We often hear about robots working in controlled, predictable environments, like an assembly line or an operating theatre, but as a former field biologist, Claire is most interested in what happens when we take robots outside into wild environments, where everything — from the elements to the local wildlife — seems to be against you.

In this special live recording for the UK Festival of Robotics, Claire chatted to Sophie Armanini (TU Munich / Imperial College London), Ben Scott-Robinson (Small Robot Company) and Matthew Ryan Tucker (University of Bristol). Find out more about the UK Festival of Robotics here: https://www.ukras.org/robotics-festival/

Dr Sophie Armanini is an assistant professor at the Technical University of Munich, Germany, and a guest researcher at Imperial College London, where she previously worked as a research associate. She obtained her PhD from Delft University of Technology (the Netherlands), and has been a visiting researcher at Cranfield University and Cornell University (USA). Sophie’s research focuses on the dynamics and control of unconventional and bioinspired aerial vehicles, including flapping-wing and aerial-aquatic robots.

Ben Scott-Robinson is an accomplished digital entrepreneur focused on geospatial and mobility technologies. Ben co-founded the Small Robot Company in 2017 which endeavours to replace tractors with accurate, smart, lightweight robots. With 20 years experience in digital innovation, including the digital transformation of Ordnance Survey, Ben is also an experienced technology entrepreneur having founded two agencies, two consultancies, an app start-up and a phone for the blind.

Matthew Ryan Tucker is a Physics PhD Student at the University of Bristol, researching the use of ground based mobile robots for mapping radiation and finding radiation hotspots. Last year he was part of a University field trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion zone, where he deployed a Boston Dynamics Spot robot in a variety of different locations, including beneath the New Safe Confinement at the Chernobyl Power plant.