CREATIVELY
EMBODYING
AI
Funded by UKRI, we are a five year multi-institution research programme led by the University of Nottingham focusing on the development of somabotics research.
Led by Professor Steve Benford at the University of Nottingham, Somabotics: Creatively Embodying AI UKRI Turing AI Fellowship aims to enhance artificial intelligence to enable humans to ‘make meaning’. We will explore how people make meaning through art and embodied experience, partnering with award-winning artists to create a series of robotic artworks, from robots that embrace and groom humans, to ones that dance and play music with them.
By investigating these systems using an artistic lens we aim to create AI artworks that embrace ambiguity, evoke interpretation, and champion improvisation. Touring artworks supported through the Fellowship will inspire the creative industries with new forms of cultural experience, while engaging the public to reflect on the future role of AI in society, especially on how it might become more inclusive.
“Creating meaningful experiences of artificial intelligence with artists and robots”

Latest News
Maria Elena Giannaccini to Lead Key Sessions at Soft Robotics Health Conference 2027
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Somabotics Research Featured in UNESCO Publication on AI and Cultural Heritage
Somabotics Research Featured in UNESCO Publication on AI and Cultural Heritage
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Exploring Feminist Perspectives in Human-Computer Interaction and Somabotics
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The Fourth UK AI Conference, Hilton Hotel, Nottingham
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Latest Events
AAAI 2027 CLIP Workshop ‘Creative AI for Live Interactive Performances’
February 2027
Following the success of CLIP 2026, this workshop brings together AI researchers, artists and industry practitioners building systems that collaborate with humans in real time across the performing arts including music, dance, drama and the visual arts.
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Fourth UK AI Conference
29 & 30th September 2026
The Fourth UK AI Conference 2026 will take place in Nottingham on Tuesday, 29 September 2026 and Wednesday 30 September at the Hilton, Nottingham.
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