THESE QMW students look happy enough, tinkering about with bits of kit and computers – but they are taking part in projects that could help locals in Tower Hamlets as well as giving a lifeline to populations around the world.

Sixty years ago, the Department of Mechanical Engineering at what was then Queen Mary College, University of London, welcomed a new head. Professor Meredith Thring was one of the first professors of Robotics at a UK University. During his 17 years at Queen Mary, the prof worked on a robot that could climb stairs, which could help wheelchair users go up steps; biomedical aids for children with physical challenges such as those that arose from thalidomide; and advocated the use of sustainable energy in engineering.

Another pioneering professor, Kaspar Althoefer, became a Professor of Robotics Engineering in 2016. During his time in post the department won a £1 million grant to establish a robotics centre for tackling nuclear waste. Later breakthroughs included robots which could play football; a sports wheelchar; and a visor used to protect NHS workers during the Covid pandemic.

More recently, the Robotics team, working with colleagues from the college’s biomedical engineering team, has specialised in soft robotics and haptics (technology that relates to touch and motion, which is mostly used in computers that carry out remote operations). It recentlyl received a ten million euro grant to develop robots that could be used for treating cancer.

Professor Althoefer spoke about the anniversary, saying, “As Director of the Advanced Robotics Centre, I’m immensely proud to celebrate 60 years of robotics at Queen Mary. The anniversary is a tribute to the visionaries of the past and a springboard for the pioneers of tomorrow.”

The next time you walk past the Queen Mary campus , spare a thought for the professors and students working away to deliver these life-changig gadgets and systems. And if you are at school, or know someone who is, tell them about this work. Sometimes school students think that the only way of helping people is to become a doctor, but there are other opportunities too. If you want to help people and you like making things and maths (and computers), you could find your dream course on the Mile End Road – with a dream career to follow.

●To learn more about Queen Mary’s 60 year history in robotics, look at their pictures on Instragram:
Queen Mary Instagram

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