Andy Blight
- Position: Robotics Programming Technician
- Areas of expertise: Programming in C, C++, Python and Bash; Robotics operating system (ROS) 1 and 2; embedded programming; build systems; configuration management.
- Email: A.J.Blight@leeds.ac.uk
- Location: 5.34b School of Mechanical Engineering
- Website: LinkedIn | ORCID
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 and then worked 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.
Since joining the University in 2019, I have provided software support to several different teams. The most interesting project was developing software to fly autonomous drones that took part in the MBZIRC competition in Abu Dhabi in February 2020. After that, I have mostly been working on the Pipebots project developing software for a range of pipe inspection robots that were designed and built at Leeds. I am currently a co-investigator on the UK RAS STEPS project that will empower and support UK robotics research technicians.
Research interests
In October 2024, I started a part-time Ph.D. titled “Robustness and resilience of small mobile robots operating in complex environments”. This work is closely related to my previous experience working on the Pipebots project and I’m interested in finding out how to increase the reliability of robots and how small autonomous robots can repair themselves and return to their base safely.
Qualifications
- B.Sc. Computing & Electronics (Hons)
- M.Sc. Electronic Engineering
Professional memberships
- Member IEEE