One of the many benefits of the AgriFoRwArdS CDT is the dedicated CDT principal engineering technicians that are located at the University of Lincoln and the University of Cambridge campus. Dr Rob Llyod and Mrs Narges Khadem Hosseini are based at the University of Lincoln Riseholme Campus Engineering Workshop, and University of Cambridge Observatory for Human Machine Collaboration (OHMC) respectively. Both Rob and Narges are dedicated support for the CDT students and provide assistance across a wide range of domains, from mechanical and electrical design, intelligent robotics development, machine tool and manufacturing, to project planning and review.  Both the Riseholme campus and the OHMC have specialist workshops and facilities that students can use to support their projects through their MSc and PhD research. To find out a little bit more we asked Rob and Narges to give an insight into their day and how they help CDT students.

Can you briefly explain what you do?

Rob: “I’m the senior mechatronics engineer for the Agriforwards CDT. I see myself as something of a toolmaker. Not that I make pliers or hammers, but workshops, software and hardware to help with the learning and knowledge transfer that takes place in the CDT.”

Narges: “I am a control engineer and manager of the Observatory for Human-Machine Collaboration laboratory which is a robotic lab at the University of Cambridge. I provide technical support to Agriforwards CDT and OHMC students.”

How long have you been in the role?

Rob: “I Joined UoL in August of 2019. That’s just over 3 years now.”

Narges: “I’ve been in this role since January 2022”

How do you help students?

Rob: “I try to help students by sharing my knowledge and experience. Robotics is such a quickly advancing subjects that we all have to work hard, as a team, to keep up. I do my best to keep up with the mechatronics side of things!”

Narges: “Working conditions are entirely varying. On one hand, as part of a team, try to give the students a hand to set up and test their experiments and on other hand, I have an important role of keeping the robots and equipment ”working” ”

What’s the coolest project you have worked on?

Rob: “In the university, I think the coolest thing I’ve worked on is the ARAWC project. I have been part of building an autonomous agricultural robot from the ground up. It’s very satisfying. But I think my favourite project from recent years was while I was involved with the Spark Engineering Festival at Lincoln Cathedral. I build a Foucault Pendulum in a 1000yr old building!”

Narges: “The coolest project that I’ve been involved in and currently working on, is making a 3d view out of CT-scan images of a walking fish to build a Robofish. “

If students need to get in touch, what’s the best way to contact you?

Rob: “I have a booking page where you can book some time for us to sit down and chat about your projects etc. The link is: https://lncn.ac/mechsup“

Narges: “I think the OHMC website is the best way to contact me https://www.ohmc.group.cam.ac.uk/ or they can send emails to ohmc-enquiries@eng.cam.ac.uk.”

Facilities and Equipment

Below are a few images showing the facilities and equipment that AgriFoRwArdS CDT students have access to. A huge thank you to Rob and Narges for taking the time to answer the questions and to share a little about the work they do and the support they offer!

Do you want to get involved in the CDT?

If you are interested in learning more about what we do and if you share a passion for agriculture and technology then go to our AgriFoRwArdS CDT website to see more about our research, how you can be involved and how to apply to be a student in the program.