Robots have the potential to revolutionise society and the economy, working for us, beside us, and interacting with us. This EPSRC-sponsored programme will produce graduates with the technical skills and industry awareness to create an innovation pipeline from academic research to global markets.
The robotics and autonomous systems area has been highlighted by the UK Government in 2013 as one of the eight Great Technologies that underpin the UK's Industrial Strategy for jobs and growth. Key application areas include manufacturing, assistive and medical robots, offshore energy, environmental monitoring, search and rescue, defence, and support for the ageing population.
The University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University are jointly offering this innovative four-year PhD training programme, which combines a strong general grounding in current theory, methods and applications with flexibility for individualised study and a specialised PhD project.
Robotics and autonomous systems are increasingly studied beyond the range of classical engineering. Today robots represent one of the main areas of application of computer science and provide challenges for mathematics and natural science.
It is impossible to imagine transportation, warehousing, safety systems, space and marine exploration, prosthetics, and many other areas of industry, technology and science without robots. Robots are used in theoretical biology and the neurosciences as a model of behaviour.
Areas of interest specific to the center include: movement control, planning, decision making, bio- and neurorobotics, human-robot interaction, healthcare applications, robot soccer, neuroprosthetics, underwater robotics, bipedal walking, service robots, robotic co-workers, computer vision, speech processing, computer animation realistic simulations, and machine learning.
Many more topics can be found be exploring the Centre’s web pages, particularly the personal web pages of the Centre supervisors:
Our four-year PhD programme combines Masters level coursework and project work with independent PhD-level research.
In the first year, you will undertake four or five masters level courses, spread throughout robotics, machine learning, computational neuroscience, computer architectures, statistics, optimization, sensorics, dynamics, mechanics, image processing, signal processing, modelling, animation, artificial intelligence, and related areas. You will also undertake a significant introductory research project. (Students with previous masters-level work in these areas may request to take less courses and a larger project.)
At the end of the first year, successful students will be awarded an MSc by Research by the University of Edinburgh. From this basis, the subsequent three years will be spent developing and pursuing a PhD research project, under the close supervision of your primary and secondary supervisors. The PhD will be awarded jointly by the University of Edinburgh and the Heriot-Watt University.
You will have opportunities for three to six month internships with leading companies in your area, and to participate in our industrial engagement programme, exchanging ideas and challenges with our sponsor companies.
Throughout your studies, you will participate in our regular programmes of seminars, short talks and brainstorming sessions, and benefit from our pastoral mentoring schemes.
Our user partners in industry include companies working in offshore energy, environmental monitoring, defence, assisted living, transport, advanced manufacturing and education. They will provide the real world context for research, as well as opportunities for reciprocal secondments, internships and involvement in our industrial engagement programme.
The School of Informatics holds a Silver Athena SWAN award, in recognition of our commitment to advance the representation of women in science, mathematics, engineering and technology. The School is deploying a range of strategies to help female staff and students of all stages in their careers and we seek regular feedback from our research community on our performance.
You will have access to the outstanding facilities in the Edinburgh Robotarium, a national facility for research into robot interaction, supporting the research of more than 50 world-leading investigators from 17 cross-disciplinary research groups.
Research groups at the Edinburgh Robotarium include humanoid movement control, underwater, land and airborne autonomous vehicles, human robot interaction, bio- and neuro-robotics, and planning and decision making in multirobot scenarios.
In addition, our research groups contain a diverse range of compute clusters for compute and data-intensive work, including a large cluster hosted by the Edinburgh Compute and Data Facility.
Our aim is to produce innovation-ready graduates who are skilled in the principles of technical and commercial disruption and who understand how finance and organisation realise new products in start-up, SME and corporate situations.
We intend for our graduates to become leaders in the globally emerging market for autonomous and robotic systems that reduce risk, reduce cost, increase profit and protect the environment. This vision is shared by our industrial supporters, whose support for our internship programme indicates their strong desire to find highly qualified new employees.
Our component research groups already have excellent track-records in post-graduation destinations, including the research labs of industry-leading companies, and post-doctoral research positions in top tier universities.
Robotics and Computer Engineering is a 2-year Master’s programme that trains highly qualified roboticists, computer and space engineers. The programme provides broad knowledge in the field of robotics, computer engineering or space technology. Graduates can work in enterprises or research and development centres connected to their field of study.
The University of Tartu researchers have developed a variety of innovative devices: robotics mannequin which allows people to choose clothes online that fit them; artificial muscle which is used in manufacturing articifical ilmbs and robots; underwater robot. These are just a few examples of intelligent materials and systems laboratory.
