EPSRC, 2019-2028

AgriFoRwArdS is the world’s first Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Agri-Food Robotics. The Centre brings together a unique collaboration of leading researchers from the Universities of Lincoln, Cambridge and East Anglia, located at the heart of the UK agri-food business, together with the Manufacturing Technology Centre, supported by leading industrial partners and stakeholders. This project will advance the state of the art by creating the largest global cohort of robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) specialists and leaders focused on the Agri-Food sector. This will include 50 PhD scholarships in projects co-designed with industry to give the UK global leadership in RAS across critical and essential sectors of the world economy, expanding the UK’s science and engineering base whilst driving industrial productivity and mitigating the environmental and societal impacts of the currently available solutions. In terms of wider impact, the RAS challenges that need to be overcome in the agri-food sector will have further application across multiple sectors involving field robotics and/or robotics in manufacturing.