Andy Blight

Profile

I gained a B.Sc. in Computing and Electronics (First class) and an M.Sc. in Electronics at the University of Hertfordshire in the early 1990s. After graduating, I spent 25 years in industry developing software and running teams. I spent a few years developing embedded safety critical software for aircraft and cars followed by a year of developing and delivering commercial technical training courses for a configuration management company. I then spent 19 years working on every aspect of software development from device drivers to server maintenance and software configuration management in the high volume, fast paced world of televisions and set top boxes. The high point of this career was a being a Principal Software Engineer, running a team of 28 engineers in two different countries and being responsible for the architectural design and implementation of a new software stack.

Since joining the University in 2019, I have provided software support to several different teams. The first big project I worked on was developing software to fly autonomous drones that took part in the MBZIRC competition in Abu Dhabi in February 2020. I then worked on the Pipebots project where I developed software for a range of pipe inspection robots that were designed and built at Leeds, tested in Sheffield and displayed around the world.

I am currently a co-investigator on the UK RAS STEPS project that will empower and support UK robotics research technicians. My day-to-day responsibilities include looking after the robots and equipment in the Real Robotics laboratory, supporting researchers by developing software and managing the School of Mechanical Engineering’s GitHub repositories.

Research interests

Qualifications

• B.Sc. Computing & Electronics (Hons)
• M.Sc. Electronic Engineering

Professional memberships

• Member IEEE