Professor Robert Richardson elected chair of ESPRC UK-RAS Network

Richardson’s appointment was announced to network members during UK Robotics Week, held at the end of June.

Outgoing chair professor Guang-Zhong Yang will remain with the organisation as chair of the UK-RAS Network strategic advisory board, providing guidance and direction on policy.

Professor Richardson said “My focus as incoming executive chair of the UK-RAS Network will be firmly on supporting, stimulating, growing and promoting RAS research excellence in the UK – working in synergy with committees and large projects to form a powerful UK research and innovation strategy.”

He added: “One of my priority actions will be to lead the establishment of new RAS topic themes aimed at enhancing fundamental robotics research within the UK and, more broadly, to deliver a harmonised RAS academic research vision to policy makers, industry and the public.”

Professor Richardson leads the ‘real robotics’ lab at the school of mechanical engineering. He is the director of the institute of design, robotics and optimisation at the University of Leeds and director of the Leeds EPSRC national facility for innovative robotic systems.

He leads and co-directs a UK-funded project: ‘self-repairing cities’, with the vision of robots to automatically repair and maintain city infrastructure such as streets, roads and bridges.

He also leads robotics in ‘Pipebots’, a research project with the vision of swarms of small one-centimetre robots to automatically inspect the condition inside underground pipes in cities.

Professor Richardson held a prestigious research contract to explore the great pyramid of Giza in Egypt using robotic technology, discovering writing that was hidden for thousands of years.

He is a founder and chief innovation officer for Acuity Robotics, a new start-up from the University of Leeds focusing on robotic inspection technologies.

He is a fellow of the institution of mechanical engineering. His current research interests include exploration robotics for infrastructure inspection, safety and security, and exoskeletons for industrial and medical applications.

Following election by ESPRC UK-RAS Network members, other appointees to key leadership roles in the executive committee for the coming year include Dr James Law from the University of Sheffield, who will be in charge of public engagement & exhibitions, and Professor Sarah Spurgeon from University College London, who will head up RAS capital asset management.