Queen Mary University of London’s (QMUL) School of Engineering and Materials Science is this year celebrating 60 years of Robotics.

In 1964, Meredith Thring became the head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Queen Mary, and one of the first professors of Robotics at a UK university, having begun initial work on automated firefighting systems at the University of Sheffield.

That same year he developed his iconic Walking Wheel Stair Climbers. Over the next 17 years at Queen Mary College - as it was then called - he worked on biomedical aids for children affected by the thalidomide crisis, founded an Inventive Design Course and published books advocating for sustainable energy approaches. In 1975 the university opened the Design and Inventions Laboratory to further support the pioneering research coming out of the department.

In 2016 Kaspar Althoefer became Professor of Robotics Engineering at Queen Mary University of London. Under his leadership, the department is awarded £1m to establish a robotics centre for tackling nuclear waste.

Other recent research breakthroughs have included robots with impressive football skills, a robotic wheelchair for sports, and the development of a new design of visor which was 3D printed and distributed to protect NHS workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, the department specialises in soft robotics and haptics, works closely with Biomedical Engineering colleagues on medical robotics, and recently received a €10 million grant to develop robots for cancer treatment.

On Friday 6th December we will celebrate this milestone with an event reflecting on research highlights and a talk from Professor Yiannis Demiris, a professor at Imperial College and Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies. Prof Demiris works on assistive technologies including high-tech smart wheelchairs, aligned with the groundbreaking work by Prof Meredith Thring on novel wheelchairs.

All staff and students are invited to attend, and can RSVP on the Eventbrite page.

Throughout November and December, we will be sharing content from the past 60 years on our social media pages. They are also collecting memories and displaying a timeline on the Robotics 60 microsite.

“As Director of Advanced Robotics Centre (ARQ), I'm immensely proud to celebrate 60 years of robotics at Queen Mary. ARQ stands as a testament to our commitment to cutting-edge research, collaboration, and real-world impact. This anniversary is a tribute to the visionaries of the past and a springboard for the pioneers of tomorrow,” said Professor Kaspar Althoefer.