Martin Smith



Martin Smith is a British professor of Robotics. He is best known for his appearances as a judge and competitor on the robot combat television series Robot Wars, and technical presenter on its spinoff series Techno Games. His somewhat eccentric appearance has seen him become perhaps the best known Robot Wars judge. He co-hosts Bright Sparks, a science and engineering challenge series, for BBC Northern Ireland.

Smith's claim to fame as a competitor in Robot Wars was the robot Cruella during the First Wars. The robot performed adequately, reaching the Arena stage, but was eliminated by Robot the Bruce, the eventual heat winner.

Academic matters
Within robotics, Smith is most recognised for his contributions as the head of the Cybernetics Society, having previously worked as a professor at the University of Central England and University of East London, choosing to split his time between the Cybernetics Society and the Open University these days.

Smith holds a large collection of honours, including fellowships of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, the Royal Astronomical Society, the Royal Society of Arts, and the Royal Institution. He holds Senior Member status in the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (USA), and Memberships of the Institute of Physics, the Royal Television Society, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the American Association for Artificial Intelligence.