Research
Intelligent Automation Centre
The Intelligent Automation Centre was formed in 2017 following the conclusion of the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Intelligent Automation. It brings together a wide range of expertise from manufacturing, mechanical, electrical and systems engineering, human factors, computer science, design, mathematics and economics.
The Centre's vision is to inspire and deliver transformative research and innovation in industrial automation, robotics and digitalisation. Our aim is to revolutionise industrial resilience, effectiveness and agility, leading to sustainable productivity growth and well-being.
To deliver this vision, the Intelligent Automation Centre has established a unique pipeline from discovery through to industrial deployment. The Centre works in close collaboration with the Catapult Centres to develop and mature fundamental proof of concept work originated in the Centre to create exploitable solutions that reach a wide range of industrial companies. This continuous pipeline is central to the success and value of the Centre and is unique within the UK.
The core aim of the Centre is to build the intelligent automation community in the UK by identifying and bringing together academics and industry in knowledge sharing relationships and engaging the engineers of the future.
Our strategic objectives are to:
- Deliver world leading research in industrial robotics and automation
- Fully understand human skill in industrial settings to create truly symbiotic human-automation systems
- Produce world first exemplars of research solutions at proof of concept demonstrator stage
- Broaden the take up of automation throughout industry, especially within SMEs
- Maintain the highest levels of quality throughout the whole research and innovation pipeline
- Take an internationally leading role, connecting research expertise with industrial needs to facilitate the digital transformation
- Inspire young people to consider future careers in highly skilled manufacturing roles
- Promote the further development of intelligent automation
The Centre has recently moved to a brand new purpose-built lab in the heart of campus where academics and researchers work with industrial partners, sharing their complementary expertise to develop truly multidisciplinary research. Resources include a range of industrial robot cells associated with core research groups.
Our Research Opportunities
Our PhD students play a central role in our wide-ranging research activities, making vital contributions to the success of the research itself. Find out more about our current research opportunities.
