Charles describes himself as a generalist and believes that his cross-disciplinary interests and tendency to try new things and push boundaries have shaped his fascinating career in robotics and R&D. After creating a speech-controlled wearable computer a decade before Google Glass revealed its prototype, Charles was offered a job at Dyson, where amongst other things, he spearheaded robotics research for over 20 years.
How did you explore your varied interests at school?
I joined E Social in 1987 under Tutor Hamish Aird. He was wonderful at nurturing pupils who were a little bit different, and the Social was full of slightly eccentric souls like me. My dad bought me my first computer when I was about 10, in 1984 or so, a Sinclair – no colour or sound – and you had to programme it to do anything at all. That was formative for me and gave me an early understanding of, and love for, the digital world.
At Radley, I used the computer lab to write my own office suite – word processing, spreadsheet, and database programmes – before we had commercial suites for the new computers we were using at the time. I also made an animation suite. Looking back, perhaps that’s a weird thing for a teenager to be doing, but I was also quite good at athletics, so I got fresh air in the summer and spent plenty of time in the Design (Sewell) Centre.
What did you get up to there?
As a child, I had an ‘inventions book’ where I’d note down and draw ideas. Perhaps that was a hint of what was to come! I loved Craft, Design and Technology (CDT) at Radley; for my GCSE project, I made a pair of water floats that were a bit like long skis. You strapped them to your feet, and flaps at the bottom meant you could push forwards but not backwards, so you could shuffle across the water. I tested them out in the swimming pool. They were incredibly hard to stand up on, but they did work!
Did you leave Radley with a clear idea of what you wanted to do next?
My GCSEs went well, but then I met my future wife aged 16 and got rather distracted, and my A Levels were a complete disaster. I probably have undiagnosed ADHD, and despite everybody’s efforts, I found it really difficult to concentrate on the course content. I was a bit disruptive and got banned from the science block for setting off a banger in an A Level mock exam (a bit of a problem when all of your subjects were science!). My interests were so broad; I didn’t want to narrow them to a handful of subjects – or worse, just one. I felt that life should be an adventure. Luckily, my parents were supportive!
I signed up with a few agencies for summer jobs and, for a while, I was a dustman, then I worked at a sewage farm, and later at a blood bank while working out what to do next – all vital jobs, one might say!! Then, I got a job with Hypercast, which sent encrypted financial information over CNN’s teletext information service (a pre-internet information system on TV, for those too young to remember!). I wasn’t there long before I told the CEO that, with the advent of the internet, their days were numbered.
What did you do next?
I worked for a small company for a few years that rented out containerised commercial kitchens and did film set catering, which gave me great insight into all aspects of business management and led me to writing all their business software, in the mid 90s most things in small businesses were often still paper-based with filing cabinets! When I was ready for a new adventure, I decided to experiment with the idea of a wearable computer. I knew technology would be integral to people’s lives in the future, but I hated sitting at a desk – I wanted it to be portable, accessible and discreet.
I built a prototype – a wearable computer with glasses and a tiny screen. It was speech-controlled with a microphone and had little earphones. But the technology was nascent, and the energy demands were enormous. It was powered by a belt with camcorder battery packs all around my waist and only lasted an hour and half which wasn’t very practical.
How did this contraption land you your first role at Dyson?
I’d read James Dyson’s autobiography and thought he would be able to advise me on what I could do with my invention. I set out to get a meeting with him – it was a lesson in persistence. It took months and months, but eventually, I was in his office, strapping it to his head. Incredibly, as important demos usually fail miserably, it worked like a dream. He seemed impressed and, to my great surprise, he offered me a job on the spot!
Initially, I continued to work on my wearable computer at Dyson. But when it became clear the technology just wasn’t advanced enough to be a good product at that time (in 2003), James Dyson kindly asked if I would move over to the robotics team and help them with their research.
How did that role develop over time?
It started with creating the vision-based navigation system for the Dyson cleaning robots, the autonomous vacuums people have in their homes. The technology that allows robots to navigate in unknown environments was just emerging: simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). Our innovation was tying this to a panoramic camera that could see 360 degrees, track features, and understand where it was.
I had worked with a researcher from Oxford University on this, and I was then asked to set up a broader university programme to fund research in many areas across our R&D interests.
Over seven or eight years, we worked with 20 universities. It was a generalist’s dream – I got to work with PhDs and professors on carbon nanotubes, graphene, energy storage, manufacturing, fluid dynamics, robot vision, and all sorts of things. This was amazing for me, having not got a degree myself!
What were some of the most interesting projects you worked on at Dyson?
My work at Dyson culminated in developing advanced home help robots that could clean, tidy, and stack items. This was back in 2017, just as vision-based AI was emerging. I had a team of PhD specialists who were fantastic to work with, and from whom I learned a great deal. There’s a limit to what I can share about that technology, but Dyson made a public video in 2022 showing an older generation we worked on, so you can watch that to get an idea:
Click here to watch in YouTube.
How do you see robotics transforming the workplace over the next decade?
Robotics and AI are going to fundamentally change everything, whether you’re based in a factory, an office, on a farm or at home. We’re already seeing it in industries such as surgery and warehouse management, but it will be utterly transformative. We’re at an inflection point in human technology, facing a complete phase change.
It’s important that we take the social impacts seriously and start helping people grapple with important questions, like what makes a human life meaningful in the face of automation. How can we keep the focus of robotics on helping society rather than chasing the financial rewards of innovation for its own sake?
In what ways are robotics and AI beginning to converge?
Robots are, in many cases, simply an embodiment of AI. While AI uses and manipulates data, robots inhabit and affect the physical world. These days, it’s already difficult to disentangle the two, as both technologies are used side by side in most instances. AI breakthroughs are giving robots amazing abilities—helping them understand the world, recognize objects, navigate through it, and interact with people.
Are there any misconceptions about robotics that you’d like to debunk?
I think it’s important that everyone is involved in this journey – everyone has a role to play and a responsibility in shaping the future. Things are moving quickly, and it’s easy for people to feel powerless in the face of big tech companies. Robotics and AI shouldn’t be the preserve of the few – they are for everyone.
If we don’t make robotics a part of education, market forces may become the steering factor in these industries, and we risk building the wrong type of future.
What can you tell me about your latest project, Nurture Robotics?
We are still in the early stages, but our aim is to set up the Sustainable Automation Institute to explore how robotics can be used to build a more responsible and sustainable environment for humans and the natural world. Biophilic Biomimetic design and building with biological as well as synthesized materials might play a role.
Can we have robots that use the carbon in the atmosphere as a building material? Can we grow structures rather than build them? How can robots not only construct items but repair them too? Reducing waste and using organic materials – I think our future could be a return to nature rather than becoming increasingly divorced from it. We are in early stages but watch this space! If anyone would like to help us or collaborate in this open-source public good venture, please do reach out to me!
Are there good educational and career opportunities in robotics in the UK, or should students be looking abroad?
The UK is a hotbed for robotics and AI education and research. Not only were many of the early inventors of mechanical engineering and computing British, but many of the most innovative companies were founded here and continue to operate here. There are so many world-leading universities for robotics in the UK, as well as plenty of tech startups, academies, and institutes.
That’s not to say there aren’t wonderful opportunities abroad too, but you can forge an excellent career here in Britain.
What type of person would flourish as a robotics researcher?
Someone who isn’t afraid to try something different and experiment; someone who is curious, has a broad array of interests in various fields, and can bring all of that together. Ignore the naysayers – if you want to try an unconventional route, do it. Follow your passions so that you stay motivated and feel fulfilled by your work. My philosophy is: start from first principles and build upwards from there to find out what might be possible.
