The University of Edinburgh is a global leader in robotics and autonomous systems.
We work on numerous research areas in this field, with different partners, focusing on safety and safe interaction between robots, people and their environments.
Our work is underpinned by the strength of infrastructure which can unlock value from data, allowing companies to gain real insights into their data and establish important correlations, patterns and relationships.
Spanning the spheres of hardware and software, we offer a skills-rich, imaginative environment where industrial, academic and other organisations can collaborate with us and each other to drive new ideas forward, test concepts and assess the market potential of innovative products and services.
Key Areas of Expertise
Fintech
Fintech and Financial Services research cluster
Professor Gbenga Ibikunle's research cluster creates innovative programmes focused on solving problems and
applying skillsets for the Fintech workforce now and
in the future; develops interdisciplinary research to address societal
challenges and explore new business models linked to the delivery of
financial services; and works with partners to develop solutions to
address industrial challenges for societal benefit.
Areas of expertise include asset pricing and investment, banking, finance and investments, cyber security and ethics of technology use, design informatics and data sciences, economic sociology/philosophy, machine learning and AI, management science and operations research, sustainable finance, and technology and innovation, e-commerce and blockchain.
Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI)
EFI connects researchers from across a range of disciplines to address major industry challenges and has a particular focus on the application and use of Fintech. Our academics are developing interdisciplinary research to address societal challenges and explore new business models linked to the delivery of financial services.
The University is a founding member of Fintech Scotland and was named Financial Technology Partner of the Year at the 2019 Scottish FinTech Awards, in recognition of initiatives and engagement with financial services and Fintech companies.
The Smart Data Foundry's mission is to open finance for good. They unlock financial data and smart data for research, we support data-driven innovation to make change happen, and we grow specialist talent so more thrive. The Foundry provides a secure data environment where real consumer data from UK financial institutions can be safely shared with organisations working on big societal economic and environmental problems: helping to accelerate research, prove ideas and get to solutions quicker.
Health data
Advanced Care Research Centre (ACRC)
The ACRC is a multi-disciplinary research programme combining research across fields including medicine and other care professions, life sciences, engineering, informatics, data and social sciences.
Breathe, the Health Data Research Hub for Respiratory Disease
BREATHE is a unique collaboration between academic, charity and industry partners, from across the UK and globally, working alongside patients and the public. In the UK we have some of the best health data sets in the world, which can offer opportunities to transform health care for the benefit of all. Breathe aims to make respiratory health better by changing the way the NHS, researchers, industry and charities use data.
Putting data and innovation at the centre of responses to health and care system challenges is critical to improving health, care and services through research, innovation and planning. DataLoch engages with private, public and third-sector health and social care organisations to drive research and innovation through the use of data.
The Usher Institute is one of five Data-Driven Innovation Hubs as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal. The Institute develops innovative and financially sustainable models of health and social care improving lives, through the application of data science. The Institute will be a world-leading innovation hub where the public, private and third sectors collaborate to enable data-driven advances in health and social care delivery.
Data science
The Bayes Data Science Unit (Bayes DSU) provides a point of entry for engaging with University staff and students to work on collaborative data science projects. We are a rapid-response interdisciplinary team that can quickly engage with high-impact collaborative research opportunities.
Centre for Technomoral Futures
As part of the DDI Hub, Edinburgh’s Futures Institute (EFI), the Centre for Technomoral Futures aims to unify technical and moral modes of future-building expertise in new models of research, education, design and engagement that directly serve the goals of sustainable, just and ethical innovation.
Computational modelling and simulation
The problem of scaling is a key challenge worldwide. We are experts in tackling scaling problems. We can improve the scaling of in-house and ISV codes through optimisation and re-engineering so that companies can undertake faster and larger simulations.
From food production and climate change to exploring Space and genetically-tailored healthcare, the Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) initiative is a cluster of innovation hubs that bring academic disciplines together to delve into some of the world’s most pressing challenges – using data to innovate. The University has ambitious plans to increase our impact and help make Edinburgh the Data Capital of Europe.
Edinburgh Cybersecurity, Privacy and Trust Institute
Complex industry challenges such as Social Engineering and Data Management exist in a rapidly evolving landscape. The University of Edinburgh is one of the leading cyber security research institutions in the UK and currently the only Scottish University recognised as an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research by the NCSC and EPSRC.
Edinburgh International Data Facility (EIDF)
Built and operated by EPCC at the University of Edinburgh, and governed by the Data-Driven Innovation Programme (DDI) of the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland City Region Deal. Part laboratory, part repository, the Edinburgh International Data Facility (EIDF) provides computational and storage services to support data-driven innovation for the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland region and beyond.
Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC)
EPCC has been a UK-leading high-performance computing centre for more than 25 years. It hosts and administers national-level facilities including ARCHER UK national supercomputing facility, DiRAC UK national supercomputing facility and UK Research Data Facility (UK-RDF) UK national data facility.
Our supercomputers have vast storage space and their multi-core processing power means that they can quickly convert data into meaningful business intelligence. We have expertise in distributed computing as well as data integration and data analytics.
Optimisation and Operational group
The core technology in optimization is the solution of large sparse linear and quadratic problems. We have world-class expertise in the two main solution methods for these: the simplex method and the interior point method. In addition, we have interests in global optimization, decomposition methods, parallel computing, industrial applications of optimization, and stochastic optimisation.
Software development and optimisation
One of our core objectives is to develop, demonstrate and deploy software that can scale to the largest new and next-generation computing architectures. Whether writing new algorithms or optimising existing code, we open the door to the handling of ever vaster datasets and the exploitation of unprecedented sophisticated modelling and simulation capabilities.
Machine learning and artificial intelligence
The Edinburgh Centre of Robotics
Robots that can learn, adapt and take decisions will revolutionise our economy and society over the next 20 years. The Edinburgh Centre of Robotics, focuses on a number of research areas in the field of Robotics and Autonomous systems, with a focus on safety and safe interaction between robots, people and their environments.
The National Robotarium is jointly run with our partners at Heriot-Watt University. This world-leading research and development facility will translate cutting-edge research into technologies to create disruptive innovation in an expanding global market in robotics and autonomous systems, delivering sustainable economic benefit to the Edinburgh City Region, the UK and beyond.
The Centre for Design Informatics
The Centre for Design Informatics provides a platform in which design and data science can mix. The Centre draws on the University’s unique combination of strengths in informatics and design, to inspire, equip and nurture a new generation of design-informatics researchers, practitioners and entrepreneurs. The Centre delivers design-centred solutions for commercial, cultural and civic sectors.
The study of the structure, behaviour, and interactions of natural and engineered computational systems. The central focus of Informatics is the transformation of information - whether by computation or communication, whether by organisms or artefacts. Understanding informational phenomena - such as computation, cognition, and communication - enables technological advances.
