Lukas presented his MSc dissertation work, for which he has already been honoured with the Charles Babbage Prize as well as the Prize for the best MSc dissertation throughout the Department of Informatics, at the IMechE headquarters in London. He received the first prize out of the three finalists who had been nominated from universities throughout Europe.

“It has been a truly great honour for me to showcase my research in front of a committee of such distinguished academics and professionals” Lukas remarked.

The results of his project, on the design and implementation of a hydraulically-actuated soft robotics manipulator, are currently utilised to develop novel approaches for modelling and control of compliant robots, which could later be used to make clinical endoscopic interventions safer and more patient-friendly.

Lukas stated: “Throughout my research endeavours as part of my MSc, the Department of Informatics offered me, besides a great learning experience, all the facilities I needed to pursue my work and it has been a joy to work closely with other research students and lab personnel. I am very grateful for the support offered by my supervisor Dr Hongbin Liu and very happy to continue my research under his and Professor Kawal Rhode’s joint supervision here at King’s”.

Besides his curricular work, Lukas continues to engage students with an interest in engineering, having previously been vice president of the King’s Robotics Society, and now as the Chair of the KCL IEEE Student Branch. Lukas commented “I think there are strong ambitions behind the research in engineering here at King’s, and it is a great asset for the Department of Informatics to have so many highly motivated young students with an interest in technology who are seeking to get involved.”