Dr Robert Ward
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Senior Industrial Research Fellow
Full contact details
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Amy Johnson Building
Portobello Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
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Dr Rob Ward is the Director of the Robotics and Autonomous Manufacturing Systems Lab and CEO of the EEE/AMRC spin-out company DigitalCNC.
Previously Rob held a joint academic position between the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) where he developed, led and supervised research programmes in self-optimising autonomous manufacturing. Rob is a Chartered Engineer and he brings a wealth of project and operational management experience to support the undergraduate and postgraduate supervision in the school.
Rob has an MEng(Hons) degree in Avionics and Aerospace Systems from the University of Manchester and an Engineering Doctorate in Machining Science and Control Engineering from the University of Sheffield. Prior to joining the University of Sheffield and the AMRC in 2017, Rob served as an Engineering Officer in the UK Military.
Rob welcomes applications from potential undergraduate, masters and PhD students to join the team and undertake industry focused projects.
- Research interests
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- Digital Machining
- Machine Tool Control
- CNC Trajectory Generation & Interpolation
- Precision Motion Control Systems
- Robotic Machining
- Digital Twins
- Industry 4.0/5.0 Technologies
- AI/ML in Manufacturing
- Publications
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Journal articles
- ACT-FLEX: A Symbolic and Generative AI integration Architecture for Generalisable and Explainable Robotic Disassembly Tasks. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 101, 103277-103277.
- DIGITAL THREAD ENABLED TIME OPTIMAL TRAJECTORY GENERATION FOR MACHINING TOOLPATHS. MM Science Journal, 2025(5).
- ENHANCING PRODUCTIVITY AND SUSTAINABILITY IN MANUFACTURING THROUGH DYNAMIC CONTROL OF 5-AXIS CONICAL TAPER BARREL MACHINING OPERATIONS. MM Science Journal, 2025(5).
- Accurate real-time trajectory generation of circular motion using FIR interpolation: a trochoidal milling case study. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 137(11-12), 5625-5647. View this article in WRRO
- Digital framework for metallic subtractive process planning: Liger optimisation case study. Procedia CIRP, 130, 1358-1363. View this article in WRRO
- Accurate prediction of five-axis machining cycle times with deep neural networks using Bi-LSTM. CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology, 48, 28-41.
- Accurate prediction of machining cycle times and feedrates with deep neural networks using BiLSTM. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 68, 680-686.
- ACT-FLEX: A Symbolic and Generative AI integration Architecture for Generalisable and Explainable Robotic Disassembly Tasks. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 101, 103277-103277.
- Teaching interests
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- ACS336/ACS61015 Rapid Control Prototyping
- Professional activities and memberships
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Professional Accreditation
- Chartered Engineer (CEng)
- Member of Institute of Engineering and Technology (MIET)
- Member of Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (MIEEE)
Journal Reviewer
- International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture
- ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering
- International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology
- Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing
Conference Reviewer
- CIRP Conference of Manufacturing Systems
- CIRP Conference on High Performance Cutting
- CIRP Conference of Modelling of Machining Operations