Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

Discover the Technologies of the Future

Robotics and Artificial Intelligence are closely related interdisciplinary areas of computer science and engineering dedicated to the design, construction, and control of intelligent devices and systems. From agriculture and food production to medical care and manufacturing, robots and intelligent systems are being increasingly used around the world to assist or extend human actions.

Elizabeth Sklar

Professor Elizabeth Sklar

Director of Research, Lincoln Agri-robotics


The Robotics programme at Lincoln offers students a broad range of training experiences in the multidisciplinary world of robotics, covering hardware and software basics, from electronics and mechanics, to autonomous control and intelligent decision-making.

Specialist Facilities

Robotics is taught across the University’s College of Health and Science, with research-informed teaching and facilities from the School of Computer Science, the School of Engineering, and Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology. Computer Science and Engineering at Lincoln are housed in the University’s Isaac Newton Building, while the Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology is situated just three miles north of Lincoln in a beautiful semi-rural setting at our Riseholme Campus.

Robotic equipment at the Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology

Industry and Research Links

Our Robotics programme is strongly linked to the research and innovation taking place within the Lincoln Centre for Autonomous Systems, and Lincoln Agri-robotics – the world’s first global centre of excellence in agricultural robotics. These research centres are leading the way in developing robotics in fields including manufacturing, healthcare, autonomous driving, and agriculture.

The University of Lincoln has also launched the world’s first Centre for Doctoral Training in Agri-food Robotics in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and the University of East Anglia. This new advanced training centre in agri-food robotics is creating the largest ever cohort of Robotics and Autonomous Systems specialists or the global food and farming sectors, thanks to a multi-million-pound funding award from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Researchers working with robotics in a field of crops

SUSTAINable Futures

A Transformative Centre for Doctoral Training

Find out more about SUSTAIN, a collaborative project that aims to use artificial intelligence to help the UK in achieving net zero by 2050. Lincoln is at the forefront of agri-tech research, and thanks to £10.6 million funding from UK Research and Innovation will be training the scientists who can help make this happen.

Meet Our Research Students

Sarah Reade, PhD Student

Sarah is working to create a walking robotic manipulator that can help with the decommissioning of large fusion nuclear reactors, helping to support a clean and safe solution to the world’s growing demand for affordable energy.

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Sarah Reade

Career Development

Robotics bridges the gap between mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, and artificial intelligence, opening up opportunities across a range of different careers. Graduates are well placed for positions in robotics or other tech, manufacturing, or supply chain companies. 

There is also a growing requirement and reliance on computer science and artificial intelligence in modern organisations around the world in areas such as data analysis and behavioural patterns, as well as technologies such as home assistants, mobile platforms, and transportation. Our Artificial Intelligence programmes aim to develop confident and informed graduates who will be able to contribute to and develop these and new technologies of the future.

Two students working with the Thorvald robot in a greenhouse

Research Spotlight

Agri-tech Revolutions

A £4.9 million grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is helping to deliver a step change in activity and fund the drive to make the Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire region a global innovation centre for agricultural technology.

Improving Seasonal Weather Forecasts

New research led by the University of Lincoln has developed a new method using AI and machine learning to better understand changes in atmospheric circulation and help to improve predicting seasonal weather conditions in the UK and Northwest Europe.

Read More About the Research
A wheat field with dark clouds overhead