Leeds takes the lead in robot design

The £4.3 million centre is backed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

What is said to be the most advanced suite of robotics building equipment in Britain has been unveiled at the University of Leeds.

The National Facility for Innovative Robotic Systems at the university features a very large multi-material 3D printer. The £4.3 million centre, backed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, is intended to put Leeds at the centre of robot design and construction in the UK.  

It features the Objet 1000 from Stratasys, said to be the largest multi-material 3D printer in the world, as well as the Objet 500 Connex3 colour multi-material printer. The facility is being funded as a resource not only for researchers, but also for local industry, and forging partnerships with companies interested in developing state-of-the-art robotics is a key objective, said Stratasys.

Dr Robert Richardson, director of the facility, said: “Robotics has been identified by the government as one of the areas where the UK can develop a technological edge, therefore it’s our vision to build a world-leading centre for robotics and autonomous systems. 

“We looked at the most innovative and exciting robots being developed across the world and asked ourselves what kit we’d need to build something even better.

“With our 3D printing technology, we’ll be able to make robots that are smaller, more intricate, more flexible and more integrated than ever before. Leeds already has a great track record in robotics for surgical applications, patient rehabilitation, prosthetics, and exploration, but the new facility will revolutionise our ability to turn concepts into reality.”

The 3D printers could be used to combine hard and soft materials for medical applications. “The human body has soft tissues, flexible cartilages, elastic tendons and rigid bones all working closely together.” 

The facility has developed a life-sized reproduction of a human colon that includes compliant materials and was created from reconstructed MRI data using an Objet 1000. Richardson said: “We are developing techniques to 3D print more accurate tissue phantoms to facilitate the evolution of surgical devices and robots.” The lab also has a 3D visualisation studio.