Cesar A. Contreras BSc., MSc. 
PhD Candidate in Robotics
Human Robot Interaction | Variable Autonomy | Intent Recognition | AI Safety | Nuclear decommissioning
@ Extreme Robotics Lab (UoB)
cac214@bham.ac.uk
NDA Studentship - funded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and supported by the United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory (UKNNL).
UKRI project “REBELION” support - Research & Development of a highly automated and safe streamlined process for increased lithium‑ion battery repurposing and recycling (UKRI Grant 10079049; wider EU consortium Grant 101104241).
Additional compute and equipment - RTX computers funded by GalacNo Ltd.
Open to collaboration — have an idea, resource, or interest in supporting any of my PhD research? Email me and let’s explore it together.
This is my personal website, opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of anyone else.
About Me
Languages: English, Spanish
Likes: The sound of raindrops. Robots. AI. Programming. XR. Smart cities.
Dislikes: Fire alarms
Born in a small town somewhere in big old Texas 🤠.
With a passion for electronics and programming that started in childhood, I have gained extensive experience in designing, programming and testing robots, automated systems, and vision systems using a range of programming languages and tools.
During high school and college, I completed various research projects, took courses in math, programming, automation, and robotics, and worked on interdisciplinary projects, such as 3D printing, virtual environment control and simulation, and machines design.
I am highly motivated by curiosity and the desire to contribute to the creation of technologies that can improve people’s lives. I aspire to do research and innovation at higher professional levels and have gained experience in unsupervised research, mobile robotic systems, computer vision, and automated systems design. I also have experience as a software engineer and freelance app developer using various programming languages and tools.
I work with robots in places where your phone won’t get a signal. I develop variable autonomy control, perception, LLM-guided robotics, and VR tools. I am a PhD candidate at the Extreme Robotics Lab. If it breaks, we learn; if it works, we smile.
I want to solve problems in ways that can make the world a better place for humanity.
Education
Variable autonomy control paradigm applied to mobile manipulation.
Fields
- Robotics
- Human Robot Interaction
- Artificial Intelligence
- XR
- Intelligent Robotics
- Robotics Manipulation
- Mobile Robotics
- Extreme Robotics Lab
- National Nuclear Lab
Falling Ball – gravity perception and eye tracking during VR interception.
Fields
- Cognitive Robotics
- Neurosciences
- Software Engineering
- Human Perception
- Probabilistic Robotics
- Mind Brains & Models
- Brain Imaging
- Electrophysiology
- Sensorimotor Computation (Yeo Lab)
- Extreme Robotics Lab
Robot Operating System for Industry 4.0
Fields
- Robotics
- Software Engineering
- Mechatronics
- Automation
- Robotics
- Industrial Networks
- Inmotics & Domotics
- Computer Vision
- CAD
- AR/VR
- MEMS
- Embedded Systems
- Bioengineering
- Digital Circuits
- INGENIA
- Mechatronics Student Club
- Industrial Automation
- Automotive Mechanics Design
- Entrepreneurship
Experience
Work Experience
Teaching assistant with the Jinan University–University of Birmingham Joint Institute (J-BJI).
Develop robotic planning, perception, and shared-control methods for hazardous environments, with a focus on battery disassembly, nuclear decommissioning, and practical human-robot collaboration.
Research placements in Naraha, Fukushima, Japan: May–July 2024 on the Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning bogie collaboration; November 2025–January 2026 on 3D mapping for a stair-climbing robot with agentic LLMs.
Designed eye-tracking and movement experiments, cleaned and analysed biomechanics data, built statistical visualisations, and calibrated sensors for XR simulation studies.
Built and maintained software, websites, and internal systems, supporting a new web launch, improving customer engagement, and keeping computers and servers reliable through updates, diagnostics, and maintenance.
Developed Flutter apps, Unity games, C# features, Python automation, and physical prototypes, connecting software and hardware into responsive, reliable user experiences.
Integrated ROS with lab equipment, ran robotics simulations in CIROS Studio, Gazebo, CoppeliaSim, MoveIt, and MATLAB, and supported Python vision-system applications.
Explored medical 3D-printing workflows, automated printer hardware for in-house materials, prototyped human-machine interface equipment, and led a small team evaluating rapid-prototyping applications.
Voluntary Experience
Led student engineering projects, reduced completion time and costs, redesigned CAD models, created electronic schematics, programmed embedded systems, and prototyped robotics concepts.
Supported reforestation, community housing, and outreach activities, helping organise practical projects and social activities for children, elderly people, and local communities.
Skills
Badges
Favorite Quotes:
No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.
–J.R.R. Tolkien
Be weird. Be random. Be who you are. Because you never know who would love the person you hide.
–C.S. Lewis
“Four things support the world: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good, and the valor of the brave”
–Unknown