• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Engineering Designer Magazine

Engineering Designer

  • Home
  • Technology
  • Education
  • Sustainability
  • Materials
  • Medical
  • Construction
  • Advertise
  • iED
You are here: Home / Technology / New research centre to transform relationship between people and robots

New research centre to transform relationship between people and robots

December 2, 2021 by Geordie Torr

Five UK universities will jointly receive a share of £25million in funding for a new national robotics research centre aimed at improving collaborative technology and helping businesses to unlock the full potential of automated industrial manufacturing.

Led by Loughborough University, the Made Smarter Innovation Research Centre for Smart, Collaborative Industrial Robotics will work to advance smart manufacturing by eliminating barriers and accelerating widespread use of smart collaborative robotics technology.

Advertisement

A team of experts from Loughborough University, Cranfield University, the University of Strathclyde, the University of Warwick and the University of Bristol with experience in manufacturing, engineering, digital technology, robotics, human-factors, verification and safety, law, psychology, systems engineering, metrology and ICT will work with key organisations across core UK industrial sectors including aerospace, automotive, agri-food, green energy, construction and space.

The research centre will create a multi-disciplinary, cross-sectorial hub that will set the national research agenda in smart, collaborative industrial robotics, as well as delivering the next generation of automated factories. It will focus on both fundamental research to develop breakthrough technologies needed to make automation more responsive, collaborative and safe, and industry-initiated feasibility-demonstration projects designed to raise awareness of emerging automation capabilities.

Advertisement

‘Automation increases productivity, safeguards manufacturing, creates and protects jobs,’ said the project lead Niels Lohse of Loughborough’s Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering. ‘The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for greater responsiveness and resilience. With disruptions to supply chains and workforce availability, collaborative robot sales more than doubled, but the UK remains significantly behind other highly industrialised nations.

‘While there is a huge appetite for the benefits of industrial automation, its full potential remains untapped,’ he continued. ‘The perceived and actual high initial investment cost for specialised, automation equipment is a significant barrier for wider adoption. The need for highly specialised skill sets limits the design, implementation and maintenance of automation. People and automation are separated by inflexible safety, regulatory, procedural, physical, and psychological barriers preventing effective collaboration. ‘Bringing the automation community together will be essential for addressing the unique challenges faced by UK industry to unlock the full potential of their highly skilled workforce through automation and digital technology,’ he concluded.

Filed Under: Technology

Primary Sidebar

SUBSCRIBE And get a FREE Magazine

Want a FREE magazine each and every month jam-packed with the latest engineering and design news, views and features?

ED Update Magazine

Simply let us know where to send it by entering your name and email below. Immediate access.

Trending

New research could unlock the potential of bladeless wind turbines

Fog harp gets an upgrade

Rethinking design creativity through generative AI

Rice University students win global design contest with cutting-edge haptic wristband

A new metal design for solid-state batteries

Engineers explore the use of robots in chemistry labs

New design brings zero-emission aviation a step closer

Researchers develop ultrasonic wireless battery charging technology

New algorithm promises improved joint designs

Academic develops digital tool with the potential to transform traditional product testing

Footer

About Engineering Designer

Engineering Designer is the quarterly journal of the Insitution of Engineering Designers.

It is produced by the IED for our Members and for those who have an interest in engineering and product design, as well as CAD users.

Click here to learn more about the IED.

Other Pages

  • Contact us
  • About us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms
  • Institution of Engineering Designers

Search

Tags

ied

Copyright © 2025 · Site by Syon Media