Robotics move to close UK skills gap

INDUSTRY: A pioneering project is being overseen by academics at a Yorkshire university to hone the talents of the next generation of scientists to create robots to help increase the nation’s productivity.

The initiative at the University of Sheffield aims to close the UK’s skills gap by letting students develop skills in robotics systems.

A PIONEERING project is being overseen by academics at a Yorkshire university to hone the talents of the next generation of scientists to create robots to help increase the nation’s productivity.

The new initiative set up by researchers at the University of Sheffield is aiming to close the UK’s skills gap by allowing students to develop skills in robotics and autonomous systems.

The project, led by Professor Tony Prescott from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Computer Science, will use cloud computing and state-of-the-art robots to develop distance learning activities in robotics for people across all abilities.

Prof Prescott, a Professor of Cognitive Robotics at the University of Sheffield, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has left the UK with an urgent need to kickstart its economy and boost productivity.

“A key to doing this will be increased automation and deploying the next generation of robotics and autonomous systems in industry.

“If we are to use more robots and autonomous systems then we need more people who have the skills to use these technologies.

“We need to encourage people from a young age to consider studying and developing careers in robotics while also providing the resources and the systems that will inspire young people and give them the platform they need to succeed.”

The Sheffield-led team is developing a state-of-the-art robotic arm and manufacturing cell that engineering students at apprentice and degree-levels can use to develop skills in using robotics and autonomous systems in manufacturing.

Engineering apprentices at the

We need more people who have the skills to use these technologies.

Professor Tony Prescott from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Computer Science.

University of Sheffield’s AMRC Training Centre and degree-level computer science and systems engineering students will be able to reprogramme the robotic arm and manufacturing cell remotely.

Piloting a new way of learning in robotics education, the project will enable students to write programs from home, test them using a simulation, then run the program on a remote robot to see if it works in the real-world – a first for robotics teaching.

The project will also focus on addressing inequalities in the robotics and autonomous systems sector, and is aimed at helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to develop the skills to study and establish a career in the industry.

Fears have, however, been voiced that between 150,000 and 400,000 jobs in Yorkshire could be lost to automation.

But Rachel Reeves, Labour MP for Leeds West, who headed up the Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee, claimed last year that automation and robotics could lead to a “re-industrialisation” of the North.