Pint of Robotics: Sam Wilcock, Rafael Papallas, and Dominic Jones

Speaker 1: Sam Wilcock (School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds).

Sam Wilcock received a BSc in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nottingham, and an MSc in Mechatronics & Robotics at the University of Leeds. Through a past life working building structures across Europe, ranging from tents and wood panel systems to glass sports courts, he developed an interest in the use of robotics in architecture and structures.

Title: Architecture & Structures in Robotics.

Abstract: He will present his current research in the Architecture & Structures group on the reciprocal relationship between design and robot capabilities for assembly of efficient, lightweight structures using manipulator arms. He will present work demonstrating the connection of robots to form-finding software, parametric studies on joint designs, and the early mechatronic design of a custom end-effector for an architectural artifact.

Speaker 2: Rafael Papallas (School of Computing, University of Leeds).

Rafael is a Research Fellow in Robotic Manipulation in the School of Computing. He recently joined an exciting EPSRC project in the school for an autonomous pick-and-pack robotic system in warehouses. His research mainly focuses on motion planning and control algorithms for non-prehensile physics-based manipulation.

Title: Robot Manipulation.

Speaker 3: Dominic Jones (School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds).

Dominic is a Research Fellow in Medical Robotics in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He received an MEng in Biomedical Engineering and a PhD in Healthcare Mechatronics at the University of Leeds, before a first postdoc developing force sensing to detect disease progression in medical orthoses. He now works in Robot-Assisted Surgery, introducing intelligence through perception and autonomy in the da Vinci Surgical System.

Title: Perception and Autonomy in Surgery

Abstract: He will present research on technological enhancement for surgery. This will include: the integration of force and tactile sensing elements in surgical tools, analysis of contact quality and slip in surgical manipulation, and the introduction of autonomy to robotic surgery.