult and Challenging Applications ', which focussed on recent successes and outstanding challenges for aerial robots in a range of fields including healthcare, inspection, and maintenance. This bonus...

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...

Claire chatted to Allison Okamura from Stanford University about developing advanced robotic systems for haptic (touch) interaction. Allison Okamura is the Richard W. Weiland Professor of Engineering at Stanford University. Her academic interests include haptics, teleoperation, virtual reality, medical robotics, soft robotics, rehabilitation, and education. Allison is Director of Graduate Studies...

Claire chatted to Edward Mehr from Machina Labs about their RoboCraftsman that shapes complex metal parts for the aerospace, defence, and automotive industries. Edward Mehr is an entrepreneur and engineer specializing in advanced manufacturing, robotics, and artificial intelligence. As the Co-Founder and CEO of Machina Labs , he leads efforts to integrate AI-driven robotics into flexible, on-deman...

Maria Koskinopoulou is an Assistant Professor in Robotics and Computer Vision at Heriot-Watt University. She co-leads the ARM²Lab – Autonomous Robotic Manipulation & Multi-Agent Systems Lab at Heriot-Watt and the National Robotarium, alongside Ignacio Carlucho. Her research interests include robotic manipulation, perception, robot vision, medical robotics, human-robot interaction, and machine lear...

This bonus episode features interviews from academic and industry experts at this year's European Robotics Forum in Stavanger, Norway. On the second day of the conference, I attended a workshop on ' 6G Empowering Future Multipurpose Robotics ', which explored opportunities, technical challenges, and requirements for connectivity in robotics. This bonus episode was produced in collaboration with  e...

This bonus episode features interviews from academic and industry experts at this year's European Robotics Forum in Stavanger, Norway. The first workshop I attended at ERF 2026 was on ' Robotics for Strategic Reindustrialisation ', which focussed how to strengthen the resilience of Europe's manufacturing supply chains, including those for robotics hardware and software. This bonus episode was prod...

Claire chatted to Ahti Heinla from Starship Technologies about their AI-powered delivery robots that operate independently on streets and sidewalks. Ahti Heinla is the co-founder and CEO of Starship Technologies , the world's leading autonomous delivery company building AI-powered robots that operate fully independently in real-world environments. One of the original engineers behind Skype's billi...

Claire chatted to Josie Hughes from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) about using generative AI to develop new designs for robotic manipulators. Josie Hughes is an Assistant Professor at EPFL, where she established the CREATE Lab in 2021. She completed her PhD in the Bio-inspired Robotics Lab at the University of Cambridge, examining the role of passivity in bio-inspired manipulators...

Claire chatted to Gavin Kenneally from Ghost Robotics about robot dogs for defence, security, and public safety. Gavin Kenneally is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ghost Robotics , a company that has gained a reputation for pushing the boundaries of legged robotics technology. In his current role, Gavin spearheads a team of highly skilled engineers and researchers who share his passion for creating adva...

Claire chatted to Melissa Greeff from Queen's University about autonomous navigation and learning for drones. Melissa Greeff is an Assistant Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Queen's University. She leads Robora Lab and is also an Ingenuity Labs Robotics and AI Institute member. Her research interests include aerial robots, vision-based navigation, and safe learning-based control...

Claire chatted to Andrew Philippides from the University of Sussex about what we can learn from ants and bees to improve robot navigation. Andrew Philippides is a Professor of Biorobotics at the University of Sussex, where he co-directs the Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics and the be. AI Leverhulme Doctoral centre for Biomimetic Embodied AI. His research combines biological exper...

Claire chatted to Chenying Liu from the University of Oxford about how a robot's physical form can actively contribute to sensing, processing, decision-making, and movement. Chenying Liu is a Junior Research Fellow and an Associate Member of Faculty in the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford. She leads an independent research programme focused on embodied physical intelli...

Claire chatted to Rich Walker from Shadow Robot Company about their advanced robotic hands for research and industry. Rich Walker has been at Shadow Robot since long before it was a company, working initially on software and systems engineering before "jumping the fence" into management. He led Shadow Robot's engagement with a number of R&D initiatives in UK and across Europe, as well as developin...

Claire chatted to Simona Aracri from the National Research Council of Italy about innovative robot designs for oceanography and environmental monitoring. Simona Aracri is a researcher in the Institute of Marine Engineering at the National Research Council of Italy. Previously, she was a Post Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Edinburgh, working on the award winning project ORCA Hub a...