UK To Build £6 Million Robotics Centre In Edinburgh

The UK government has announced plans to invest over £6 million to develop a robotics research centre in Edinburgh. The money will be split between Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh – both have a rich history of innovation in the field.

The funding is part of a wider £85 million investment into industrial technology, managed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Announced in April, the finance package is designed to keep the UK at the forefront of science and innovation.

Robots in Edinburgh

The new robotics centre in the Scottish capital will involve 50 investigators working in 16 research groups and institutes co-located in the city.

“Robotics has the potential to create breakthroughs in oil and gas, manufacturing, search and rescue, defence and environmental monitoring,” professor David Lane from Heriot-Watt University told the BBC.

“There are wider societal gains too. Autonomous robots could be deployed into elderly people’s homes to assist users in their everyday tasks, for example. Also, we’ll advance the capabilities of prosthetic limbs.”

Robotics research and the development of intelligent autonomous systems, such as unmanned aircraft or driverless cars, is important to many major UK companies, as well as emerging tech industries. Various kinds of robots are currently used in nuclear energy production, transport and healthcare.

As part of the investment into science and technology, further funding will be available to 20 universities across the country, to support research into areas including autonomous systems (£25m), advanced materials (£30m) and grid-scale energy storage (£30m).

Last year, a start-up which emerged from the University of Edinburgh developed the world’s smallest smart antenna, more power efficient than traditional designs and capable of 4G connectivity.

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