Talks/Media

Invited/Keynote talks:

Keynote talk: Soft robotics across different scales, UK-China Symposium on Advanced Manufacturing, UK, 18. December 2021.

Invited talk: Robot-assisted minimally invasive cardiac interventions, Advanced Robotics at Queen Mary University of London, UK,13 December 2021.

Keynote talk: Soft materials for robotic application in healthcare, industry & autonomous vehicles, International Congress of Mechanical Engineering (COBEM) – leading MechEng conference in South America. In 2021, it is the 50th anniversary, 22 November 2021.

Invited talk: Current Preclinical Concepts and the Future of Robotics Research, The Hamlyn Centre, Imperial College London, UK, 01.11.2021

Invited talk: Innovative robotic end-effectors from bin picking to physical Human-Robot Interaction, IROS2021 Workshop Dexterous manipulation in the real-contact context new progress and challenges, Prague, CZ, 27 September 2021.

Keynote talk: Soft Robotics for Healthcare, International Workshop on Bionic Engineering (IWBE), Manchester, UK, 17 September 2021.

Invited talk: Soft, stiffness-controllable robotic systems – future applications and impact, The BioRobotics Institute, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pontedera, Italy, 25 August 2021.

Invited talk: Inherently soft – inherently safe: Robots of the future, UCL-Japan Youth Challenge, London11.08.2021.

Invited talk: Soft Robotics – Hard Problems, Spring into STEM, UCL Engineering, London, UK,11 June 2021.

Invited talk: Soft robotics for cardiovascular interventions, Workshop at the Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robots, London, UK, 10 June 2021.

Invited talk: Stiffening in soft robots through material shifting, RoboSoft 2021 WS: What is new since STIFF-FLOP? 12 April 2020.

Invited talk: Soft material medical devices, UCL-IHE & IISC joint webinar Materials and Medicines, London, UK,13 May 2021.

Invited talk: Soft Robotics and AI, UCL Artificial Intelligence Society, UCL, London, 29 January 2021.

Invited talk: Patient-specific phantoms for interventional medical device validation, WEISS symposium on Phantoms for Medical Research, UCL, London, 15 December 2020.

Invited talk: Body-powered prostheses with haptic feedback, IHE Global Healthcare Engineering, UCL, London, 19 November 2020.

Invited talk: Soft Material Robotics: Inherently Soft – Inherently Safe, Brunel Robotics Engineering Society, Brunel University, London, UK, 14 November 2019.

Invited Talk: Current Preclinical Concepts and the Future of Robotics Research, The Hamlyn Centre, Imperial College London, UK, 8 November 2019.

Keynote talk: Innovative Interventional devices: Small, Smart and Soft, The First International Academic Forum of Easyaploon Surgical System, Beijing, China, 19 October 2019.

Invited talk: Innovative Robotic Intravascular Interventions, Robotics Seminars Research Talks, King’s College London, UK, 16 November 2019.

Keynote talk: Cardiovascular Robotics, Japanese French Week on Mechatronics, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, Annecy, France, 16 September 2019.

Invited talk: The Roadmap of Vascular Robotics, International Society of Bionic Engineering held the Workshop on Bionic Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, 14 August 2019.

Invited Talk: Robotics, Biomechanical Modelling and Prosthesis Design, The Summit 2019, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust, 5 July 2019.

Invited Talk: Innovative Cardio-vascular Robotics at UCL, Workshop at the Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robots 2019, 23 June 2019.

Invited Talk: Emerging Technologies in Healthcare Engineering, The Hamlyn Centre, Imperial College London, UK, 29 May 2019.

Invited Talk: Morphing between Levels of Situational Awareness in Highly-automated Vehicles, ICRA 2019 Workshop on Soft Haptic Interaction: Modelling, Design and Application, Montreal, Canada, 24 May 2019.

Invited Talk: Inherently Soft – Inherently Safe: Research at the Soft Haptics and Robotics Lab at UCL, University of Toronto Robotics Institute, Canada, 17 May 2019.

Invited Talk: Soft Material Robotic Structures Inherently Soft – Inherently Safe, ETH Zurich Distinguished Seminar in Robotics, Systems, and Control, Switzerland, 22 March 2019.

Invited Talk: Current Preclinical Concepts and the Future of Robotics Research, MRC Centre for Transplantation, King’s College London, 21 March 2019.

Invited Talk: The Heart of Medical Robotics, IEEE UK&I RAS Conference, London, 19 February 2019.

Keynote talk: Soft Robotic Innovations for Human-Machine Interaction, Smart, AdjuStable, Soft and Intelligent Support Technologies Conference, Hamburg, Germany, 7 December 2018.

Keynote talk: Frontiers in Soft Medical Devices, 27th IFToMM PC meeting, Fuzhou, China, 27 October 2018.

Invited Talk: Data Mining for Soft Robotic Balloon Catheters, Workshop at the Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robots 2018, 24 June 2018.

Invited talk: New Avenues for Research in Soft Haptics and HMI, RoboSoft 2018 Workshop on Soft Haptics for Soft Interaction, Livorno, Italy, 24 April 2018.

