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"Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at Sheffield University and the only judge to appear in every series of Robot Wars, Professor Noel Sharkey is also a co-director of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics. The Irish born computer scientist also chairs ‘The International Committee of Robot Arms Control’ as well as meetings at the UN in Geneva and New York about the developments in the world of robotics for use by military and police. His work was funded for six years by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council as a full time Senior Media Fellow to take robotics to the public and explain the reality of what Robots could actually do. Professor Sharkey holds a doctorate in Psychology and a doctorate in Science. He is also a chartered Electrical Engineer, a Chartered information Technology professional. He was awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering Rooke Medal for Public Engagement, and is also a fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, British Computer Society and Royal Institute of Navigation."
— The Robot Wars website on Professor Noel Sharkey

Professor Noel Sharkey is a British computer scientist from Belfast and Coleraine, Northern Ireland. He is best known for his appearances as a Judge on the robot combat television series Robot Wars, and as a "techspert" on the spin-off show Techno Games. Sharkey is often considered to be "head Judge", specifically taking on that role in Series 8-10.

Robot Wars[]

Noel Sharkey S1

Noel Sharkey in Series 1

Professor Noel Sharkey is the only Judge to have featured in every Robot Wars series, including international versions and the Revival Series, where he was specifically referred to in the latter as "head Judge".

Sharkey's role in the original run was mostly non-speaking, but he nevertheless made a limited number of speaking appearances in later series. These included:

  • A briefing for competing teams before the Tag Team Terror final in Extreme 1, Episode 13, requesting a fair fight and his insistence on not taking 'any bribes'. However, Sharkey would take a jam tart from the cakes offered to him by Team Nemesis and the Cold Fusion Team.
  • Guest interviews with commentator Jonathan Pearce throughout Series 6 and Extreme 2.
  • A consultation to Philippa Forrester in Series 6, Heat E, concerning the controversial Judges' decision for 259 vs Wild Thing. Sharkey defended Wild Thing's victory while expressing disappointment at 259's loss following its late immobilisation.
  • A briefing on the legality of Tornado's 'anti-crusher weapon' in the Series 6 Grand Final, though the weapon had in fact been declared eligible in advance.

Noel Sharkey, in his own words, experienced his 'most disastrous moment' as a Judge in the US series Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors, when the Judges awarded a victory to Tornado over Razer in the Season 2 International Championship. This was based on damage to Tornado in the form of a mangled 'anti-crusher weapon' - used specifically to counter Razer's beak - and removed weapon motor, which was mistaken by the panel for 'sacrificial' armour and one of Razer's wheels respectively.[1][2][3]

Judges in Pit 2016

Noel Sharkey in the pit with Series 8-10 co-Judges Lucy Rogers and Sethu Vijayakumar

Throughout the Revival Series (Series 8-10), Noel Sharkey gained more prominent speaking roles along with new co-Judges Sethu Vijayakumar and Lucy Rogers. The three Judges would sometimes be interviewed after a Judges' decision or an important match, commenting on the battle, and often explaining their individual reasonings behind their decision. A notable instance of this occurred in Series 8, Heat B, when Sharkey commented on Foxic vs M.R. Speed Squared being potentially the 'worst' battle he had seen in Robot Wars, following a largely uneventful Head-to-Head encounter.

Sharkey was also featured in various interviews with new co-presenters Dara Ó Briain and Angela Scanlon, tying in with educational segments concerning robot combat and the general application of robotics in society:

  • Series 8, Heat A: Sharkey and Ó Briain discussed the updates made to competitor robots during Robot Wars' hiatus, including the advent of improved weapon motors, HARDOX armour and lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries. Sharkey then shared his opinions on drink-serving drones from a bar in Singapore, and an exoskeleton designed to replace wheelchairs and enhance one's upper body strength.
  • Series 9, Heat B: Sharkey discussed with Ó Briain the development and applications of drones in the workforce, specifically Amazon's then newly-introduced delivery service.
  • Series 9, Heat C: Sharkey discussed with Scanlon about the use of robotics in farming industries.
  • World Series, Episode 1: Accompanied by Ó Briain and Alex Shakespeare from Team Nuts, Sharkey discussed combat robots in lower weight categories - antweights, beetleweights and featherweights. This included appearances by Team Legion's titular featherweight and two of Shakespeare's own antweights - Space-Y and Test Robot Please Ignore. Sharkey recommended potential roboteers to start in the antweight category before working up through the other weight categories, with Space-Y demonstrating its flipper by throwing a pen off the workbench.

