Datacenter Robotics

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I am a researcher in the Creative Robotics group at Microsoft Research Cambridge, developing robotic technologies for datacenter operations. My role involves the conceptualisation, design, visualisation and physical production of robots. I work on 2D and 3D design and modeling of mechanical components, kinematics, manipulators, and end-effectors, as well as component selection, electrical and hardware prototyping, and preliminary software control. Our team builds robots entirely from the ground up, designing and manufacturing them in-house through close collaboration.

From Creative Robotics team page: “Microsoft’s data-centre footprint is expanding rapidly to meet the growing global demand for compute and storage. Our team is exploring the potential of robotics to enhance the sustainability, efficiency, and reliability of the datacenter operations.

The team is comprised of experts in mechanical design, electronics, computer systems, machine learning and robotics, who work together to turn our ideas into reality. We don’t just brainstorm solutions – we bring them to life! Thanks to our state-of-the-art prototyping workshops, we are able to quickly and effectively test and implement our ideas, making a real impact on the world. By leveraging our diverse skill sets and cutting-edge technology, we co-design the hardware and software and create innovative solutions in the area of datacenter robotics.”

Microsoft Research Creative Robotics

Project silica robots

Prototype transceiver manipulation robot

Prototype fiber and transceiver cleaning robot

Papers:

RASCAL: A Scalable, High-redundancy Robot for Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems. at 2024 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation | May 2024

Project Silica: Towards Sustainable Cloud Archival Storage in Glass. at The 29th ACM Symposium on Operating Systems Principles | October 2023

Self-maintaining [networked] systems: The rise of datacenter robotics! at HOTNETS ’24, November 18–19, 2024, Irvine, CA, USA

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