97 episodes

Join us each week as we explore the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence, and autonomous machines. Each episode, Dr Claire Asher — science communicator and robot enthusiast — chats with robotics scientists from across the UK to find out how their cutting-edge research is influencing the future of every aspect of science, technology, and engineering, from the mundane to the extraordinary.

Robot Talk Robot Talk

    • Science

Join us each week as we explore the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence, and autonomous machines. Each episode, Dr Claire Asher — science communicator and robot enthusiast — chats with robotics scientists from across the UK to find out how their cutting-edge research is influencing the future of every aspect of science, technology, and engineering, from the mundane to the extraordinary.

    Mario Di Castro - robotic inspection and maintenance in hazardous environments

    Mario Di Castro - robotic inspection and maintenance in hazardous environments

    Claire chatted to Mario Di Castro from CERN all about robotic inspection and maintenance in hazardous environments.
    Mario Di Castro has a Master’s degree in electronic engineering from the University of Naples Federico II in Italy and a PhD in robotics and industrial controls from the Polytechnic University of Madrid in Spain. Since 2011 he has led the Mechatronics, Robotics and Operation section at CERN. The section is responsible for the design, construction, installation, operation and maintenance of robotic systems used for remote maintenance at the CERN accelerator complex. His research interests include tele-robotics, machine learning, and precise motion control in harsh environments.
    Join the live audience!
    Robot Talk will be returning for another live episode recording this June, as part of the Great Exhibition Road Festival in London. 'Humans 2.0: Robotically Augmented People' will be held at the V&A Museum at 1.30pm on Sunday 16th June.
    Register for a free ticket now: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/humans-20-robotically-augmented-people-tickets-879494560907 
    Win a Robot Talk T-shirt
    For a chance to win your very own organic cotton Robot Talk t-shirt, all you have to do is:
    Sign up to our newsletter Share our competition post on social media: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads or Mastodon You can enter across multiple platforms. One lucky winner will be randomly selected each month! 
    Find out more: https://www.robottalk.org/t-shirt-competition/.

    • 17 min
    Margarita Chli - vision, navigation, and small aerial drones.

    Margarita Chli - vision, navigation, and small aerial drones.

    Claire chatted to Margarita Chli from the University of Cyprus all about vision, navigation, and small aerial drones.
    Margarita Chli is a professor of Robotic Vision and the director of the Vision for Robotics Lab, at the University of Cyprus and ETH Zurich. Her work has contributed to the first vision-based autonomous flight of a small drone and the first demonstration of collaborative monocular SLAM for a small swarm of drones. Margarita has given invited keynotes at the World Economic Forum in Davos, TEDx, and ICRA, and she was featured in Robohub's 2016 list of "25 women in Robotics you need to know about". In 2023, she won the ERC Consolidator Grant to research advanced robotic perception.
    Join the live audience!
    Robot Talk will be returning for another live episode recording this June, as part of the Great Exhibition Road Festival in London. 'Humans 2.0: Robotically Augmented People' will be held at the V&A Museum at 1.30pm on Sunday 16th June.
    Register for a free ticket now: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/humans-20-robotically-augmented-people-tickets-879494560907 
    Win a Robot Talk T-shirt
    For a chance to win your very own organic cotton Robot Talk t-shirt, all you have to do is:
    Sign up to our newsletter Share our competition post on social media: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads or Mastodon You can enter across multiple platforms. One lucky winner will be randomly selected each month! 
    Find out more: https://www.robottalk.org/t-shirt-competition/.

    • 25 min
    Steve Benford - art, dance, and cat sitting robots

    Steve Benford - art, dance, and cat sitting robots

    Claire chatted to Steve Benford from the University of Nottingham all about art, dance, and cat sitting robots.
    Steve Benford is the Dunford Professor of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham where he co-founded the Mixed Reality Laboratory. His research explores artistic applications of digital technologies through performance-led methods that engage artists in creating, touring and studying unique interactive experiences. He directs the EPSRC-funded Horizon Centre for Doctoral Training and the University’s newly founded Cobot Maker Space that is exploring human interaction with robots. He is also a keen musician.
    Join the live audience!
    Robot Talk will be returning for another live episode recording this June, as part of the Great Exhibition Road Festival in London. 'Humans 2.0: Robotically Augmented People' will be held at the V&A Museum at 1.30pm on Sunday 16th June.
    Win a Robot Talk T-shirt
    For a chance to win your very own organic cotton Robot Talk t-shirt, all you have to do is:
    Sign up to our newsletter Share our competition post on social media: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads or Mastodon You can enter across multiple platforms. One lucky winner will be randomly selected each month! 
    Find out more: https://www.robottalk.org/t-shirt-competition/.

