Professor Ingmar Posner and Oxford Robotics Institute showcase cutting-edge robotic arm at Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition

At this year’s Royal Society Summer Exhibition, Pembroke Fellow Professor Ingmar Posner and his team at the Oxford Robotics Institute introduced cutting-edge robotics and AI systems to the public through their exhibit, ‘Hands-on, Hands-off and Hand-in-hand: The Future of Robotic Assembly.’ 

Professor Ingmar Posner (right) and Professor Perla Maiolino (right). Image credit: The Royal Society. 

Robots are widely used in the manufacturing industry, performing tasks that are difficult for humans including heavy repetitive labour and precision tasks. Yet human hands are still needed in these industries; their coordination and ability to sense and dynamically adapt means they outperform robots in some complex manufacturing tasks. Even seemingly simple tasks, such as untying a knot or unscrewing a lid, can prove difficult for a robot. 

At the Summer Science Exhibition, ORI demonstrated how Oxford researchers are tackling the challenge of developing intelligent robotic systems that can match the coordination, precision and control of human hands through the Embodied Intelligence programme. Led by Professor Ingmar Posner of the Applied Artificial Intelligence (A2I) Lab and Founding Director of the ORI, the team showcased Frank, a cutting-edge dual-arm robotic manipulator, which is used to develop innovative machine learning methods for collaborative manufacturing. In particular, Frank is used to train world models that allow robots to perceive and understand their environment so that they can assist humans within small-batch manufacturing.

The team ran demonstrations where they operated Frank remotely to assemble constructed beams, stack blocks and even play noughts and crosses with some of the younger attendees. Using augmented reality with Meta's Quest headset, the team could operate Frank from the stage while perceiving its 3D camera point of view.

The Embodied Intelligence team from Oxford Robotics Institute at the Royal Society Summer Exhibition 2026. Image credit: The Royal Society.

Members of the public were able to get hands-on with several robotic setups, too. Using a controller that mimicked the remote operation platform used to control the real Frank, visitors could play a game to see how quickly they could stack three blocks in a simulation environment. With around 745 members of the public playing the game, most quickly realised that what appears to be a seemingly simple task is actually much harder than they thought, given the difficulties of robotic coordination and the need to plan.

Elsewhere, the exhibit had 3D-printed S101 robotic arms, where a leader arm is used to control a follower arm. Members of the public were able to play with these and perform tasks, such as stacking and arranging blocks, to gain a first-hand understanding of the challenges of developing intelligent systems that interact in real time with the physical world. Through these interactive exhibits, visitors had the opportunity to see how the Institute is advancing intelligent solutions that truly work for diverse applications in society, not least in industry.

‘Robot manipulation remains one of the frontier challenges in robotics, and people are often surprised by just how difficult seemingly simple tasks are for robots,’ shared Professor Posner. ‘This is why it’s so important to bring robots out of the laboratory and into direct contact with the public. Giving people the opportunity to experience these challenges first-hand helps them understand the technological challenges, inspires the next generation of scientists and engineers, and starts informed conversations about how advances in robotics and AI translate into real societal and economic impact.’

You can read the full article on the University's website here.