Robot Lab Live returns for UK Festival of Robotics 2022
Join UK’s only mass simultaneous robotics livestream and explore cutting-edge innovation – from underwater inspection and farming robots to social assistive and space robots!
We are offering unique access to live demos from some of the UK’s top robotics research teams at this year’s Robot Lab Live – the UK’s only mass simultaneous robotics livestream event (Wednesday 22nd June 2022, 4-6pm, live on YouTube). Robot Lab Live 2022 is a highlight event of the UK Festival of Robotics, and the trailer is available online now at the UK Robotics YouTube channel.
Robot Lab Live is a one-of-a-kind virtual robotics showcase, hosted by the ESPRC UK-RAS Network, and featuring 12 of the UK’s top robotics labs. Now in its second year, this hotly-anticipated event brings cutting-edge robotics technology to audiences around the globe. Viewers can watch live from anywhere in the world and flick between different demos during the two-hour livestream, with the opportunity to ask questions and interact directly with the researchers. The event is free to access, but participants are encouraged to subscribe now to the UK Robotics YouTube channel and set a reminder for the livestreams.
Featured demos this year will include:
- Smart drones working together to achieve a task – from delivering a package to performing acrobatics
- Edible and biodegradable soft robots of the future – eating a robot live on camera!
- Searching for underwater treasure in a remote inspection mission using a subsea robot
- Fleets of intelligent robots assisting fruit pickers in the field
- Virtual visit to a real robot research house to explore social human-robot interaction and assistive technologies
- Motion capture suit controlling two robot dogs as they cook and assemble a burger
- Soft robots made from fabric that can grow and move through tight spaces for use in extreme environments
- How humans react physiologically to working together with robots on manual tasks like drilling and heavy lifting
- Snake-like robots navigating through an aeroplane engine for fast inspection and repair
- Telepresence technology allowing humans to perform everyday tasks for both work and play remotely through a robot controlled from another continent
- The Tortoise and the Worm: a worm-inspired soft robot challenges a traditional hard robot (TurtleBot) to complete an obstacle course
- Space robots performing skilled tasks used for satellite repairs and upgrades, such as in-orbit docking and assembling space mirrors
Commenting on the livestream, EPSRC UK-RAS Network Chair Professor Robert Richardson said: “We knew from the exceptional response to Robot Lab Live last year, when we ran it for the first time, that we simply had to bring it back for our 2022 Festival. There really is no other event quite like it, taking people directly into the UK’s cutting-edge robotics research laboratories in such an immersive and immediate way. From subsea inspection robots to fleets of smart drones, we’re hugely looking forward to showcasing this exciting technology in action, and to giving people all over the world the chance to engage with these fascinating projects, and the talented researchers that are driving the next generation of robotics and autonomous systems innovation.”
Robot Lab Live debuted in 2021 as a key event of the UK Festival of Robotics – a 7-day celebration of robotics and intelligent systems held at the end of June. This annual celebration is hosted by the EPSRC UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems (UK-RAS) Network, which provides academic leadership in robotics and coordinates activities at over 30 partner universities across the UK.
For more information about Robot Lab Live, please visit: https://www.ukras.org.uk/robotics-week/robot-lab-live/