    • 30 min
    Estelle Raffy - animal behaviour, intelligence, and life-like artificial systems

    Estelle Raffy - animal behaviour, intelligence, and life-like artificial systems

    Claire chatted to Estelle Raffy from the University of Bristol all about animal behaviour, intelligence, and life-like artificial systems.
    Estelle Raffy is a PhD student at the University of Bristol. During her Bachelor's degree in neuroscience and cognitive science, the “brained body” of the octopus kept her wondering: how can nature start with similar basic principles and end up with massive decentralized systems that we still call intelligent? She did a Master in epistemology and history of science where she addressed what embodiment principles tell us about biological and artificial systems' design and behaviour.  Building on this, her PhD research aims to contribute to finding the ingredients for adaptive, 'life-like' behaviours in novel artificial systems."
    Check out the MorphoTalks YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@morphologicalcomputation/playlists
    Join the live audience!
    Robot Talk will be returning for another live episode recording this June, as part of the Great Exhibition Road Festival in London. 'Humans 2.0: Robotically Augmented People' will be held at the V&A Museum at 1.30pm on Sunday 16th June.
    Win a Robot Talk T-shirt
    For a chance to win your very own organic cotton Robot Talk t-shirt, all you have to do is:
    Sign up to our newsletter Share our competition post on social media: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads or Mastodon You can enter across multiple platforms. One lucky winner will be randomly selected each month! 
    Find out more: https://www.robottalk.org/t-shirt-competition/.

    • 25 min
    Chang Liu - teleoperation, virtual reality, and software

    Chang Liu - teleoperation, virtual reality, and software

    Claire chatted to Chang Liu from Extend Robotics all about teleoperation, virtual reality, and software.
    Chang Liu is an entrepreneur from academia and high-tech start-ups. He is the founder, CEO and Chief Designer of Extend Robotics. He was previously a research associate in Imperial College London and University of Southampton on autonomous aerial robot navigation.
    Join the live audience!
    Robot Talk will be returning for another live episode recording this June, as part of the Great Exhibition Road Festival in London. 'Humans 2.0: Robotically Augmented People' will be held at the V&A Museum at 1.30pm on Sunday 16th June.
    Win a Robot Talk T-shirt
    For a chance to win your very own organic cotton Robot Talk t-shirt, all you have to do is:
    Sign up to our newsletter Share our competition post on social media: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads or Mastodon You can enter across multiple platforms. One lucky winner will be randomly selected each month! 
    Find out more: https://www.robottalk.org/t-shirt-competition/.
     

    • 31 min
    Vassia Simaiaki - computer vision, artificial intelligence, and self-driving cars

    Vassia Simaiaki - computer vision, artificial intelligence, and self-driving cars

    Claire chatted to Vassia Simaiaki from Wayve all about computer vision, artificial intelligence, and self-driving cars.
    Vassia Simaiaki is passionate about taking research into application and has spent the last decade of her career in computer vision. She leads AI research in vision and graphics at Wayve. Her focus is pushing the boundaries of novel view synthesis and continuing to accelerate the driving performance of autonomous vehicles. Vassia has a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and MSc in Neuroscience from Imperial College London. She thrives on solving hard problems and building high-performing teams of engineers and scientists focusing on AI applications.
    Join the live audience!
    Robot Talk will be returning for another live episode recording this June, as part of the Great Exhibition Road Festival in London. 'Humans 2.0: Robotically Augmented People' will be held at the V&A Museum at 1.30pm on Sunday 16th June.
    Win a Robot Talk T-shirt
    For a chance to win your very own organic cotton Robot Talk t-shirt, all you have to do is:
    Sign up to our newsletter Share our competition post on social media: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads or Mastodon You can enter across multiple platforms. One lucky winner will be randomly selected each month! 
    Find out more: https://www.robottalk.org/t-shirt-competition/.

    • 18 min

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