Ray Jones is semi-retired Professor of Health Informatics, trying to age healthily while continuing to support the next generation of researchers. He will discuss examples of stakeholder involvement and user-centred design relevant to robotics from a series of projects (EPIC, MOVECARE, GOALD, ICONIC).

Aisha Gul is an early career researcher  at Cardiff University in the School of Computer Science and Informatics. Her research focuses on human-centred computing, particularly the interactions between socially assistive robots and unpaid carers of older adults, and work aims to explore and enhance the trust dynamics in these interactions, contributing to the field of social robotics. This research is instrumental in understanding and improving the socio-technical impacts of emerging computing systems on individuals and communities. 

Dr, Kyle Harrington is an Assistant Professor in Human Factors Engineering, within the Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering department. Before his current position, Kyle was a research fellow in the Institute of Mental Health and has an interdisciplinary background in Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, Philosophy and Human Factors Engineering. He is currently working on a variety of projects relating to healthcare technologies. Kyle's research has focused on digital Cognitive Screening technologies, and more recently, assistive and healthcare robotics. Kyle is the Chair of the "Human Rights in the Digital Age" Network within the University, also a member of the Centre for Dementia, INTERDEM (Early detection and timely INTERvention in Dementia). 

Dr. Julie Robillard is a Scientist in Patient Experience at BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital and Health Centre, and Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Robillard brings her multidisciplinary background in neuroscience and biomedical ethics to the study of issues at the intersection of patient experience, brain health and technology. Her current work focuses on the development of tools for the evaluation of the quality, ethics and experience of health intervention and health services, with a focus on brain health technology. She is also investigating the integration of artificial intelligence in technology for older adults with dementia and their caregivers as a means to ensure adherence to ethical norms. 

Elizabeth Black is a Professor of Artificial Intelligence in the Department of Informatics, where she is a member of the Reasoning and Planning research group. She is the Director of the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Safe and Trusted Artificial Intelligence, which brings together academics from King's College London and Imperial College London to deliver a 4-year PhD programme focussed on the use of model-based artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for ensuring the safety and trustworthiness of AI systems. 

Shirley is a Registered Nurse and worked for 10 years in the NHS, specialising in cardiology care and setting up rehabilitation services for patients post-heart attack and surgery. She then joined the British Heart Foundation, where she developed its pioneering ‘Hearty Lives’ programme, which aimed to address obesity and inequalities for younger people. She has gone on to hold a variety of senior roles at organisations including the Retirement Villages Group and The ExtraCare Charitable Trust. 

Shirley has worked closely with the national Gold Standards Framework, the UK’s leading training provider for generalist frontline staff in caring for people in the last years of life. She has a passion for innovation and technology within the care sector, implementing the wellbeing research from Aston University, designing an app for wellbeing and a validated frailty calculator for use with residents in retirement villages.

Stephanie Sutherland has garnered a wealth of experience working in the housing sector and joined Blackwood Homes and Care in 2018 as a Development and Procurement Officer before progressing into the role of Development Manager a year later.

Abigail Cannon is a consultant of geriatric medicine and general internal medicine in the medicine for older people department at Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. She specialises in orthogeriatrics. 

Praveen Kumar is an Associate Professor in Stroke Rehabilitation at the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol.  Praveen completed his BSc Physiotherapy from Mangalore University, India in 1995 and joined Apollo Multi-speciality Hospital, Hyderabad to work as a clinical physiotherapist. In 1998, Praveen went to Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh to pursue his Master in Physiotherapy. After gaining his masters, Praveen worked in India as a Vice-Principal at the Swantara Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, AP and then as Principal (in-charge) at the College of Physiotherapy, Durgabai Deshmukh Hospital, Hyderabad. Praveen joined UWE in 2003 as lecturer / Senior lecturer in physiotherapy.  Praveen completed his PhD from UWE in 2012.  Currently, Praveen is the Board member for Publication and Knowledge Dissemination, ACPIN, Editor for Synapse - Oficial Journal of ACPIN.  

Dr. Abdel-Karim Al-Tamimi is a Senior Lecturer of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University. He is a certified expert in Digital Teaching and Learning, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). He is the lead of the Interactive Data Analytics Group (iDAG), and a member of the Applied Software Engineering Research Group (ASERG). He is serving as a consultant in the Digital Innovation for Growth (DIfG) program to support the digital transformation in Sheffield and South Yorkshire. 

 Alistair has a PhD in Robotic Rehabilitation, with expertise in electrical, mechanical and soft robotic design and fabrication. He has been involved in multiple cross disciplinary projects, with clinicians, physiotherapists, public engagement and industry. He is also the co-founder of a healthcare related startup.

Michael has expertise in Digital healthcare technologies including Robotics, Immersive (AR/VR), biosensors, gamification and serious games.

Evangelia is Associate Professor at The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, Program Director of the MSc Healthcare Facilities, and a medical architect. Deputy Director for Enterprise at the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, UCL. She is also Vice-President of the Urban Health Section (EUPHA) and RIBA Chartered Member. Member of the National Accessibility Authority in Greece by invitation from the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. She specialises in healthcare facilities, holding a rare PhD on mental health facilities from UCL and a very prestigious Marie Curie H2020 Individual Fellowship. 

Nirmalie Wiratunga is a Professor in Intelligent Systems at RGU's School of Computing, and the Associate Dean for Research in the school, with over two decades of experience in computer science and AI research. She has held positions such as post-doctoral researcher on EPSRC funded projects, and was appointed Readership in 2009, and Professorship in 2016. Nirmalie is also an adjunct IDUN professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. 

Cian in the Director of the new UCL Centre for Responsible Innovation which provides a place for scientists and innovators to engage with the needs and values of the public and is housed at UCL's Department of Science and Technology Studies where he has worked since 2018.

Through research and teaching within the Centre and across UCL, Cian explores and explains digital change in today's world and how it could be different. He uses social science methods to tell stories about who benefits from technologies like AI, robotics and digital systems; who is driving and steering change; and with what impacts for people and planet.

Dr Maria Elena Giannaccini graduated with honours in Biomedical Engineering from the Università di Pisa. Her Master’s thesis focused on the control of a soft, variable stiffness actuator inspired by the Octopus Vulgaris and was 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 ITN project INTRO. Her PhD and subsequent research position focussed on developing safe, variable stiffness robotic devices. Most recently she worked at the University of Bristol on the soft, bioinspired Tactip sensor and in developing a soft robotics artificial larynx. In 2019 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.

Praminda Caleb-Solly is Professor of Embodied Intelligence in the School of Computer Science where she leads the Cyber-physical Health and Assistive Robotics Technologies (CHART) research group. She holds a BEng in Electronic Systems Engineering, MSc in Biomedical Instrumentation Engineering and a PhD in Interactive Evolutionary Computation.

She joined the University of Nottingham in September 2021. Prior to joining Nottingham she was Professor of Assistive Robotics and Intelligent Health Technologies at the Bristol Robotics Lab, UWE, where she was leading the Robotics Engineering and Computing for Health Research Group and held the post of Associate Head of Department for Research and Scholarship.

From 2014 to 2018, she was also Head of Electronics and Computer Systems at Designability, a not-for-profit SME who design Assistive Technology.

Prof. Alessandro Di Nuovo is Professor of Machine Intelligence at the Department of Computing, Sheffield Hallam University. He is the leader of AI, Robotics and Digital for the Advanced Well-being Research Institute. He is the funder and leader of the Smart Interactive Technologies (SIT) Research Laboratory, which has cutting-edge facilities and equipment for advanced machine learning and human-robot interaction experiments.

Prof. Di Nuovo is leading several collaborative research projects in fundamental and applied topics in AI and Robotics, funded by public (European Union, UKRI), private (IBM, NVIDIA) and charities (Sheffield Children Hospital Trust).

His research specialises in cognitive mechatronics and its application to health and wellbeing.

Mark Hawley is Professor of Health Services Research at the University of Sheffield, UK, where he leads the Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Research Group. He is also Honorary Consultant Clinical Scientist at Barnsley Hospital, where his Assistive Technology Team provides specialist electronic assistive technology services within Yorkshire. Over the last 20 years, he has worked as a clinician and researcher - providing, researching, developing and evaluating assistive technology, telehealth and telecare products and services for disabled people, older people and people with long-term conditions.

Mark is Director of the Centre for Assistive Technology and Connected Healthcare (CATCH) at the university. He leads a number of projects funded by the National Institute for Health Research and Technology Strategy Board and leads the Assistive Technology theme of the Devices for Dignity Healthcare Technology Cooperative. In 2007, he was awarded the Honorary Fellowship of The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists for his service to speech therapy research.

Stephen's interests lie in artificial intelligence, and more specifically in the applications of AI to everyday problems. Following a BSc degree in computer science at the University of Durham, he studied for an MSc in applied AI at the Universities of Aberdeen and Paris (V), and went on to complete a doctorate at the University of Bath, where he investigated the role of AI in engineering design.

Stephen worked for over a decade in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, combining academic research with technology transfer consultancy. Later he worked at Lancaster University as a business technology project manager, before joining CATCH in 2015 as a translational research associate.

Professor Farshid Amirabdollahian is a professor of Human-Robot interaction within the School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science, and is the Principal Investigator at the University's 'Robot House' facility. He also teaches Robotics and AI to undergraduate students.​

Farshid looks at how robots can adapt to human interaction – an adaptive robot can have many applications, from supporting patients in their recovery from a brain injury to robots 'learning' how to effectively pick fruit and vegetables, which helps farmers make huge efficiency savings. ​

Farshid's work is also at the intersection of the physical and virtual worlds, designing 'digital twins' to provide a testbed for technological interventions or changes. Because a digital twin virtually represents a real-world patient or place, authorities can more safely test effectiveness and impact; for example when implementing a new traffic management system in a town.

Dr Mauro Dragone is Associate Professor in the School of Engineering and Physical Science. Dr. Dragone has worked in EU projects in the area of Internet of Things (IoT) for smart environments, before leading the EU FP7 project RUBICON (Robotic UBIquitous Cognitive Network, FP7-ICT-269914, 2011-2014), a 2.5 million EUR project that has posed the foundations for self-adaptive robotic systems for Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) applications.

At Heriot-Watt, Dr. Dragone set up the Robotic Assisted Living Testbed (RALT), a ‘Living-Lab” designed to facilitate user-driven design and testing of innovative and more practical solutions for healthy ageing and independent living by harnessing IoT and Robotic technologies working together. He has also initiated the Cognitive Assistive Robotic Enviroment (CARE) group, with a focus on enabling IoT and robotic, autonomous and interactive systems (RAIS) to provide user-centred assisted living support. He is currently involved in EU coordination actions developing new benchmarks for assistive robots (METRICS/HEART-MET), and he is one of the co-investigators of the EPSRC Healthcare NetworkPlus EMERGENCE, developing the UK roadmap for assistive robotics for frailty. His current research activities include cloud-robotics, tele-presence robotics, and integration of robot technology in smart homes to assess and assist people living with conditions such as dementia and frailty.