About us
The Cobot Maker Space is a bespoke research and engagement facility for collaborative robotics. We provide the technical capabilities and infrastructure to comprehensively probe and capture how people interact, communicate and learn with robots and intelligent systems. We partner with renowned artists including Blast Theory, Makers of Imaginary Worlds and Candoco Dance Company to help them create, tour and study award winning robotic artworks. Our facility comprises:
Four configurable labs providing the flexibility to set up individual, tailored spaces to support the building, fine turning and testing of technologies and novel devices in a safe environment prior to deployment in public areas.
A main workshop/lab, where we house our robots, including service robots Robin and Spot. Also available are Franka arms, a UV disinfection robot, a UR3E robot arm with grippers, reconfigurable cameras with audio recording, biometric sensing facilities, a 3D printer, soldering facilities and a vast range of other tools.
Our living space has been set up to resemble a standard home environment where we can deploy a variety of digitally enhanced products to enable exploration and interaction between people and intelligent systems.
Our care room has an adjustable bed, accessibility hoist and other items that you would expect to find in a hospital environment.
Our museum room is a configurable space with a library of museum style furniture and audio-visual equipment that can be laid out to the needs of the user.
Create
We are dedicated to fostering the creation of cutting-edge robotic research, pushing the boundaries of innovation in the field.
Connect
We provide an environment where researchers from a broad range of disciplines can connect and network, prompting new teams to form and embark on multidisciplinary research.
Collaborate
We actively promote collaboration, offering a dynamic environment to establish interdisciplinary partnerships.
Our Mission
Working and living with robots may sound like it is taken straight from a science-fiction novel, but cobots are already a reality – especially in hazardous contexts and manufacturing: Cobots often support people with tasks that are uncomfortable, repetitive or even impossible, such as holding and moving heavy materials or surveying inaccessible areas. Effectively, cobots can bridge gaps in our senses, augment our own capabilities and compliment them.
Considering the technological progress within robotics and consumer electronics, encountering cobots as a part of our everyday life is a certainty. The Cobot Maker Space was founded to explore this potential further; both to research what can be possible right now, and to think ahead. We are not only a research environment, but also a space for tinkering, making and breaking technology.