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@EmbodyingAI
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Director
Steve Benford
Professor of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham’s Mixed Reality Laboratory and a UKRI Turing AI Fellow.
My research explores the design of interactive experiences that provoke human meaning making. My approach is to collaborate with artists to create, tour and study artworks from which I generalise new concepts, methods and tools. Technically, my research encompasses and interweaves AI, robots, and mixed reality. I am currently working on a five year UK Turing AI Fellowship on “Somabotics: Creatively Embodying Artificial Intelligence”.
Academics
Eray A. Baran
Assistant Professor in Mechatronics Engineering
Eray is a roboticist and control systems researcher exploring how humans and robots can share physical space through touch, force, and motion. His work examines how machines perceive and respond to physical interaction; from subtle force cues in human–robot cooperation to adaptive control strategies that let robots move safely and intelligently in uncertain environments. Drawing from motion control, teleoperation, and soft robotics, Eray develops systems that merge precision engineering with embodied interaction, aiming to make robots more responsive, compliant, and human-aware. He leads the Robotics and Intelligent Motion Control Lab at Istanbul Bilgi University, and is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Nottingham, collaborating on new approaches to kinesthetic human–robot interaction.
Caroline Zheng
Transitional Assistant Professor
Caroline is a designer and researcher who works at the intersection of creative design, Human-Computer Interaction, soft robotics and haptics design. She is dedicated in driving a cross-disciplinary agenda towards robots and technology that touch better. She holds a PhD from the Royal College of Art UK in Information Experience Design. Prior to joining the University of Nottingham, she led a Digital Future Postdoc Fellowship at KTH Royal Institute of Technology that explores design guidelines for developing digital social touch that are capable of communicating social, affective and caring content. Her design work explores the emergent space of applying soft robotic caring touch in contexts including healthcare, mental health, intimate care, FemTech and automous driving. She was an awardee of the MedTech SuperConnector programme in the UK for translating soft robotic haptic technology into healthcare applications and a co-investigator in the Cancer Research UK-funded project ‘Improving care through soft robotic tactile intervention – towards a smarter compassionate experience in cancer treatment (SOFTLI)’ (2019-2021).
Elena Giannaccini
Associate Professor
Dr Maria Elena Giannaccini’s work focuses on designing soft robotic devices. She specialises in soft, wearable devices, tactile sensing and human-robot interaction. Her Master’s thesis focused on the control of a soft, variable stiffness actuator conducted at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Italy, as part of the EU-funded OCTOPUS project. In 2015, she obtained her PhD in Robotics at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory as an Early Stage Researcher in the Marie-Curie project INTRO. Her PhD focused on developing safe, variable stiffness robotic devices. She worked at the University of Bristol on the soft, bioinspired Tactip sensor and in developing a soft robotics artificial larynx. In 2019, Maria Elena was appointed as a Lecturer in Robotics at the University of Aberdeen, where she pioneered research in soft robotics and set up the robotics laboratory. In 2025, she joined the School of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham as an Associate Professor.
Gabriella Giannachi
Professor in Performance and New Media
Gabriella Giannachi is Professor in Performance and New Media at the University of Exeter, UK. She has published a number of books including: Virtual Theatres (2004); The Politics of New Media Theatre (2007); Performing Presence: Between the Live and the Simulated, co-authored with Nick Kaye (2011); Performing Mixed Reality, co-authored with Steve Benford (2011); Archaeologies of Presence, co-edited with Michael Shanks and Nick Kaye (2012); Archive Everything (2016 and, in Italian translation, 2021); Histories of Performance Documentation, co- edited with Jonah Westerman (2017); Moving Spaces: Enacting Dance, Performance and the Digital in the Museum, co-edited with Susanne Franco (2021); Documentation as Art: Expanded Digital Practices, coedited with Annet Dekker (2022); Technologies of the Self-Portrait (2022 and in Italian translation, 2023); and Archaeologies of Nature co-authored with Michael Shanks (2026). She is currently researching the use of AI for the documentation of intangible cultural heritage in collections and archives as part of two AHRC- and an EPSRC-funded projects.
