Ella Maule

Email: ella.maule@bristol.ac.uk

PhD supervisors: Mark Goudswaard, Hemma Philamore, Matthew Studley, Helen Manchester

PhD title: Robots for Community Urban Agriculture

Biography

My interest in robotics has influenced many of my choices and actions. It led me to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering; underpinned a successful application for a Royal Academy of Engineering Leaders Scholarship; and it encouraged me to contribute to industry within an exciting Robotic Medical Device Start-up.

Following my undergraduate dissertation with the School of informatics, Statistical Machine Learning and Motor Control Research group, Edinburgh, and after my time working on the design and development of robotic surgical instruments with CMR Surgical, I have a strong sense of the life-changing impact robotics can and will have on well-being.  I have a drive to contribute to this exciting field through research.

My research explores the concept of community robotics, robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) designed for, and with, communities. I intend to develop design principles, values, and frameworks that; enable roboticists to research and design for communities as users; and include communities as stakeholders in the RAS technology innovation ecosystem. In a future where robots are ubiquitous, by balancing the role, assistance, and automation of RAS with the preservation and promotion of the positive impact and benefits that come with being part of a community (belonging, social cohesion, mental and physical wellbeing, enjoyment), we can create RAS technology that works in service of community and for social value. My research draws on; ethnography, the study of communities and their culture, context and process; and existing design for community and design for shared-use practice from across design disciplines.

Outside of work and studies I enjoy Latin dance, mountaineering and board games.