Touring the Robotics Lab at Cranfield University

It was my recent pleasure to visit Dr Gilbert Tang and take a tour of the Intelligent Automation Laboratory at the Aerospace Integration Research Centre, Cranfield University. It was fascinating to see what developments are going into robots and what and how the next-gen of post-graduate Robotics Engineers are learning. #CranfieldRobotics

We talked; safety, robot application and co-bots, and Gilbert permitted me to take some photos of the robots described below:

A heavy-duty manufacturing robot working on a commercial aircraft wing. The work in the laboratory was focussed on human-robot cooperation and safety. This robot is heavy and powerful. Note the location spots on the floor.

One of the key developments is the integration of advanced safety devices including the 3D camera fitted above the robot. This creates an invisible working zone around the robot and is constantly scanning activity. Using this camera to create safe spots around the robot arm considerably improves safety - allowing a worker to enter certain sections of the robot work area to inspect the work, make adjustments or support the robot.

This green robot arm carries around 35kg of payload and has safety sensing capability. This means that the instant that a human touches the robot it powers down.

This versatile robot is currently being used to demonstrate hole drilling in aircraft. To build a typical passenger jet you need to drill over a million holes, and robots like this can significantly reduce the human labour requirement, build-time and improve hole location accuracy.

It can take many hours for a team of humans to apply silicone to the inside of a jet wing. The wing must be completely sealed due to fuel storage. This robot is adept at applying aerospace sealant to wing components with complex geometry.

Robots with collision avoidance functionalities can have positive impacts on user experience during human-robot collaborative. This robot is used to study collision avoidance in robot arms and its effect on the users.

Cranfield University recently supported the #Sciroc robotics event in Milton Keynes. These fun little robots were showcased to show children how easy it can be to build and control robots. They were still on display in the lab.

Dr. Gilbert Tang is a Lecturer in Robotics and he is the Course Director of the Cranfield Robotics MSc course. He has been conducting robotics research at Cranfield University for over 8 years, particularly related to the development of intuitive human-robot interfaces using combinations of engineering and human-centred approaches. Gilbert is also experienced in delivering industrial research and automated production solutions at mid Technology Readiness Level (TRL) to leading aerospace manufacturers. He has led the development and launch of the Cranfield Robotics MSc Course and he is currently leading the development of a BSc course for a new university.

Gilbert's research interests include: Intelligent automation, Safe shared workspace for the coexistence of humans and robots, Human-robot collaboration, Automated aircraft assembly, Metrology assisted aircraft assembly, Artificial Intelligence in Robotics, Robotic system design, Human-robot interface: Gesture control and teleoperation.

Richard Foster-Fletcher is CEO and Founder of NeuralPath.io, a Strategic AI Consultancy Practice. Formally with Oracle Corporation, Richard runs the MKAI Meetup (Milton Keynes Artificial Intelligence) and is the host of the Boundless Podcast.

Richard interviews leading researchers and executives in the fields of futurism, AI and business strategy.