Invited talk: Soft, Stiffness-controllable Medical Devices, Surgical Research Forum, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust, UK, 16 February 2018.

Invited talk: Robotic Medical Devices for Cardio-vascular Applications, IEEE UK&I RAS Conference, London, 22 February 2018.

Invited talk: Innovative soft robotic medical devices, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran, 31 December 2017.

Invited talk: Advancements in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) – Data Mining using Soft Robotic Balloon Catheters, Conference of the International Society for Medical Innovation and Technology, Turin, Italy, 10 November 2017.

Invited talk: Haptics and Human-Machine Interaction, Digital Catapult, London, UK, 24 October 2017.

Invited talk: Challenges in developing robotic medical devices for cardio-vascular applications, IEEE UK&I RAS Open Day, London, UK, 7 October 2017.

Invited talk: Soft Haptics: Research at UCL Mech Eng, Opening of the International Research Centre for Advanced Robotics & Mechanism by the Chinese Academy of Science, King’s College London, UK, 30 June 2017.

Keynote talk: Soft Robotics: Inherently Soft – Inherently Safe, Programme of Emphasis “Soft Material Robotic Systems”, German Research Foundation, Hanover, Germany, 21 June 2017.

Invited talk: Sensing for Healthcare, ICRA 2017 Workshop on the Robotic Sense of Touch: from Sensing to Understanding, Singapore, 29 May 2017.

Invited talk: Future Health: Soft Robotics for Surgery, Science: Disrupt London Session – Future Health, 6 March 2017.

Invited talk: Soft Robotic Concepts for Haptics, EU Robotics Week – States of Flux, Queen Mary University of London, UK, 1 December 2016.

Invited talk: Medical Devices emerging from Soft Robotics, Royal College of Art, London, UK, 23 November 2016.

Invited talk: Medical Devices emerging from Soft Materials, EPSRC funded Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration SPHERE, University of Bristol, UK, 3 November 2016.

Invited talk: Combining Soft Robotics and Haptics, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, China, 26 July 2016.

Invited talk: Building an Academic Career, Postdoc Opportunity, Collaboration and Research Network for UCL’s Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, London, UK, 6 July 2016.

Invited talk: Soft, stiffness-controllable manipulators for MIS based on antagonistic actuation, “Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Special Interest Group of Innovate UK Network: Robotics in Surgery” London, UK, March 2015.

Invited talk: Snake-like robotic systems, “International Society for Medical Innovation and Technology – Session: NOTES” Baden-Baden, Germany, 2013.

Invited exhibitions/contributions: 

Bloomsbury Festival, London, UK, 20-22 October 2022.

Capture

Haptic feedback for prosthetic hands, MadeAtUCL marquee stand, It’s All Academic Festival, UCL, 5 October 2019.

Upper-limb prostheses for everyone, It’s All Academic Festival, UCL, 15 September 2018.

Pushing the boundaries of prosthetics and haptics, Grand Challenges Showcase 2018 event, UCL, 18 April 2019.

Judge for the Soft Material Robot Challenge, ICRA 2017, Singapore, May 2017.

Robotics at UCL, TechXLR8, London Tech Week’s Expo, 12-16 June 2017.

Robots Takeover, Science Museum Lates, Science Museum London, 31 May 2017.

Soft robotics for MIS, Launch event of the “Engineer Your Future” gallery at the Science Museum London, 6 October 2014.

Surgical Robots, Robots Live! at the National Museum of Flight, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, UK, 11 June 2014.

Service robots in MIS, SCHUNK Expert Days: Robots with Impact, Hausen, Germany, 26 February 2014.

Bio-inspired robotics in MIS, Robot SafariEU (European Robotics Week), Science Museum London, London, UK, 25 November 2013.

Media coverage:

#MadeAtUCL podcast, February 2021:

PROLIMB could introduce ‘game-changing’ upper limb prosthesis, The Engineer, 2 December 2020.

Soft Robotics with Helge Wurdemann, Podcast of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society TC Soft Robotics, 12 November 2019. 

Panel member, TRT World RoundTable Programme “The Rise of Robots: Will workers really lose out?“, 9 July 2019.

Expert views on the BBC Future article “Will we ever have robot carers?“, 22 April 2019.

Expert Interview, Engineering Inside out, National Geographic, 31 January 2019.

Expert views on IMechE news article “3D-printed soft robot muscles ‘three times stronger than natural tissue’“, 19. September 2017.

IMechE news article “Robotic ‘octopus’ arm could be used for keyhole surgery”, 14 June 2017.

Interviewee on octopus research, BBC World Service, Impact, 21 June 2017.

UCL Grand Challenges news, “UCL engineers and medical scientists combine to develop haptic feedback for prosthetic hands”, 10 May 2017.

Expert views on IMechE news article “How to control your soft robot”, 4 April 2017.

FOCUS Gesundheit, Edition: October 2016.

What is the future of touch? theguardian Science Weekly podcast, 15 July 2016.

Octopus points to the future for keyhole surgery, HORIZON Magazine, 2016, 2 May 2016.

Interview by the Discovery Magazine, American science magazine, August 2015.

