Available Projects
The project list below helps self-funded and externally sponsored applicants (scholarship) connect with a prospective supervisor.
Applications are welcome from those who can support themselves or have funding already arranged. Such applications will go through the same level of academic assessment. Please see the fee arrangementsLink opens in a new window for PGR students.
Adaptive Control for Safe Human–Robot Collaboration
This project will develop adaptive control methods that enable robots to operate safely and effectively in changing environments and near human users. Building on previous research in robot safety, task prioritisation, collision avoidance and hard constraints, the work will investigate how sensing and real-time control can be combined to support flexible collaborative tasks. Methods will be validated experimentally using robot arms and representative end-effectors.
Primary supervisor: Khaled Al Khudir - Khaled.Al-Khudir@warwick.ac.uk
Project detail:
Robots deployed in manufacturing and service environments must respond to changing tasks, human movements and workspace conditions while maintaining safe and predictable behaviour. This project will investigate control and decision-making methods for redundant robot manipulators operating under changing physical and task constraints.
The research will extend previous work on hierarchical control, task-priority methods, collision avoidance, generalised inequality constraints and sensor-based human–robot interaction. Rather than focusing on one specific application, the project will develop general methods that can be adapted to different collaborative tasks.
Potential research themes include:
- Real-time control under changing joint and Cartesian constraints.
- Safe interaction with humans and unstructured environments.
- Sensor-based monitoring of robot workspaces.
- Adaptive task prioritisation and redundancy resolution.
- Smooth transitions between different robot behaviours.
- Coordination of multiple robots or robot end-effectors.
- Evaluation of safety, dexterity, accuracy and computational performance.
Experimental validation will use the available UR7e robots and Robotiq end-effectors. The project will combine analytical modelling, simulation and laboratory experiments, with scope for applications in collaborative manufacturing, inspection, assembly and human–robot assistance.
How to apply for admission: www.warwick.ac.uk/pgrengineering
The University of Warwick provides an inclusive working and learning environment, recognising and respecting every individual’s differences. We welcome applications from individuals who identify with any of the protected characteristics defined by the Equality Act 2010.