We’re excited to share that Horizon CDT student Victor Ngo (2022 cohort) is part of the team leading the University of Nottingham project “Creative Encounters with AI: The Thingamabobas Tour and Skills-Building Secondments.”
The project is one of five selected for funding through the EPSRC Outreach and Underpinning the Pipeline for AI Skills initiative, supported via the EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Award (DLA). The initiative aims to broaden participation in AI, develop cross-disciplinary skills and foster inclusive approaches to AI education.
As part of the next phase of Thingamabobas, funded by EPSRC, Victor will continue his collaboration with Makers of Imaginary Worlds, focusing on The Ringmaster, an expressive robotic performer that has evolved directly from his PhD research.
Victor’s work centres on advancing the robot’s expressive motion capabilities and understanding how audiences — particularly children and families — engage with robots in artistic and playful environments. Building on his previous studies (Dancing with a Robot and Theatre in the Loop), this phase explores how bodily expertise from theatre and puppetry can inform robotic gestures, timing and responsiveness, making robotic performance more emotionally resonant and accessible (Theatre in the Loop).
This collaboration is a key part of Victor’s research on performative human–robot interaction, integrating technical methods like Dynamic Movement Primitives with rehearsal-based creative processes involving artists, puppeteers and creative technologists. The project also provides a unique chance to study audience engagement “in the wild,” observing real responses as The Ringmaster performs within the Thingamabobas installation.
We congratulate Victor and the team on this exciting project, which combines cutting-edge AI, robotics and creative practice to engage audiences in innovative ways!