Alexis E. Block
Assistant Professor
Alexis E. Block is an Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, OH. She leads the Social and Physical Human-Robot Interaction (SaPHaRI) Lab, where they are working to advance robotics by fostering meaningful social and physical interactions by integrating emotional intelligence to address mental health challenges and provide emotional support. Her goal is to create innovative technologies that enhance human well-being through empathetic, responsive robots. Before joining CWRU, she supported her two-year post-doc at UCLA with a competitive Computing Innovations (CI) Fellowship. She obtained her Dr. sc. In Computer Science from ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. Prior to her Dr. sc., she earned her Bachelor’s (Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics) and Master’s (Robotics) degrees in 2016 and 2017, respectively, both from the University of Pennsylvania. She was named as an inaugural “Microsoft Future Leaders in Robotics and AI” (2023), a Rising Star in Mechanical Engineering (2020), and an HRI Pioneer (2018). She has served as the General Chair for the Gordon Research Seminar in Robotics (2022) and HRI Pioneers (2019). She won the Best Hands-On Demonstration at EuroHaptics (2022) and was awarded the Max Planck Society Otto Hahn Medal (2022) for outstanding scientific achievement by a junior scientist
Luis Figueredo
Assistant Professor
Luis holds an awarded PhD thesis from the Univ. of Brasilia. During his thesis, as a visiting researcher at the Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. (MIT), he also received multiple robot demo awards, e.g., at IROS and ICAPS. In 2018, he was awarded the prestigious Horizon-MSCA-IF, and became a pioneer in biomechanics-aware manipulation planning with open-source AI tools acknowledged by the EU Innovation Radar. Recently, he was also recognized within the IEEE ICRA New Generation Star Project. Dr. Figueredo is also an Associated Fellow at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). With a robust interdisciplinary background, he contributes to the fields of physical human-robot interaction (pHRI), multimodal and biomechanics-aware manipulation, AI grounding for robotics, and geometric methods and control for robotics.
Juan Martinez Avila
Assistant Professor in Computer Science
As part of the Mixed Reality Lab, Juan steers an interest group that investigates intelligent and interactive music technology research through practice-based methods, design ethnography, participatory design, and soma design .
Ayse Kucukyilmaz
Associate Professor of Robotics and Autonomous Systems
Ayse's research interests include haptics, human-robot interaction (pHRI), assistive robotics, and machine learning. Her team primarily works in building adjustable autonomy paradigms to enable dynamic switching behaviours between different levels of robotic autonomy (e.g. full human control vs. full autonomy) during shared/traded control of a physical task, enabling effective human-autonomy teaming.Gisela Reyes Cruz
Transitional Assistant Professor
Gisela's work investigates Human-Computer and Human-Robot Interaction to understand interactions with technologies, including autonomous and robotic systems, as well as trust in them and public acceptance and adoption. Her recent work has focused on investigating the potential applications and real-world use of telepresence and tour guide robots in museums, and is interested in playfulness for robotics and using robots as design material.
Researchers
Feng Zhou
Research Fellow
Armed with a PhD in Computer Science with a specialization in additive manufacturing, Feng’s work seamlessly integrates the realms of academic research and applied technology across disciplines such as robotics and generative design. Beyond industrial applications, his collaborations with artists and architects have gained exhibition exposure, while his initiatives in HCI and HRI break new ground.
Kieran Woodward
Research Fellow
Kieran explores the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and human experience through his work on interactive systems and embodied AI. His research combines expertise in on-device AI, tangible interfaces, and human-computer interaction to create meaningful physical experiences. Previously, Kieran worked on the 5G Connected Forest project at Nottingham Trent University, developing mobile interactive experiences that combined AI and IoT technologies to enhance visitor engagement. His PhD research focused on developing tangible interfaces for mental wellbeing recognition using novel deep learning approaches. With experience in multidisciplinary research and a track record of deploying real-world AI solutions, Kieran is passionate about creating technology that enhances human experiences through the integration of AI with physical interaction.
