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PODCAST

Robot Talk

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 roboticists from around the world 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.

science

All Episodes

25:08

Episode 149: Robot safety and security - Krystal Mattich

Robot Talk ·

2026/03/20

Claire chatted to Krystal Mattich from Brain Corp about trustworthy autonomous robots in public spaces. Krystal Mattich leads global data governance, system security, and privacy compliance for Brain Corp: the world's leading autonomy platform for commercial robotics. As Senior Director of Security, Privacy, and Risk, she is the architect of the privacy-first infrastructure that powers over 40,000 BrainOS®-enabled robots across retail, airports, education and logistics. Krystal played a central role

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45:28

Bonus Episode: The Future of Home Assistant Robots

Robot Talk ·

2026/03/18

Last month, I hosted a panel discussion on home assistant robots at the Festival of Tomorrow in Swindon. I was joined by Dr Patrick Holthaus, a Reader in Interactive Assistive Technology at the University of Hertfordshire, Dr Nicole Salomons, a Lecturer at Imperial College London, Dr Gerard Canal, a Lecturer in Autonomous Systems at King's College London, and Dr Carolina Fuentes Toro, a Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction and Human-Robot Interaction at the University of Cardiff. This event was

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38:19

Episode 148: Ethical robot behaviour - Alan Winfield

Robot Talk ·

2026/03/13

Claire chatted to Alan Winfield from the University of the West of England about developing new standards for ethics and transparency in robotics. Alan Winfield is Professor of Robot Ethics at the University of the West of England (UWE), Visiting Professor at the University of York, and Associate Fellow of the Cambridge Centre for the Future of Intelligence. Alan co-founded the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, where his research is focussed on the science, engineering and ethics of cognitive robotics

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31:38

Episode 147: Miniature living robots - Maria Guix

Robot Talk ·

2026/03/06

Claire chatted to Maria Guix from the University of Barcelona about combining electronics and biology to create robots that are more than the sum of their parts. Maria Guix is a chemist and nanotechnology researcher in the University of Barcelona's ChemInFlow lab, developing miniaturized living robots and integrating flexible sensors into microfluidic platforms to better understand biohybrid robotic platforms. Her PhD research at the Autonomous University of Barcelona focussed on nanomaterials for

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24:33

Episode 146: Embodied AI on the ISS - Jamie Palmer

Robot Talk ·

2026/02/27

Claire chatted to Jamie Palmer from Icarus Robotics about building a robotic labour force to perform routine and risky tasks in orbit. Jamie Palmer is co-founder and CTO of Icarus Robotics. He earned a Master's in Robotics from Columbia University on a full scholarship, researching intelligent, dexterous manipulation in the ROAM lab. Jamie developed and deployed autonomous hospital robots during the pandemic and worked as a race-winning engineer for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team.

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26:00

Episode 145: Robotics and automation in manufacturing...

Robot Talk ·

2026/02/20

Claire chatted to Agata Suwala from the Manufacturing Technology Centre about leveraging robotics to make manufacturing systems more sustainable. Agata Suwala is a Technology Manager at the Manufacturing Technology Centre, where she leads cutting-edge work in automation and robotics. With over a decade of experience in R&D, Agata specialises in developing and implementing advanced manufacturing systems—particularly for the aerospace sector—transforming complex, skill-intensive processes through

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29:54

Episode 144: Robot trust in humans - Samuele Vinanzi

Robot Talk ·

2026/02/13

Claire chatted to Samuele Vinanzi from Sheffield Hallam University about how robots can tell whether to trust or distrust people. Samuele Vinanzi is a Senior Lecturer in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at Sheffield Hallam University. He specializes in Cognitive Robotics: an interdisciplinary field that integrates robotics, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and psychology to create robots that perceive, reason, and interact like humans. His research focuses on enabling social

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35:31

Episode 143: Robots for children - Elmira Yadollahi

Robot Talk ·

2026/02/06

Claire chatted to Elmira Yadollahi from Lancaster University about how children interact with and relate to robots. Elmira Yadollahi is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Lancaster University. She has a joint PhD in robotics and computer science from EPFL in Switzerland and Instituto Superior Técnico in Portugal. Her research tackles explainability in robotics, as well as multimodal perception and explanation methods. Her core expertise is in child–robot interaction, with a focus on

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26:44

Episode 142: Collaborative robot arms - Mark Gray

Robot Talk ·

2026/01/30

Claire chatted to Mark Gray from Universal Robots about their lightweight robotic arms that work alongside humans. Mark Gray has worked in automation for the last 30 years, first involved in machine vision and robotics and finally collaborative robots or cobots. As country manager, Mark was the first person to work for Universal Robots in the UK and has carried out projects with many research institutes such as the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), The Manufacturing Technology Centre

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23:56

Episode 141: Our relationship with robot swarms -...

