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Robot Talk

Claire Asher's weekly interviews with robotics researchers and companies on robotics, AI and autonomous machines, with bonus episodes recorded at the European Robotics Forum.

179 episodes · 86 hours · since 2020

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Robot Talk is filed under robotics, engineering and interviews. Its most recent episode published on , so it is still actively publishing. Listeners have left 4 ratings on Apple Podcasts, averaging 4.3 out of 5.

Latest episodes

The 10 newest episodes of Robot Talk, each with a summary and chapters.

  • · 19m

    Episode 165: Robots behind the research - Kushant Patel

    Kushant Patel, an instrumentation and controls engineer at Brookhaven National Laboratory, explains how robots support scientific experiments at the NSLS-2 synchrotron. He details the deployment of Staubli and Universal Robots for automated sample exchange in complex materials scattering and biology beamlines. Patel discusses overcoming challenges like tight physical spaces, high-value detectors, and network latency from the secure RHEL operating system to achieve a standardized, mostly autonomous robotic stack.

    Robotics & autonomyEmbedded firmware
    7 chapters

  • · 1h 01m

    Bonus Episode: Marine robotics' journey through different lenses

    Claire Asher hosts a panel at AUV 2026 featuring Gwyn Griffiths, Daniel Hook, Emma Curtis, Sara Aldhaheri, and Edith-Clare Hall to discuss how marine autonomy is perceived by engineers, end-users, and the next generation. The group debates the need to communicate the 'journey' of R&D, including failures and troubleshooting, rather than just polished successes, to build trust with investors and the public. They highlight specific applications like ocean cleanup, climate monitoring, and dual-use defense technologies, while emphasizing the importance of inspiring young people through accessible, visual, and interactive robotics examples.

    Robotics & autonomyCareers & education
    8 chapters

  • · 19m

    Bonus Episode: Restoring marine ecosystems with robots

    Niall McGrath, CEO of Robocean, explains how his company uses amphibious robots to restore seagrass meadows, addressing the critical need to scale restoration efforts to meet global climate and biodiversity goals. He details the 'Meadowmaker' robot's 'spin injection' mechanism, which plants seeds with minimal seabed disturbance, and discusses the operational challenges of intertidal zones, including biosecurity and marine licensing. The episode highlights the strategic decision to keep the robots remotely operated to navigate regulatory hurdles and ensure environmental safety, with plans to transition to autonomy only after de-risking the technology through validation.

    Robotics & autonomyEnergy & climate tech
    7 chapters

  • · 29m

    Episode 164: Accelerating robot learning - Michelle Lu

    Michelle Lu, co-founder and CEO of Vsim Technology, explains how her company uses GPU-accelerated physics simulation to accelerate robot learning and close the sim-to-real gap. Previously at NVIDIA creating Isaac Gym, Lu details how Vsim overcomes the scalability and performance limitations of traditional CPU-based reinforcement learning frameworks. The discussion highlights specific challenges in simulating tactile sensors, deformable objects, and tendon systems for the ARIA Robot Dexterity program, aiming to enable complex dexterous manipulation tasks.

    Robotics & autonomyEmbedded firmware
    7 chapters

  • · 26m

    Episode 163: Robots helping people - Aaron Edsinger

    Aaron Edsinger, CEO and Co-Founder of Hello Robot, discusses the design and deployment of their Stretch robot, a mobile manipulator designed to assist people with mobility impairments. He explains how the robot's utilitarian, non-humanoid form factor prioritizes safety, cost-effectiveness, and home integration over anthropomorphic aesthetics. Edsinger details the company's strategy of using a 'human-in-the-loop' approach with severely mobility-impaired users to validate the technology while physical AI capabilities mature. The conversation covers the robot's hardware architecture, safety layers, and the company's current fundraising efforts to expand into the consumer home assistance market.

    Industrial & consumer product designRobotics & autonomy
    8 chapters

  • · 20m

    Bonus Episode: Giving robots the power of human touch

    Vladimir Ivan, Vice President of Robotics at Touchlab, explains how his company develops e-skins to give robots the sense of touch, moving beyond visual-only perception. He details their new product, Tacto, a generalizable tactile fingertip with 16 sensing elements that detects pressure, vibration, and texture to enable dexterous manipulation in healthcare and manufacturing. Ivan discusses the engineering trade-offs between material robustness and sensitivity, highlighting the sensor's ability to withstand abuse while maintaining high-resolution data for AI-driven robot control.

    Sensors & measurement in productsRobotics & autonomy
    7 chapters

  • · 18m

    Bonus Episode: Revolutionising agriculture with 'grain-swimming' robots

    Lorenzo Conti, Founder and CEO of Crover, explains how his company developed the world's first subterranean drone to monitor grain storage, addressing safety risks like 'green entrapment' and spoilage. He details the mechanical engineering challenges of moving through granular materials, the discovery of coupled rotational-translational motion, and the development of proprietary propulsion systems. Conti also discusses the company's current stage, recent commercial launch, and ongoing efforts to achieve ATEX certification and deploy autonomous navigation software.

    Robotics & autonomyMechanical engineering
    8 chapters

  • · 1h 09m

    Bonus Episode: Behind the scenes at the UK's leading robotics centre

    Steve Maclaren, Chief Operating Officer at The National Robotarium, explains the centre's mission to bridge the gap between UK robotics research and commercial adoption through its five pillars: talent, research, adoption, data, and entrepreneurship. Thomas McGravie, Senior Technician, tours the facility, showcasing diverse robotics applications including the Ameca humanoid by Engineered Arts, a Cheeky Robotics whale, and various agricultural and medical devices. The episode highlights the Robotarium's role in supporting resident startups like Touchlab and Robocean, while addressing the practical challenges of prototyping, testing, and managing 3D printing waste.

    Robotics & autonomyDesign for manufacturing & NPI
    11 chapters

  • · 17m

    Bonus Episode: Drones in Challenging Environments (ERF 2026)

    Claire Asher interviews Radika (Arya Advanced Research and Invention Agency), Francisco Perez (Aerospace Research Center, Spain), Karolina Johannesen (Oslo University Hospital), and Adam Norton (New England Robotics Validation Experimentation Center) about drones in challenging environments at the European Robotics Forum. They discuss specific applications including organ transport by APN, tunnel inspection by Francisco's team, and regulatory hurdles for healthcare drones. The conversation highlights cross-sector learning, the technical difficulties of GPS-denied and toxic environments, and the need for standardized measurement and testing protocols.

    Robotics & autonomySensors & measurement in products
    5 chapters

  • · 32m

    Bonus Episode: Robotics for Sustainability (ERF 2026)

    Claire Asher interviews experts at the European Robotics Forum (ERF) 2026 about robotics for sustainability. Anna Gunker discusses bridging the gap between digitalization and green tech funding. Stafford Suznovsky presents Sea Clear 2, a multi-robot system for marine litter collection, while Daniel Ghost describes Drunkripper, a drone-based litter collection system. Tomas Krenik and Fasha Darwin explain their project using robots to monitor and influence honeybee colonies, and Foster Frere discusses marine robotics for environmental monitoring and energy harvesting.

    Energy & climate techRobotics & autonomy
    7 chapters

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