Computer Vision News - September 2022

15 Ana Lucia Cruz Ruiz people work. So, yes, I think in the future we will expand a bit more. But right now, the focus is on kind of making robotics flourish inside Imperial, which is already flourishing. I think together we would be stronger. You have invested many years of your adult life in studying robotics and how robotics can help us in healthcare and society. Is it what you dreamt of doing when you started? Well, yes. My interest in robotics began when I was like 15 or 16. Initially, I was sure I wanted to be in this field. From the first time I saw a robot, I was like, “ Wow, if I can use what I know in math and physics to make something like that, I really want to make something like that .” So I studied for my PhD and for the master's in robotics. scientists. But now we also have students that want to be part of the network, and they're starting toorganize events andwant to meet each other. There are hundreds of PhD students… Why is it restricted only to Imperial? You could share it with the whole world! Yes, well, for now, it's a new network, and the objective is to kind of cross-pollinate and make connections internally. I won't say reinforce, but power robotics within our institution because we don't have a robotic center, but that's the main goal now. We also have some initiatives to reach out to other universities. We're trying to build an industry club. We do events and include academics from other universities and sectors. We've had events with economists on robotics and how this changes how