Dr Liang Zhao has been awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering / Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship to develop new technologies that could improve the precision and safety of robotic surgery. Dr Zhao, Reader in Robot Systems at the School of Informatics, is one of eight researchers across the UK to receive a prestigious RAEng / Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship for 2026-27.His fellowship project, Surgical robot perception and navigation in deformable environments, aims to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing robotic surgery: enabling robots to accurately perceive, map and navigate inside the human body, where soft tissues are constantly moving and changing shape. Improving robot perception during surgery Perception and navigation are fundamental capabilities for autonomous robots. To operate safely, a robot must use information from its sensors to build a map of its surroundings and continuously determine its position within that environment.While this problem has been studied extensively for mobile robots operating in static settings, surgical robots face a much more complex challenge. During minimally invasive procedures, the surgical environment is highly deformable and requires localisation and three-dimensional reconstruction at sub-millimetre accuracy.Dr Zhao's research will focus on creating accurate real-time 3D maps of these dynamic surgical environments while simultaneously tracking the robot's position. The project will develop new methods for modelling and rendering changing surgical scenes, alongside efficient algorithms for precise 3D reconstruction.The outcomes are expected to support the next generation of minimally invasive robotic surgery, helping improve both surgical precision and patient safety. Supporting world-leading engineering research The Royal Academy of Engineering / Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowships support talented mid-career researchers by providing dedicated time to focus on ambitious research projects. The programme enables fellows to pursue innovative research while their teaching and administrative responsibilities are covered. About Dr Liang Zhao Dr Zhao is internationally recognised for his work on simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) for autonomous and surgical robots.Before joining the University of Edinburgh, he worked on image-guided robotic surgery at the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery at Imperial College London and later led surgical robotics research at the University of Technology Sydney. He now leads research in surgical robotics and spatial AI at Edinburgh. I’m delighted and honoured to be named one of the 2026 Royal Academy of Engineering / Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship awardees.This fellowship will provide invaluable dedicated time to advance my research in Surgical Robot Perception and Navigation in Deformable Environments. I’m deeply grateful to the Royal Academy of Engineering and The Leverhulme Trust for their support, and to my colleagues and collaborators at The University of Edinburgh for their encouragement. Dr Liang Zhao Reader in Robot Systems, School of Informatics, The University of Edinburgh Related links Read the Royal Academy of Engineering announcement Dr Liang Zhao's research page - RAEng / Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowships 2026-2027 Link to Dr Liang Zhao's personal page This article was published on Wednesday 9 September 2026