Encyclo and RMC Discovery channel, French TV channels: Tomorrow’s World (52-minute documentary), 3 July 2015.

Roboterwelt.de, German online magazine: Innovative Surgical Robotics, 2015, 20 March 2015.

Scientific American, American popular science magazine: Meet Your Dr. Octopus: Surgical Octo Arms, 2014, 30 June 2014.

VDMAonline, German engineering association: Service Robots – Flexible Helpers in Professional Use, 2014.

Interview by BBC Radio: World Service – Robots and Us, 4 December 2013.

Interview by Jornal Nacional, Brazilian primetime news programme, 29 November 2013.

Conference/workshop organisation:

Co-Chair (Regional), IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation 2023, London, UK, 29.05.2023 – 02.06.2023.

Organiser, RoboSoft 2020 Workshop on Advancements in soft interventional robotics: What’s new since STIFF-FLOP?, Yale University, USA, 6 April 2020.

Program Chair and Member of the Scientific Committee, International Conference on Reconfigurable Mechanisms and Robots (ReMAR), Beijing, China, 2015 and Delft, The Netherlands, 2018.

Member of the Organising Committee, Workshop on New Technologies for Computer/Robot Assisted Surgery, 2014 – 2020.

Organiser, IROS Workshop on Shape Changing Robotic Structures and Interfaces, Madrid, Spain, 5 October 2018.

Organiser, ICRA Workshop on Innovative Haptic Interfaces emerging from Soft Robotics, 2 June 2017, Singapore.

Organiser, European Robotics Forum Workshops on Haptics in Healthcare, Edinburgh, UK, 22 March 2017.

Organiser, Royal Academy of Engineering event on Innovation in Haptics, London, UK, 4 July 2017.

Member of the Local Organising and Program Committee, International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and Support Technologies for Mobile Machines (CLAWAR), London, UK, 12-14 September 2016.

Technical Editor, Eurohaptics conference, London, UK, 4-7 July 2016.

Member of the Organising Committee, CLAWAR Workshop on Collaborative Robots for Industrial Applications, London, UK, 12 September 2016.

Member of the Organising Committee, ICAPS Workshop on Planning, Scheduling and Dependability in Safe Human-Robot Interactions (SafePlan), London, UK, 13 June 2016.

Member of the Organising Committee, IROS Workshop on Safety for Human Robot Interaction in Industrial Settings, euRobotics Topic List – Industrial Robotics event, Hamburg, Germany, 2 October 2015.

Organiser, Innovative Surgical Robotics Forum for 4 EU FP7 projects, London, UK, 18 March 2015.

Member of the Organising Committee, ICRA Workshop on Soft and stiffness-controllable robots for MIS, Soft Robotics TC event, Hong Kong, 1 June 2014.

Executive Chair, International Conference on Reconfigurable Mechanisms and Robots (ReMAR), London, UK, 2009 and Tianjin, China, 2012.

Membership Activities

Editorial activities

  • Associate Editor for IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.
  • Editor, Innovative Haptic Interfaces Emerging from Soft Robotics, Frontiers in Robotics and AI.
  • Editor, Shape Changing Robotic Structures and Interfaces, Frontiers in Robotics and AI.
  • Guest Editor Special Issue on “Bio-Inspired, Soft and Stiffness-Controllable Robotics”, Journal: Sensors. Associate Editor for Biomedical Robotics and Soft Robotics, Frontiers in Robotics and AI.
  • Associate Editor for IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA).
  • Associate Editor for IEEE/EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob).

Consultation:

  • European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grants
  • National Science Foundation (NSF)
  • National University of Ireland Travelling Studentships
  • Academic Promotion, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa, Italy

Review activities:

Research funding programmes:

  • NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme
  • Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung / Foundation
  • EPSRC (fellowships)
  • Medical Research Council (MRC)
  • German Research Foundation (DFG)
  • German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Journals:

  • IEEE Transactions on Robotics
  • IEEE Transactions on Haptics
  • IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
  • IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems
  • IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics: Systems
  • IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics
  • IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems
  • IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering
  • IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine
  • Soft Robotics
  • Robotics and Computer Integrated Manufacturing
  • International Journal of Mechanical Sciences
  • Journal of Medical Robotics Research
  • Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures
  • Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems
  • Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering
  • Journal: Robotics and Autonomous Systems
  • Journal: Sensors
  • Sensors and Actuators A: Physical
  • Mechanism and Machine Theory
  • Frontiers in Robotics and AI

Conferences/Workshops:

  • IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)
  • IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS)
  • IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)
  • Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC),
  • IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO)
  • IEEE International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM)
  • IEEE World Haptics (WHC)
  • IEEE/EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob)
  • IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integration (SII)
  • IEEE/EMBS International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR)
  • International Conference on Robotics and Automation for Humanitarian Applications (RAHA)
  • ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (IDETC)
  • Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics
  • Workshop on New Technologies for Computer/Robot Assisted Surgery (CRAS)
  • International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and Support Technologies for Mobile Machines (CLAWAR)
  • Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems (TAROS)