Tony Prescott

Tony Prescott is a Professor of Cognitive Robotics at the University of Sheffield where he directs Sheffield Robotics, a cross-disciplinary research institute with over one hundred researchers. He is also a director of Consequential Robotics, a UK start-up developing assistive and companion robots to enhance the quality of later life. Prof Prescott’s background mixes psychology and brain theory with robotics and AI, and his research aims at answering fundamental questions about human cognition at the same time as developing useful robotic systems. Prof Prescott is the co-creator of the animal-like robots Scratchbot, Shrewbot, of the animal-like companion robot MiRo, and of an assistive robotic over-bed table called IntelliTable. He co-founded the International Living Machines conference series, and is currently editing Living Machines: A Handbook of Research in Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems for Oxford University Press. He recently co-authored a White Paper on the use of robotics in social care for the UK EPSRC RAS Network. His research has been featured by Science Magazine, New Scientist, BBC TV and Radio, CNN, and Discovery Channel.