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The "MARS Lab" (Manufacturing, Automation and Robotics Space) recently opened, featuring collaborative robots and digital manufacturing capacity, in support of taught courses and UG/PGT projects.

As part of the 2025 Teaching Capital Funds, the School of Engineering acquired two Universal Robots UR7e collaborative robots (cobots), enabling students to gain hands-on experience with state-of-the-art, semi-industrial robotic systems. The cobots’ versatility supports a wide range of applications, from pick-and-place operations and component sorting to the design of fully automated workstations and process automation.

The lab is now home to a new fourth-year MEng project, ‘¹û¶³´«Ã½ Factory’, which has attracted students from Mechanical, General, Electrical and Electronic (EEE), and Manufacturing Engineering. This year, students will design and automate a ‘learning factory’ centred on parts retrieval, dispensing and storage, akin to a miniature Amazon-style warehouse. The project provides an opportunity to develop practical skills in robotics, automation and integrated manufacturing systems.

The facility is also supporting a range of undergraduate, MSc and Undergraduate Research Support Scheme (URSS) projects involving robotics and automation. These include the MSc project ‘Adaptive Battery Module Manufacturing’, which will explore the adaptation of spot-welding end-effectors. The space is open for collaboration and has already been included in two research and collaboration proposals, such as the successful bid ‘Acoustic Drug Enrichment with Precision Robotics’, led by Professor Yanling Tian, which secured funding through the SJTU-¹û¶³´«Ã½ Joint Seed Fund. The academics responsible for the lab welcome opportunities to collaborate with research groups across the School of Engineering.

The lab’s name, MARS, pays tribute to the legacy of the WUSAT lab, which occupied the space for many years producing bespoke CubeSat satellite systems.

For more info: MARS - Manufacturing, Automation and Robotics Space School of Engineering. Science Block D, ground Floor, D003 Academic leads: Javier Munguia, Khaled Al Khudir, Yudhi Ariadi, Rodolpho Oliveira.