All posts by Robot Talk

Claire chatted to Zlatka Stoeva from DZP Technologies about flexible, stretchable and soft printed electronics for dexterous robots.

Zlatka Stoeva is a founder and managing director of DZP Technologies, a Cambridge-based company specialising in advanced materials and novel forms of electronics. Zlatka’s background is in materials chemistry, and she developed the innovative electronic materials which set the foundation for the company current portfolio of flexible, stretchable and soft electronics. DZP Technologies ventured into robotics during an ARIA-funded project, focused on printed electronics components for the dexterous robot.

Claire chatted to Jan Petrš from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Déploya Robotics about novel robot designs for construction and architecture.

Jan Petrš is a roboticist, architect, and entrepreneur working at the intersection of robotics and construction. He is currently the co-founder of Déploya Robotics, an EPFL spin-off developing deployable robotic systems for automated façade installation. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher at EPFL’s Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, where he focused on tensegrity robotics. His PhD research at the Czech Technical University focused on developing a robotic system combining reconfigurable and soft robotics for architectural and construction applications.

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 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. Before that, she was a senior software engineer at Google.

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 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 National Laboratory, he is developing control systems for advanced synchrotron beamlines.

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 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 robotics AI: efficiency, scalability and the sim-to-real gap.

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 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 investments in robotics, and helped to define the overall robotics strategy.

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 the Great Exhibition Road Festival in London, 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.

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 for Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University, a deputy director of the Wu Tsai Stanford Neurosciences Institute, a Science Fellow of the Hoover Institution and a founding faculty member and executive committee member of the Stanford Robotics Center.

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-demand production systems. Under his leadership, Machina Labs is reshaping how industries such as aerospace, defence, and automotive approach metal forming and modern manufacturing. Before founding Machina Labs, Ed worked at leading technology companies, including Relativity Space, Averon, SpaceX, Google, and Microsoft.

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-demand production systems. Under his leadership, Machina Labs is reshaping how industries such as aerospace, defence, and automotive approach metal forming and modern manufacturing. Before founding Machina Labs, Ed worked at leading technology companies, including Relativity Space, Averon, SpaceX, Google, and Microsoft.

Claire chatted to Maria Koskinopoulou from Heriot-Watt University about autonomous robotic manipulators for surgery, industry, and beyond.

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 learning. She is involved in major UKRI and EU-funded research projects advancing robotic manipulation, surgical and underwater robotics, autonomous assembly, and waste sorting.

Claire chatted to Ahti Heinla from Starship Technologies about their AI-powered delivery robots that operate independently on streets and pavements.

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 billion-dollar success, Ahti later made a quiet pivot into robotics, spending the past decade advancing practical, consumer-facing AI. Under his leadership, Starship has completed more than 10 million autonomous deliveries with a fleet of over 2,700 robots navigating streets, pavements, weather, and people, without human intervention.

Claire chatted to Josie Hughes from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne about using 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. Her research focuses on developing novel design paradigms for designing robot structures that exploit their physicality and interactions with the environment. This includes the development of robotic hands, soft manipulators, and automation systems for applications focused on sustainability and science.

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 advanced robotics systems. Previously, he was Head of Product at Ghost Robotics, responsible for the mechanical design of the company’s flagship product: the Vision 60 Q-UGV. Gavin has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and has authored six academic papers.

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. Melissa’s expertise is in building autonomous aerial systems including previous experience in conducting field trials at various locations across Canada. She was listed as one of 50 women in robotics you need to know about in 2023 by the Women in Robotics organization.