Rachael Garrett
Research Associate
Rachel is studying the intersection of design, ethics, and autonomous technologies. Her current research focuses on the felt and embodied practice of ethics within soma design, research through design and performance-led research approaches, as well as physical or proximate interactions with autonomous technologies such as machines, robots and aerial drones. During her PhD, she has developed theoretical tools and concepts for the qualitative analysis of ethical practice, and authored award-winning research papers for top-tier human-computer interaction venues such as ACM CHI and DIS. Rachael’s work combines analytic creativity, critical feminist perspectives, and qualitative research methods to construct new ways of understanding our relationships with intelligent technologies and how we can reimagine the ways that humans and technologies share our world. She is currently completing her PhD at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.
Zane Hartley
Research Fellow
Zane Hartley is a Research Fellow in the School of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham, contributing to the Somabotics project. His research background encompasses computer vision and generative AI, with a focus on agricultural applications, including 3D plant phenotyping and the development of synthetic data using diffusion models. Following his PhD, he has continued his research funded by Syngenta and was awarded the EPSRC Doctoral Prize in 2024.
Alan Chamberlain
Principal Research Fellow
My research interests are based in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) with a particular focus on interdisciplinary approaches to Human-Centred Design (HCD). As part of Somabotics, I will be working closely with Steve to develop novel and innovative methodologies and approaches to understand the intersection of Embodied AI, Robotics, Art, Design and People. As part of this we aim to continue our groundbreaking research collaborations with artists which will enable us to creatively explore embodied AI. We will develop a community relating to embodied AI, the Arts and Humanities, and Music. The project will allow us to explore interdisciplinary approaches to embodiment which will enable us to reflect on research areas such as pain, creativity, values, beliefs, and intimacy. I am grateful to be given the opportunity to expand upon my own research and practice in this area. Dr Alan Chamberlain is a Principal Research Fellow in the School of Computer Science and an Honourable Fellow in the Music Department (University of Nottingham). He is a Visiting Professor at Copenhagen Business School, and Aberystwyth University. He is the Creative Industries Sector Lead on the UKRI TAS Hub (£11.7 million), a Principal Research Fellow on RAI UK (£35 million, UKRI) and a Co-Investigator on the REC-HURDLEs project: Revisiting Employment Contracts and Help for Under-represented Researcher groups to Develop, Lead and Excel (£1 million, Wellcome Trust). Contact: Alan.Chamberlain @ Nottingham.ac.uk
Richard Ramchurn
Artist/Researcher
Richard is known for his work at the intersection of adaptive storytelling, AI, and interactive media. His practice explores innovative ways to engage audiences through emerging technologies, often focusing on the relationships between human perception, agency, and narrative flow. With a background that spans film, neurocinematics, and interactive systems, Richard combines rigorous academic research with immersive artistic projects that push the boundaries of digital storytelling. He is particularly interested in the evolving dynamics between human and machine collaborators.
Sachiyo Ito-Jaeger
Research Fellow
Sachiyo is a Research Fellow at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Mental Health & Technology and the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham. Sachiyo's research focuses on two distinct but related research areas in Digital Mental Health (DMH). The first examines how digital technologies can improve children's and young people's mental health and wellbeing through co-produced interventions such as animations and methods such as Soma Design. The second explores how digital mental health interventions can be developed, produced, implemented and evaluated responsibly using the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) approach. As part of Somabotics, Sachiyo is interested in how robots can improve people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Rakesh Patibanda
Rakesh is a designer and researcher exploring how humans can play with – and through – technologies that share control of the body. His work investigates bodily experiences that emerge when computers gently move us, challenge our sense of agency, or become partners in physical expression. Drawing from human-computer interaction, somatic design, and game studies, Rakesh creates playful systems that use the body as both input and output. He is currently a Research Fellow at Monash University’s Exertion Games Lab, where he leads research on Body-Actuating Play and Homoludic Augmentation. His research bridges public health, creative practice, and interactive technology – informing novel approaches to rehabilitation, mindfulness, and movement learning, while also collaborating with artists and technologists to explore how bodily control can be reimagined as a medium for expression, connection, and play.
