Facilities

The University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University, and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre host a variety of facilities and equipment for research and development of collaborative robotics.

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Facilities at the University of Sheffield

Include the Robot Foundry, Human Robot Interaction (HRI) lab, Motion Capture (MoCap) lab, and Enabling Science for Intelligent Manufacturing (ESIM) lab.

Robot Foundry

The Robot Foundry is a large interdisciplinary space for low-TRL research with a wide range of equipment including collaborative robots, humanoid robots, mobile robots, grippers, sensors, and telepresence equipment.

HRI lab

The HRI lab is a dedicated space for human-robot interaction experiments, incorporating video and audio recording facilities, and can be augmented with face tracking, eye-tracking, and biometric sensing.

The MoCap facility is a large open space equipped with a VICON system, for motion capture of people and robots, and virtual reality equipment.

ESIM lab

The ESIM lab is focussed on the application of scientific research to advanced engineering processes, and is equipped with several collaborative robots, grippers, sensing systems, and equipment for virtual and augmented reality.

A Universal Robots UR5 robot equipped with a Robotiq 2-finger gripper, wrist camera, force torque sensor, and Alumotion YOUring, in the ESIM facility

A motion tracking sensor robot — The collaborative robotics group has access to a wide variety of sensing systems, from cameras and motion tracking systems to eye trackers and physiological measuring systems

Facilities at Sheffield Hallam University

Research is undertaken across the Centre for Automation and Robotics Research (CARR), and the Art and Design Research Centre (ADRC).

CARR

CARR is the home of the Mobile Machine and Vision Laboratory and Systems Modelling and Integration Research Group, and the related laboratories contain a variety of robot arms and mobile robots.

ADRC

ADRC is home to Lab4Living, a collaborative trans-disciplinary community of researchers in design, healthcare and creative practices. Closely aligned to the ADRC is Design Futures, delivering packaging and product design, research and development to industry.

Facilities at Factory 2050

Factory 2050 at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre hosts the Integrated Manufacturing Group. The facility contains a reconfigurable factory floor with a wide range of advanced robotic equipment for manufacturing applications.

Collaborative robotics work is facilitated by a purpose-built collaborative robotics cell, and the Reconfigurable Assembly Integrated Demonstrator for demonstrating how advanced technologies can be tailored to any complex full assembly process and used to fuel improvements in manufacturing productivity.

Equipment includes KUKA LBR iiwa 14 R820, UR 10, and Fanuc CR-35 robots, collaborative grippers, laser rangefinders, safety and inspection cameras, and other supporting equipment.