Manchester centre will design AI-enhanced robots
The University of Manchester has launched a centre of excellence which will design next-generation robots, supported by AI (artificial intelligence) technologies. The Manchester Centre for Robotics and AI will pull together experts and projects from different disciplines to work on robotic technologies.
For example, the researchers plan to develop robotic systems to explore extreme environments, such as those found in the nuclear industry, power generation or agriculture. They will also design robots to support digital manufacturing and for health applications.
Topics that the Centre plans to explore include:
• developing software engineering and AI methodologies for designing trustworthy autonomous systems;
• designing bio-inspired control systems using biomimetic sensors, actuators and robot platforms;
• exploring human-robot interaction, with a focus on using brain-inspired approaches to robot control, learning and interaction; and
• researching ethics and human-centred robotics issues.
In a separate move, the first in a network of robotics and AI collaboration hubs across the UK has opened in Whitehaven, West Cumbria. The facility, known as RAICo1, will develop technologies for decommissioning nuclear sites – such as nearby Sellafield – and making them safe.
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