Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Nuria P. F. Lorente is an astronomical instrumentation engineer whose work sits at the cutting edge of multi-object spectroscopy and robotic fibre positioning systems. Her research has been central to the development of two landmark projects: TAIPAN, a spectroscopic survey instrument for the UK Schmidt Telescope at the Australian Astronomical Observatory, and MANIFEST, a sophisticated multi-object fibre facility designed for the future Giant Magellan Telescope. Lorente has made significant contributions to the engineering and refinement of "Starbug" robots — miniature piezoelectric walking devices capable of independently positioning hundreds of optical fibres across a telescope's focal plane with micron-scale precision. This technology, which she has helped advance through iterative performance and reliability enhancements, forms the backbone of both instruments. Her work on TAIPAN as a prototype for MANIFEST demonstrates a strategic vision for scaling innovative fibre positioning technology to the next generation of extremely large telescopes. With publications accumulating over 60 citations, her contributions have meaningfully shaped how the astronomical community approaches wide-field spectroscopic surveys, offering greater multiplexing capability and expanded fields of view for future groundbreaking observations.