Our research into Automation and Robotics develops novel technologies for embodied, autonomous systems deployed in complex, dynamic and uncertain environments. It brings together research from machine learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI), computer vision, sensing and systems engineering. It is an area that will see significant research investment for the foreseeable future in applications including autonomous vehicles, swarm robotics, and collaborative robots. Together with AI, robotics is identified as a growth area for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at Southampton brings together world-leading research groups in one place, providing a rich and exciting environment for both hardware and software-based research. It is home to a range of Automation and Robotics (A&R) research networks and programmes. ECS has led the way by creating cross-faculty virtual centres such as the Centre for Machine Intelligence, the Centre for Internet of Things and Pervasive Systems, and the Centre for Healthcare Technologies that help bring together a range of disciplines to collaborate and share their perspectives on A&R.
These Centres have led to significant grant awards and partnerships with industry, including BAE Systems, Arm, Dstl, and Thales among many others. ECS is has also received significant awards to run the £33m UKRI Responsible AI UK Hub, the £11.7m UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub, the £6m UKRI MINDS Centre for Doctoral Training and the £10m UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in AI for Sustainability. These research programmes have positioned ECS as a world-leading A&R department that brings together over 60 researchers and academics in this area. The school offers a range of facilities to carry out research in A&R, including a design space with state-of-the-art 3D printers, robotics labs, university grounds for test flights with unmanned aerial vehicles.
Our research in swarm robotics focuses on developing algorithms for the swarm to operate resiliently in uncontrolled, unpredictable environments. This enables long-term autonomy for real-world applications such as in precision forestry and agriculture. Our research on robot audition focuses on acoustic scene understanding in complex, dynamic environments (i.e., the so-called ‘cocktail party scenario’). Applications of our research range from intuitive human-machine interaction to assistive hearing technologies and human-robot augmentation.
Our scientists have access to a variety of assets and equipment that advance our research in robotics, including a TIAGo collaborative robot, a swarm of miniature robots augmented with Raspberry PI modules, and a MiRo-E robot for research in human-robot interaction