ESTCube-1 was the first Estonian satellite which was built by the students from the University of Tartu, Estonian Aviation Academy, Tallinn University of Technology and the University of Life Sciences.
Our Masters in Space Engineering programme is designed to give you the specialist multidisciplinary knowledge and skills required for a career working with space technology and its applications.
Surrey students have access to all aspects of the design and delivery of spacecraft and payloads, and as a result are very attractive to employers in space-related industries.
As we develop and execute complete space missions, from initial concept to hardware design, manufacturing and testing, to in orbit operations (controlled by our ground station at the Surrey Space Centre), you will have the chance to be involved in, and gain experience of, real space missions.
This programme is studied full-time over one academic year and part-time students must study at least two taught technical modules per academic year. It consists of eight taught modules and a project.
Example module listing
The following modules are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that not all modules described are compulsory and may be subject to teaching availability and/or student demand.
Our philosophy is to integrate the acquisition of core engineering and scientific knowledge with the development of key practical skills (where relevant). To fulfil these objectives, the programme aims to:
Intended capabilities for MSc graduates:
This programme in Space Engineering aims to provide a high-level postgraduate qualification relating to the design of space missions using satellites. Study is taken to a high level, in both theory and practice, in the specialist areas of space physics, mechanics, orbits, and space-propulsion systems, as well as the system and electronic design of space vehicles.
This is a multi-disciplinary programme, and projects are often closely associated with ongoing space projects carried out by Surrey Satellite Technology, plc.
This is a large local company that builds satellites commercially and carries out industrially-sponsored research. Graduates from this programme are in demand in the UK and European Space Industries.
We often give our students the opportunity to acquire international experience during their degrees by taking advantage of our exchange agreements with overseas universities.
In addition to the hugely enjoyable and satisfying experience, time spent abroad adds a distinctive element to your CV.
This degree provides in-depth training for students interested in a career in industry or in research-oriented institutions focused on image and video analysis, and deep learning.
State-of-the-art computer-vision and machine-learning approaches for image and video analysis are covered in the course, as well as low-level image processing methods.
Students also have the chance to substantially expand their programming skills through projects they undertake.
Read about the experience of a previous student on this course, Gianmarco Addari.
This programme is studied full-time over 12 months and part-time from 24 to 60 months. It consists of eight taught modules and a standard project.
Example module listing
The following modules are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that not all modules described are compulsory and may be subject to teaching availability and/or student demand.
This programme in Computer Vision, Robotics and Machine Learning aims to provide a high-quality advanced training in aspects of computer vision for extracting information from image and video content or enhancing its visual quality using machine learning codes.
Computer vision technology uses sophisticated signal processing and data analysis methods to support access to visual information, whether it is for business, security, personal use or entertainment.
The core modules cover the fundamentals of how to represent image and video information digitally, including processing, filtering and feature extraction techniques.
An important aspect of the programme is the software implementation of such processes. Students will be able to tailor their learning experience through selection of elective modules to suit their career aspirations.
Key to the programme is cross-linking between core methods and systems for image and video analysis applications. The programme has strong links to current research in the Department of Electronic Engineering’s Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing.
To support your learning, we hold regular MSc group meetings where any aspect of the programme, technical or non-technical, can be discussed in an informal atmosphere. This allows you to raise any problems that you would like to have addressed and encourages peer-based learning and general group discussion.
We provide computing support with any specialised software required during the programme, for example, Matlab. The Faculty’s student common room is also covered by the University’s open-access wireless network, which makes it a very popular location for individual and group work using laptops and mobile devices.
Specialist experimental and research facilities, for computationally demanding projects or those requiring specialist equipment, are provided by the Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing (CVSSP).
Computer vision specialists are be valuable in all industries that require intelligent processing and interpretation of image and video. This includes industries in directly related fields such as:
Studying for Msc degree in Computer Vision offers variety, challenge and stimulation. It is not just the introduction to a rewarding career, but also offers an intellectually demanding and exciting opportunity to break through boundaries in research.
Many of the most remarkable advancements in the past 60 years have only been possible through the curiosity and ingenuity of engineers. Our graduates have a consistently strong record of gaining employment with leading companies.
Employers value the skills and experience that enable our graduates to make a positive contribution in their jobs from day one.
We draw on our industry experience to inform and enrich our teaching, bringing theoretical subjects to life. Our industrial collaborations include:
This course gives an excellent preparation for continuing onto PhD studies in computer vision related domains.
We often give our students the opportunity to acquire international experience during their degrees by taking advantage of our exchange agreements with overseas universities.
In addition to the hugely enjoyable and satisfying experience, time spent abroad adds a distinctive element to your CV.
The Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering (ACSE) at the University of Sheffield
