Robots with sense of touch

Venue: FTL, 02:00-03:00pm Wednesday 10^th November

Title: Robots with sense of Touch

Abstract: Robots operating in dynamic and unstructured environments must exhibit advanced 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.

Many solutions to design, engineer and manufacture tactile sensors have been presented, because the availability of appropriate sensing technologies is the first and necessary step, but the effective utilization of “sense of touch” in robots depends also on the understanding of tactile perception mechanism through which the robot builds an appropriate world model. The lecture will present technological and research challenges for providing robots with sense of touch.

 

Bio: Dr. Maiolino received her Ph.D. in Robotics from the University of Genoa as well as her BEng and MEng. in Robotics and Automation. During her PhD she carried out research on the development and integration of distributed tactile sensor for robots, developing new technological solutions for artificial robot skin (CySkin). CySkin Technology has been shown at the “Robots” Exhibition at the Science Museum in London. From October 2017 to September 2018 she joined the Biologically Inspired Robotics Lab (BIRL) at the University of Cambridge, pursuing research related to soft robotics and soft tactile perception. Currently she is Associate Professor and member of Oxford Robotic Institute at the University of Oxford.