PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Amanda Prorok

Amanda Prorok is a robotics researcher who studies how learning agents coordinate in physical teams. She earned an MSc at EPFL and a PhD on ultra-wideband localization, then spent three years at the University of Pennsylvania before joining Cambridge. Her research tested cooperative driving and learned robot communication, and her 2025 Science Robotics essay argued for collective intelligence built from specialized robots; in 2026, she leads a Cambridge project on physical watermarks for robot policies. As of October 2026, she is Cambridge's Professor of Collective Intelligence and Robotics and a Fellow of Pembroke College.

Works
160
Citations
3,203
h-index
28
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 27 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2006–2008

    From EPFL to Japan

    She earns an MSc in Computer Science at EPFL in 2006. She spends two years in Japan, first as a research intern at Mitsubishi Electric's Advanced R&D Center in Amagasaki from 2006 to 2007, then as a diplomatic intern at the Swiss Embassy's Science and Technology Office in Tokyo from 2007 to 2008.

  2. 2008–2013

    Research at EPFL

    She works as a research assistant in EPFL's Distributed Intelligent Systems and Algorithms Laboratory from 2008 to 2013.

  3. 2013

    A PhD in robot localization

    She earns a PhD in Computer, Communication and Information Sciences at EPFL under Alcherio Martinoli in 2013. Her thesis is titled Models and Algorithms for Ultra-Wideband Localization in Single- and Multi-Robot Systems.

  4. 2014

    An ABB thesis award

    Her PhD research on ultra-wideband localization for robot networks wins EPFL's 2014 ABB award for the best thesis in Computer Science, Automatics, and Telecommunications.

  5. 2017

    Joining Cambridge

    Before Cambridge, she spends three years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania with Vijay Kumar, studying heterogeneity, diversity and resilience in multi-robot systems. She joins Cambridge in 2017.

  6. 2019

    Driverless traffic and learning

    Her Cambridge lab's miniature-car fleet shows in 2019 that cooperative driving improves traffic flow by 35%. She receives a 2019 Amazon Research Award for her lab's machine-learning methods to synthesize local communication and decision policies.

  7. 2020

    Learning communication for robots

    She receives a 2020 Amazon Research Award to develop learned explicit communication for multi-robot path planning in cluttered spaces.

  8. 2022–2025

    Distributed coverage and collective learning

    In 2022, her lab studies distributed coverage for product delivery, environmental monitoring, and search and rescue. Her 2025 Science Robotics editorial argues for collective intelligence through diverse, specialized robots that learn and work together.

  9. October 2026

    Robot policy watermarks

    In October 2026, she leads Cambridge's Physical Watermarking project, which develops a tamper-resistant framework to verify the provenance and safety compliance of control policies for embodied robots.

  10. As of October 2026

    Professor at Cambridge

    As of October 2026, she is Professor of Collective Intelligence and Robotics at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Pembroke College. She is also Director of Studies for Computer Science at Pembroke. Her lab develops differentiable communication for multi-agent systems and decentralized multi-robot coordination. She is Principal Investigator of Prorok Lab at Cambridge.

Career

  1. NowUniversity of CambridgeProfessor of Collective Intelligence and Robotics
  2. NowPembroke College, University of CambridgeFellow and Director of Studies for Computer Science
  3. NowUniversity of CambridgePrincipal Investigator, Prorok Lab
  4. From 2017University of Cambridge
  5. 2008–2013EPFLResearch Assistant, Distributed Intelligent Systems and Algorithms Laboratory
  6. 2007–2008Embassy of Switzerland in JapanDiplomatic Intern
  7. 2006–2007Mitsubishi GroupResearch Intern
  8. University of PennsylvaniaPostdoctoral Researcher
  9. EPFLPostdoctoral Researcher, Distributed Intelligent Systems and Algorithms Laboratory

Education

  1. 2013EPFLPhD in Computer, Communication and Information Sciences
  2. 2006EPFLMSc in Computer Science

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Checked career sources: cst.cam.ac.uk, pem.cam.ac.uk, epfl.ch.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Amanda Prorok yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Amanda Prorok, robot trainer cst.cam.ac.uk. Checked 27 October 2026.
  2. Amanda Prorok ‒ DISAL ‐ EPFL epfl.ch. Checked 27 October 2026.
  3. 'Innovative' teaching wins Dr Amanda Prorok a Pilkington Prize cst.cam.ac.uk. Checked 27 October 2026.
  4. Driverless cars working together can speed up traffic by 35 percent cam.ac.uk. Checked 27 October 2026.
  5. The researcher scaling new frontiers in multi-robotic research cst.cam.ac.uk. Checked 27 October 2026.
  6. Extending robot minds through collective learning cl.cam.ac.uk. Checked 27 October 2026.
  7. Researchers receive funding to explore ambitious new ways of improving AI security cl.cam.ac.uk. Checked 27 October 2026.
  8. Prof Amanda Prorok | Department of Computer Science and Technology cst.cam.ac.uk. Checked 27 October 2026.
  9. People · Prorok Lab proroklab.org. Checked 27 October 2026.
  10. Professor Amanda Prorok | Pembroke pem.cam.ac.uk. Checked 27 October 2026.