In Series 9-10, in his role as head Judge, Sharkey was responsible for pressing a button to begin the immobilisation countdown timer.[4] The timer was a measure introduced to avoid debating a given robot's immobility, as was previously the case with Ironside3 and Beast's losses in Series 8. In Series 10, the onscreen presence of Sharkey and his fellow Judges was greatly increased by clips showing them initiating the countdown timer and reacting to key moments in certain battles. Some of his most memorable responses included those towards the weapon-on-weapon collision between Aftershock and Big Nipper in their Heat B Playoff, and Rapid's LiPo fire in its Grand Final Redemption Round against Carbide. During Series 10, Sharkey also drove Rusty, an antweight version of Foxic, owned by Anthony Murney of Team S.Tek.[5]

"Smokescreen! Haven't seen that weapon before."
— Noel Sharkey remarks on Rapid filling the arena with battery smoke in the Series 10 Grand Final
TMHWK Sharkey

Noel Sharkey with Team Dutch Robot Girls

Sharkey actively used Robot Wars as a platform to encourage girls and women to involve themselves in engineering. Examples of this include a tweet alongside Team Dutch Robot Girls, Team Ms Nightshade and the Brentwood School Roboteers using the hashtag #9percentisnotenough.[6]

Other televised media[]

Noel Sharkey held a prominent role in all four series of Techno Games, alongside Martin Smith, where he was given the title of 'techspert'. Philippa Forrester and Jayne Middlemiss would consult the two for opinions on the competing robots, and explanations on how they work, sometimes including predictions. Sharkey's role as a Robot Wars judge was commonly referenced on Techno Games.

Sharkey co-hosted Bright Sparks, a science and engineering challenge series, for BBC Northern Ireland. He also produces and presents a weekly radio show for community radio station Sheffield Live called The Sound of Science.

Sharkey has made many other television appearances including 10 episodes of What would happen if? (National Geographic Channel), Blue Peter, CBBC, Dara Ó Briain's Science Club, The Big Questions, BBC News, Sky News, News Night, and The One Show, and many overseas appearances including television in China, Egypt, the USA, and around Europe.

Positions[]

Noel Sharkey

Noel Sharkey at the time of Robot Wars' original run

Sharkey is now Emeritus Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Sheffield, where he is also Emeritus Professor of Public Engagement.

He is co-founder and chair elect of the NGO: International Committee for Robot Arms Control (ICRAC) icrac.net and a principle spokesperson for the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots a large coalition of 54 international NGOs like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Nobel Women's initiative and Pugwash. They have made strong headway at the United Nations about regulating the use of robots in war.

Sharkey is also co-founder and co-director of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics with the aim of promoting the responsible design, development, implementation, and policy of robots embedded in our society.

Academic matters[]

Sharkey is an interdisciplinary academic holding fellowships at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the British Computer Society, the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Royal Society of Arts,He is a chartered electrical engineer, a chartered information technology professional and a member of both the experimental psychology society and equity. He holds a PhD in experimental psychology/cognitive science, an honorary Doctorate of Science (DSc) and an honorary doctorate in Information Science.

In the academic world, Sharkey is best known for his contribution to machine learning and cognitive science, artificial intelligence and robotics writing more than 150 academic articles and books. He has worked in the US at Yale AI labs and Stanford Psychology Dept and in the UK at Essex dept Language and Linguistics, Exeter, Computer Science dept and Sheffield Computer Science dept.

As well as his scientific writing Sharkey has written for news publications including The Guardian and The Telegraph, as well as magazines including New Scientist and the Wall Street Journal magazine.

Sharkey's other contributions include the setting up of robot competitions for young people around the world (including the national Chinese creative robotics contest, and the national Egyptian schools Artificial Intelligence and robotics contest), and the development of exciting state-of-the-art robotic museum exhibitions.

He has also written and spoken widely concerning the ethical responsibilities of governments and international organisations in a world where robotics applications are dramatically increasing (both in the military and policing contexts, and in the care of children, the elderly and the sick).

References[]

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