Robotics

From a robot's perspective, the way the world changes is hard to predict. In this talk I'll describe the ways in which we use techniques from Artificial Intelligence to model this uncertainty and to help robots make effective decisions to complete their missions.

Fusion energy promises unlimited sustainable energy for the future. So what’s stopping us? A key challenge is the need to maintain fusion devices using robotic equipment. Though maintenance happens whilst the device is off, these robots must withstand radiation, high temperatures, residual magnetic fields and potentially vacuum pressure.
From the installation of nuclear facilities to the architecture of the UK’s planned fusion power plant STEP, RACE’s work bridges the gap between current technology and the future of fusion.

Robots operating in dynamic and unstructured environments must exhibit advanced and safe forms of interaction with objects and humans. “Sense of Touch” in robots can play a fundamental role in enhancing perceptual, cognitive and operative capabilities of robots, specifically when they physically interact with objects and humans in the environment. Besides sense of touch, biological organisms exploit compliance in their bodies to deal with very complex environments. Soft robotics takes inspiration from nature to achieve robots, which are more intelligent and safer than their rigid counterpart.