We recently travelled to Toulouse, France to exhibit our work on Magnetic colonoscopy as part of the Sonopill project. We were representing UK Research and Innovation, EPSRC and the STORM Lab (University of Leeds) at the week long ESOF 2018 event. Read the University of Leeds press release.

ESOF (EuroScience Open Forum) is the largest interdisciplinary science meeting in Europe, with more than 4000 delegates from over 80 countries. It is dedicated to scientific research and innovation and offers a unique framework for interaction and debate for scientists, innovators, policy makers, business people and the general public. Our exhibit was part of the UK stand, where delegates could come and see our work and discuss anything from the technical research aspects of the project, to our opinions on the research environment in the UK.

We were demonstrating the Magnetic Colonoscopy platform and showed over 700 visitors live demos of the KUKA robotic arm moving the capsule through a synthetic environment. Visitors could get up-close and hands-on with the system to fully appreciated its design and functionality.

Some highlights from the event included: demonstrating our work to Carlos Moedas, the EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation; discussing our work and the wider UK research landscape with Rebecca Endean, the Director of Strategy at UKRI; and having the opportunity to interact with a uniquely diverse audience (… oh and the French pastries of course!).

On the 21st of February, we were invited by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to showcase our pioneering work on magnetic guided capsule robots, alongside other Sonopill team members, at the historic Royal Society in central London. The aim of the event, entitled “Science for a Successful Nation,” was to demonstrate the importance of long term investment in scientific research to an invited audience of influential policy makers, business leaders and leading UK academics.

The day involved a number of  key panel discussions on the EPSRC’s strategy to facilitate research that promotes four prosperity outcomes, namely: a Productive nation, a Resilient nation, a Connected nation and a Healthy nation – ie. how can science and engineering support a longer-living, healthier society? In between talks, attendees had time to network and see firsthand some of the high impact research funded by the EPSRC. Visitors to our stand were able to see the KUKA medical robot in action, manipulating a capsule using a magnetic field, and also had the  opportunity to see some of the other prototype devices from the project.

Highlights from our time in London include:

• Attending inspiring panel discussions on the future of engineering and physical science research in the UK.
• Having the opportunity to demonstrate our research to influential individuals in the grand Royal Society building.
• Working with our team members from Scotland to effectively showcase years of multidisciplinary research.

 

 

 

 

We have spent the last 15 months setting up STORM Lab UK here in the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds. There was a lot of work involved, including hiring staff and buying equipment (from £2 duct tape to £60 000 pound KUKA robot arms!). Now that the lab is up and running, we have turned our attention to telling the world about what we are up to, and what better way than a brand new website.

This site will be regularly maintained and will serve as an overview of the work done in our lab, both past and current. You can find information on the various ongoing projects, relevant publications, current and past lab members and regular news articles on significant activities in the group. Please keep an eye on the website and feel free to get in contact with us if you are interested in what we are doing.