Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Christopher J. Mottram is a leading figure in the development of autonomous astronomical instrumentation and robotic telescope systems. His primary research areas include the design and implementation of fully automated observatories, rapid-response transient follow-up, and polarimetric instrumentation. Mottram’s most significant contribution is his work on the Liverpool Telescope, a pioneering 2.0-metre fully robotic facility, whose performance and first results paper has garnered over 375 citations, establishing it as a cornerstone reference in the field. He also led the development of SPRAT, a low-cost, high-throughput spectrograph for rapid transient classification (105 citations), and the RINGO3 multi-colour fast-response polarimeter (52 citations), which enabled groundbreaking studies of gamma-ray burst jet physics. His research emphasizes the creation of reliable, low-cost instrumentation capable of long-term unattended operation, as detailed in his 2004 paper on the subject. Through projects like ARTEMiS, aimed at detecting Earth-mass exoplanets via microlensing, Mottram has consistently pushed the boundaries of what robotic telescopes can achieve, making him a key innovator in time-domain astronomy.