Professor Andrew Conn
Ph.D.
Current positions
Professor of Robotics
School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
My research on soft robotics, robotic moblity and healthcare technologies uses biological inspiration to solve challenging engineering problems. The integration of elasticity and compliance into systems such robots is central to this, driven by the potential for great improvements in human-robot interaction and robot mobility in unstructured environments.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
BraillePen: A Braille-Reading Device to Aid Braille Literacy Skill Acquisition
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Principal Investigator
Description
This project develops BraillePen, a prototype designed to read braille in the manner which is straightforward for people with low or no vision to operate. The concept is based on…Managing organisational unit
School of Engineering Mathematics and TechnologyDates
01/10/2025 to 28/02/2026
ROBOCONE: intelligent robotic geotechnical characterisation for next generation site investigation and design
Principal Investigator
Role
Researcher
Managing organisational unit
School of Civil, Aerospace and Design EngineeringDates
01/06/2022 to 31/12/2025
8036 DSTL - Bio-inspired and Soft Robotics Study DSTLX-1000150791
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Dates
01/08/2020 to 31/12/2022
Digital Tattoo: Designing interface for Controlling Smart Ink in Programmable Tattoo
Principal Investigator
Role
Principal Investigator
Description
Digital inks to produce digital tattoos are conceptually around since a long time but no one has critically examine how to make i t happen. This project aims at to…Managing organisational unit
Dates
01/01/2020 to 31/07/2020
Biorobotic technologies for improved treatment of urinary incontinence
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Dates
02/09/2019 to 31/08/2020
Thesis supervisions
Soft Variable Stiffness Tactile Sensors for Clinical Examinations
Supervisors
Integration and Coupling of High Performance Dielectric Elastomer Actuator Systems
Supervisors
Soft robotics technologies to treat laryngeal disorders
Supervisors
Investigation of a Trenchless Soil Excavation Method for Robotic Fibre to the Premise Deployment
Supervisors
Towards Stochastic Swarms for Environmental Applications
Supervisors
Intelligence in soft robotics
Supervisors
Graph-based methodology for designing vibration suppression systems
Supervisors
In-Vitro Material Dynamics of Living Engineered Tissue
Supervisors
Investigation into the aerodynamics of gliding snakes
Supervisors
Publications
Recent publications
20/02/2026Shapeshifting liquid metal droplets for soft fluidic machines
Advanced Materials
Three-terminal configuration optimisation for enhancing hydraulic shock absorber performance with graph theory
Structural Control and Health Monitoring
A Bistable Valve for Pneumatic Control
2025 IEEE 8th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)
Measuring Morphological Computation in Turtle-Inspired Multi-Modal Robotic Locomotion
2025 IEEE 8th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)
Sustainable Fabrication of Biodegradable Soft Robotic Actuators
2025 IEEE 8th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)
Thesis
Development of Novel Flapping Mechanism Technologies for Insect-inspired Micro Air Vehicles
Supervisors
Award date
13/11/2008
Teaching
- Soft Robotics (EMATM0057) - Unit Director
- Individual Research Project (MENG35000) - Project Supervisor
- Group Industrial Project (MENGM5000) - Project Supervisor
- Dissertation Project (EMATM0055) - Project Supervisor
Related people
Professor Jonathan Rossiter
Professor of Robotics
School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology
Professor Steve Burrow
Professor of Aircraft Systems
School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering
Professor Jason Zheng Jiang
Professor of Dynamics and Control
School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering
Professor Helmut Hauser
Professor of Soft Robotics and Morphological Computation
School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology
Mr Martin Garrad
Lecturer in Robotics
School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology