A Human Approach towards Robotics

In 2007, on arrival at the University of Bristol, I was poised for the opportunities offered to me as an engineer researcher: technology within easy reach to prove new theoretical ideas in engineering tests. This was in particular true for the nearly established Bristol Robotics Laboratory, a research joint venture at the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England. It is the largest robotics laboratory in the UK and combines a long-standing expertise of the two universities. The laboratory has an internationally reputed portfolio in humanoid robotics, swarm robotics and in the research over biologically inspired self-sustained robots.

The perspective on robotics has changed over the last 10 years. It is no longer a production and industry robot which creates the focus of future robotics but the robot which enters the close proximity of people. It is possible to find robots cleaning homes in a quiet fashion today. However, it is foreseen that robots can be used more widely, for instance in healthcare. Repetitive physiotherapeutic tasks may be carried out in future by a robot rather than by a specially trained physiotherapist. A robot may support the elderly in their daily tasks. Humans certainly are overall not replaceable, but their interaction with the technology has shaped life significantly. For instance, in factories, smart production processes might be enabled by the direct physical collaboration of robots and humans. Robots are precise and exact, while human worker are versatile, flexible and fast updating.

This has created new paradigm for robotics. The Bristol Robotics Laboratory has attacked this problem with a very multidisciplinary approach. Computer scientists, electrical engineers, material scientists, mechanical design engineers, physiologists, psychologists and also control engineers work beside each other.

For instance, a group of four PhD students as presently working at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory on the control of humanoid torso robot. The aim is to achieve safe interaction of human-sized robots with other humans. At first, any control algorithm must be able to control the humanoid to fulfill certain tasks of the arms and hands interacting with objects. Moreover collisions have to be detected through force sensors which allowing the robot to back-off in gentle manner, similar to a human, achieving the necessary safety In general, the robot should move similarly to a human, rather than in a machine like manner. We, as humans might feel more comfortable and also safe to predict the robot's engagement with us. Thus, very novel bio-inspired approaches are put to use, in order to achieve this equilibrium.

The recently established M.Sc in Advanced Engineering Robotics is the first joint degree of the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England. With the University of Bristol having the lead in this Degree course, it combines the multi-disciplinary strengths in robotics of the two universities. The basics of robotics are not only taught but also specializations are provided in overall 7 taught units such as Vision, Dynamics and Intelligent Systems.

 

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