PhD Students
Helen Payne
PhD Student
Helen’s research draws on extensive experience in fit diagnostics, pattern engineering, and both physical and digital garment prototyping. Her practice combines rigorous technical expertise with an embodied design approach to developing responsive textile interfaces that mediate touch, fit, and motion between humans and robots. Through this work, Helen explores how the design and fit of intelligent textiles can enhance human-robot interaction, expanding the sensory and expressive capacities of soft robotic systems.
Alastair Howcroft
PhD Student
Alastair Howcroft is a PhD student at the University of Nottingham within the Somabotics programme, working in partnership with BLUESKEYE AI, a company developing affective computing technologies with advanced emotional intelligence for healthcare, wellbeing, and social robotics. His research investigates AI and feelings, looking beyond emotion detection to examine how AI and robots can engage with the complex and ambiguous world of human feelings. He focuses on social robots that combine natural language dialogue with touch-based interaction, aiming to create experiences that people perceive as empathic in supportive contexts such as wellbeing and social connectedness.Victor Ngo
PhD Student
Victor Zhi Heung Ngo is a PhD researcher at the University of Nottingham, based in the EPSRC Horizon Centre for Doctoral Training. His research explores Human–Robot Interaction within artistic and performative settings, exploring how theatrical methods can inform the design of expressive robotic behaviours. Drawing on performance practices such as rehearsal, puppetry, and improvisation, Victor investigates how robots can communicate emotional depth and sustain social engagement. His interdisciplinary approach bridges computer science and the performing arts, contributing new perspectives on the design of socially engaging and narratively coherent robotic systems.
Marco Amerotti
PhD Student
Marco’s research focuses on musical AI, and in particular on AI-generated, interactive co-performance of Irish traditional dance music. His music performance system LOERIC has been involved in a variety of publications and concerts between Sweden and the UK. He previously was a researcher at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, within the ERC project “MUSAiC: Music at the Frontiers of Artificial Creativity and Criticism”. He leads the “Traditionable Machines” project in the SOMABOTICS fellowship, exploring if and how music AI systems can be embodied and embedded in the spaces of the tradition by becoming more “traditional” themselves.Angela Higgins
PhD Student
Angela's research explores the lived experiences of older adults to imagine future robotic technologies that physically engage with the body. Drawing on her expertise as a product designer, she employs creative and embodied participatory design methods to co-create devices that are not only functional and useful but also desirable. She imagines a future where technology integrates effortlessly into our lives and bodies, developing robots that enhance health and well-being.
Associates
Operations
Simon Castle-Green
Senior Technical Specialist
Simon is working in the University of Nottingham’ Cobot Maker Space and the School of Computer Science. Within his role, he works alongside academics supporting Robotic related teaching and research activities. Research interests include utilising smart-sensing devices for rehabilitation, robotic teleoperation, and mobile robotics.
Dominic Price
Computer Science Research Fellow
Dominic's expertise lies in research software engineering to support human-computer and human-robot interaction. He has worked across number of Programmes during his years in academic research, including Horizon Digital Economy Research, the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub, the RAi UK and the Somabotics: Creatively Embodying AI Fellowship. Dominic is Lab Manager for the Cobot Maker Space and responsible for day to day running of the state of art robotic facility based at the University of NottinghamLynn Rees
Operations Manager
Lynn is Operations Manager at the EPSRC funded Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute. She also supports the operations of the Mixed Reality Lab, Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub, RAi UK, the Somabotics: Creatively Embodying AI Fellowship and the Cobot Maker Space.Hazel Sayers
Knowledge Exchange and Impact Officer
Hazel works with academics and researchers at the University of Nottingham to capture, record and promote research activity. In her present role, Hazel covers EPSRC-funded Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute, Somabotics: Creatively Embodying AI and the Cobot Maker Space, and Responsible Digital Futures group. She was previously Project Manager to the Stroke Theme within the Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) and Clinical Theme Co-ordinator to the Stroke Programme within the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN).
