Peter Gray from Team Gray Matter tells us how he controls machines with his mind.  Part of our free online course Building a Future with Robots: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/robotic-future/3

Meet the educators from Sheffield Robotics who contribute to the free online course 'Building a Future with Robots.'

Each of our educators has a vision for a future with robots. We ask, has learning about the current research and development and where it’s potentially going given you some insight into why flying cars, Robocops and Iron Men don’t exist yet?

Our experts share what the future will look like for team working robots.First up, Dr Jonathan Aitken gives us a glimpse into the factories of the future, explaining how the Kuka iiwa robot arm will work alongside workers on the factory floor. We’ll then hear from Professor Noel Sharkey about robot surgeons and from Dr Roderich Gross about swarms of exploratory robots.

Who might be working with robots in the future? Could the study of robotic systems be the key to unlocking your future career?In this video, academics and students from The University of Sheffield give us their view on how, in a growing industry, there are many careers options for those who can work with robots.

As we have seen in previous videos, a human-robot team, the robot knows how to act because the human controller is telling it what to do. However, in a robot-robot team, the robots must interact and co-operate with each other to decide what to do next.In this video, Dr Michalis Smyrnakis explains how game theory provides a mathematical framework for robots (in the example he uses UAVs or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) to work together to achieve a common goal. We’ll look at game theory in a bit...

The Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield is home to one of the world’s most advanced medical robots: The daVinci Si. In this video, Urological surgeon David Yates discusses his working relationship with the daVinci Si robot surgeon and we watch them work together to perform a prostatectomy.WARNING: This video contains some brief graphic footage of surgery that some learners may find distressing.

Swarm robotics provides another mechanism for the coordination of multi-robot systems. In robot swarms, a desired collective behavior emerges from the interactions between the robots and interactions of robots with the environment.In this video, Dr Roderich Gross introduces us to the e-puck and explains how, with very little brain power, these robots can work together to successfully achieve a complex common goal.

Dr Mahnaz Arvaneh is developing a brain-computer interface (BCI) which uses electroencephalography (EEG) technology to read brain signals and convert them into actions on a computer screen.In this video, Mahnaz demonstrates her system, using the Emotiv EPOC+, an EEG headset which measures brain signals.

We take a look into a realistic future for robots inspired by nature. Emily Collins is a PhD student in Psychology and in this video, she explains her research which explores how human psychology and emotion can improve the biomimetic robot, Miro. We’ll then hear insights from educators from Sheffield Robotics on some of the future applications of bioinspired robots.

Traditional psychology and neuroscience can often struggle to fully understand how humans work. Synthetic psychology offers a complementary approach, taking theories and testing them out in robotic models to see if human-like behaviour can be recreated. This can lead to new insights which might not be gained from looking solely at a biological system.Sheffield Robotics is an interdisciplinary group which spans across departments, faculties and universities. Synthetic psychology is an example...

In October 2016, Switzerland hosted the world’s first Cybathlon, where pilots with severe physical disabilities competed using advanced assistive technologies.The Cybathlon provides a platform for accelerating the development of new skills and novel assistive technologies that are useful for people with disabilities where they need it most - in daily life. Cybathlon athletes not only tackle challenges, proving their speed and skill using the most up-to-date prostheses and technologies, they...

Natural organisms, through millions of years of natural selection, have evolved to take on the challenges of their environment. These attributes make them adaptable, versatile and robust and it is these design goals that researchers aim to achieve in robotics.In this video, Dr Sean Anderson explains how the answer to a biological question - why can’t we tickle ourselves? - helped researchers at The University of Sheffield to solve a particular robotic problem.

Previously we have seen how bioinspiration can influence the design of individual robots. But the natural world can also offer a solution for multi-robot systems where robots need to work cooperatively. In this video, Dr Roderich Gross explains what the collective behaviour of social insects such as ants and termites can offer the field of robotics.

In this video, Owen and Jonathan discuss some of the industries that could benefit from drone technology in the near future. We’ll then hear from Noel Sharkey about some of the ways this technology is already being put to use.

We’ve talked about the importance of designing a robot to make responsible decisions, but what about making responsible decisions when designing robots?In this video, Professor Noel Sharkey talks about some important ethical considerations for developing autonomous robots. Noel is Emeritus Professor of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at The University of Sheffield, co-founder of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control and co-founder of Responsible Robotics.

How will autonomous vehicles drive on the roads of today? How can we ensure that they will drive safely alongside humans? Automated technology in cars could help to prevent accidents and reduce congestion and emissions in cities. However, automated driving is highly complex and requires systems to respond to a wide range of real-world driving situations.Professor Sandor Veres has been working with telematics company The Floow LTD to develop automated vehicles that can learn from the behaviour...

Autonomous systems need to process large volumes of data which can arrive from multiple, diverse sensors such as RADAR, LIDAR and cameras. In this video, Dr Lyudmila Mihaylova explains how her research is tackling this challenge, by developing intelligent algorithms that can extract meaningful information from these large data sets.Lyudmila also discusses her research with the SETA consortium, which is helping to change the way that mobility is organised, monitored and planned in large...

In this video, we join Dr Jonathan Aitken and Dr Owen McAree in their Sheffield Airport hangar to find out how they have designed an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) - more commonly known as a drone - to be able to sense it’s environment.They explain some of the different kinds of sensors that have been fitted to the drone so that it can build a picture of its surroundings and explore some of the ways this could be useful in the real world.

So far, we have seen that in order for a robot to be autonomous it first needs to be able to sense its environment and then to respond to it. But how does a robot decide how to respond? In this video, Owen explains why we need to design robots that are able to make responsible decisions. What do you think responsibility means for a robot?

As well as being able to sense their environment, autonomous robots need to be able to react to it.In this video, Dr Owen McAree explains the importance of designing robots that can respond to a changing environment and how this challenge is being met at Sheffield Robotics using youBots and drones.

In this video, Director of Sheffield Robotics, Professor Tony Prescott welcomes you to Sheffield Robotics and explains some of the work we do.

Explore the role of robots and autonomous systems in the factories, homes, hospitals, schools and cars of our near future with this free course from the University of Sheffield.https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/robotic-future