Robot Talk ·

2026/01/23

Claire chatted to Razanne Abu-Aisheh from the University of Bristol about how people feel about interacting with robot swarms. Razanne Abu-Aisheh is a Senior Research Associate in the Centre for Sociodigital Futures at the University of Bristol. Her work explores how people interact with robot swarms, with a focus on how collective robot behaviours influence human perception. In her current research, she collaborates with communities to imagine more inclusive and meaningful futures with robotics,

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21:49

Episode 140: Robot balance and agility - Amir Patel

Robot Talk ·

2026/01/16

Claire chatted to Amir Patel from University College London about designing robots with the agility and manoeuvrability of a cheetah. Amir Patel is an Associate Professor of Robotics & AI in the Department of Computer Science at University College London (UCL). His research uses robotics methods—sensor fusion, computer vision, mechanical modelling, and optimal control—to understand and quantify animal locomotion, especially high-speed predators such as the cheetah, and to translate these insights

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28:24

Episode 139: Advanced robot hearing - Christine Evers

Robot Talk ·

2026/01/09

Claire chatted to Christine Evers from the University of Southampton about helping robots understand the world around them through sound. Christine Evers is an Associate Professor in Computer Science and Director of the Centre for Robotics at the University of Southampton. Her research pushes the boundaries of machine listening, enabling robots to make sense of life in sound. Her current focus is embedding our understanding of the human auditory process into deep-learning audio architectures. This

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29:52

Episode 138: Robots in the environment - Stefano...

Robot Talk ·

2025/12/19

Claire chatted to Stefano Mintchev from ETH Zürich about robots to explore and monitor the natural environment. Stefano Mintchev is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Robotics at ETH Zürich in Switzerland. He has a Ph.D. in Bioinspired Robotics from Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Italy, and conducted postdoctoral research at EPFL in Switzerland, focused on bioinspired design principles for versatile aerial robots. At ETH Zürich, Stefano leads a research group working at the intersection of

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30:05

Episode 137: Getting two-legged robots moving -...

Robot Talk ·

2025/12/12

Claire chatted to Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi from Ohio Northern University about bipedal robots that can walk and even climb stairs. Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi (Wami) is an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Ohio Northern University. Her research focuses on controls with applications in bipedal locomotion and engineering education. She is the first Black woman to receive a PhD in Robotics at the University of Michigan. During her Ph.D., she developed the Biped Bootcamp technical

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33:29

Episode 136: Making driverless vehicles smarter -...

Robot Talk ·

2025/12/05

Claire chatted to Shimon Whiteson from the University of Oxford and Waymo about machine learning for autonomous vehicles. Shimon Whiteson is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford and a Senior Staff Research Scientist at Waymo UK. His research focuses on deep reinforcement learning and imitation learning, with applications in robotics and video games. He completed his doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin in 2007. He spent eight years as an Assistant and then an

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26:08

Episode 135: Robot anatomy and design - Chapa Sirithunge

Robot Talk ·

2025/11/28

Claire chatted to Chapa Sirithunge from the University of Cambridge about what robots can teach us about human anatomy, and vice versa. Chapa Sirithunge is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellow in robotics at the University of Cambridge. She has an undergraduate degree and PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Moratuwa. Before joining the University of Cambridge in 2022, she was a lecturer at Sri Lanka Technological Campus and a visiting lecturer at the University of Moratuwa Sri Lanka

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37:17

Episode 134: Robotics as a hobby - Kevin McAleer

Robot Talk ·

2025/11/21

Claire chatted to Kevin McAleer from kevsrobots about how to get started building robots at home. Kevin McAleer is a hobbyist robotics fanatic who likes to build robots, share videos about them on YouTube and teach people how to do the same. Kev has been building robots since 2019, when he got his first 3d printer and wanted to make more interesting builds. Kev has a degree in Computer Science, and because his day job is relatively hands-off, this hobby allows his creativity to have an outlet. Kev

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35:44

Episode 133: Creating sociable robot collaborators -...

Robot Talk ·

2025/11/14

Claire chatted to Heather Knight from Oregon State University about applying methods from the performing arts to robotics. Heather Knight runs the CHARISMA Robotics research group. Her education includes a PhD on Expressive Motion for Low Degree of Freedom Robots from Carnegie Mellon University, and M.S. and B.S. degrees in EECS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Aldebaran Robotics, and produced the Robot Film Festival, a Cyberflora

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30:05

Episode 132: Collaborating with industrial robots -...

Robot Talk ·

2025/11/07

Claire chatted to Anthony Jules from Robust.AI about their AI-driven autonomous robots that work alongside humans. Anthony Jules is the CEO and co-founder of Robust.AI, a leader in AI-driven warehouse automation. The company's flagship product Carter™, is built to work with people in their existing environments, without disrupting their workflows. Anthony has a career spanning over 30 years at the intersection of robotics, AI, and business. An MIT-trained roboticist, he was part of the founding team

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26:31

Episode 131: Empowering game-changing robotics...

Robot Talk ·

2025/10/31

Claire chatted to Edith-Clare Hall from the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) about accelerating scientific and technological breakthroughs. Edith-Clare Hall is a PhD student at the University of Bristol, Frontier Specialist at ARIA, and leader of Women in Robotics UK. She focuses on the critical interfaces where interconnected systems meet, working to close the gap between academic research and real-world deployment to unlock cyber-physical autonomy. At ARIA, she works as a technical

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164 results

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