The University of Leeds is joining forces with Universities UK this week to celebrate how research is improving lives, focusing on the extraordinary contribution that robots are making to society.
A celebration of university research is taking place at the Natural History Museum in London, with the University of Leeds showcasing its interactive robots and encouraging people to come and see for themselves how research is transforming disaster response, exploration, surgery, prosthetics and patient rehabilitation.
The showcase is part of Universities Week (9 – 15 June 2014), an annual Universities UK campaign to increase public awareness of the wide and varied role of the UK’s universities.
A dedicated space has been provided by the Natural History Museum, which will feature a number of universities exhibiting research, providing opportunities for members of the public to learn more about how universities are addressing the challenges that society wants to be solved.
The University of Leeds’ robotic research spans a range of applications, from exploring the ancient pyramids through to robotic technology assisting patients’ arm recovery after strokes. Our researchers have drawn inspiration from biology and nature, building a giant robotic worm that can wiggle its way around obstacles and a device with feet modelled on tree frogs, which is being designed to crawl inside patients’ bodies for minimally invasive abdominal surgery.
A new£4.3 million national facility is making the University of Leeds a world leader in robot design and construction. The facility is part of the government’s drive to improve Britain’s international competitiveness in robotics, equipping our researchers with a suite of technologies - including the latest 3D-printing technology and high-precision assembly systems - which is among the most advanced in the world.
The City of Leeds is also campaigning to become robot capital of UK, with a year-long celebration of all things robot-related, the March of the Robots.
You can find out more about the robotics research by visiting the Natural History Museum exhibition, where the University of Leeds stand is being showcased on Wednesday 11 June, Thursday 12 June and Friday 13 June.
Universities Week 2014 is being run by Universities UK, with Research Councils UK, the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement.
See the Universities Week website for more details about the event in June.
For further information
Call the University press office on 0113 343 4031 or email pressoffice@leeds.ac.uk