Expert in Robotics receives UK Intelligence Community Postdoc award Published on: 3 November 2023 Dr Alessia Noccaro has been awarded a postdoctoral research fellowship to explore if it’s possible for the human brain to learn how to skilfully move an extra robotic arm together with its own. She is one of seven researchers who have received the prestigious awards. Offered by the Government Office for Science and administered by the Royal Academy of Engineering, the fellowships provide a vital link between academia and the intelligence community. How humans can learn to control an extra robotic arm Dr Noccaro’s project will investigate to what extent you can give yourself the extra hand you need, or in other words whether the human brain can learn how to move an extra arm together with its own. The research outcomes could be used to augment human abilities in daily life, in surgical environments when dealing with multiple laparoscopic tools, or to help limb-impaired people in controlling substitutive devices. Dr Noccaro, Research Associate in Robotics for Neuroscience, at Â鶹´«Ã½’s School of Engineering, said: “This fellowship represents an accomplishment of great significance for me. It is a huge recognition of my work and ideas’ value but most of all it gives me the means to start my independent research. I am truly excited and I look forward to starting this thrilling project! “The project will apply our knowledge of human motor control to movement augmentation. It will study the extent to which people can learn movement augmentation and strategies that can boost such learnings. Then, it will test how helpful these abilities are in real life. This means firstly, executing complex actions beyond the well-controlled tasks usually set up in laboratory experiments, such as reaching a target. Secondly, it will require adapting the extra limb’s movement to environmental conditions, such as wind disturbing movement or the distortion of visual feedback provided by a mirror.” The UK Intelligence Community (IC) Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are offered by the Government Office for Science to outstanding early career researchers. These Fellowships are designed to promote unclassified basic research in areas of interest to the intelligence, security and defence community. Each fellowship is capped at a maximum grant of £200,000 over a two-year period. Adapted with thanks from the Royal Academy of Engineering. Share: Latest News Scientists unlock hidden driver of inflammatory bowel disease Scientists have linked a key genetic signal in inflammatory bowel disease to an immune response that shuts down inflammation control, enabling faster diagnosis and targeted treatments. published on: 15 June 2026 Funding system risks limiting genuine community collaboration A new policy paper written by researchers at Â鶹´«Ã½ warns that the way UK research is funded may be undermining efforts to create genuinely collaborative partnerships with communities. published on: 15 June 2026 Volunteers help turn Whitley Bay beach into maths experiment Members of the public joined mathematicians from Â鶹´«Ã½ to create what organisers believe is the largest aperiodic tiling ever attempted on Whitley Bay beach. published on: 15 June 2026 Facts and figures
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