Unit information: Biorobotics in 2026/27

Unit name	Biorobotics
Unit code	SEMTM0017
Credit points	40
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Professor. Hauert
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology
Faculty	Faculty of Engineering

Unit Information

Why is this unit important?

The next frontier in robotics will take inspiration from biology to design robots that are soft, smart, green and social to address important societal challenges. From microrobots for cancer treatment to swarms powering warehouses, soft grippers for manufacturing, and new material interfaces for prosthetics, biorobots will provide solutions to today's global challenges. State-of-the-art robots will in turn power scientific discovery by enabling the study of living systems in their natural habitats, robots automating experiments in the lab, and artificial fish studying pollution in the deep sea.

This unit brings together experts in life science, robotics, and AI in an interdisciplinary environment where solutions are imagined with stakeholders in mind. The aim is for students to learn a common language with those outside of their immediate discipline, as well as the inspirations and techniques needed to design, build and deploy novel biorobotic solutions in the real-world.

The unit is split into three sections, 1) learning about the state-of-the-art through expert seminars and discussions, 2) mastering core skills useful to produce biorobot solutions, and 3) delivering on a hands-on group project aimed at making biorobot solutions aligned with the UN sustainable development goals.

How does this unit fit into your programme of study

This the capstone unit of the Biorobotics MSc programme. It provides students with well rounded knowledge of the state-of-the-art in Biorobotics, core skills in Biorobotics, and the hands-on experience needed to work in this area.

Your learning on this unit

An overview of content

Students will 1) learn about the latest research in Biorobotics through expert seminars, 2) become familiar with core skills useful to produce biorobot solutions including 3D printing, basic electronics, hardware prototyping, soft robotics, and simulating and programming robots, and 3) work in groups to imagine, prototype, and present a biorobotic solution for real-world applications with stakeholder input.

How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit

Students will become well-rounded biorobotics practioners, able to understand and build on the state-of-the-art in biorobotics to deliver real-world solutions with society in mind. They will gain confidence in cross-disciplinary thinking, robot prototyping, and teamwork.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the unit students will be able to:

1. Exploit cross-disciplinary knowledge of the state-of-the-art in biorobotics to imagine, construct, and evaluate novel biorobot solutions to problems.
2. Describe and critically evaluate the tools available for building biorobot solutions.
3. Design biorobot solutions with stakeholder relevance, liaising with academic, industry, and non-profit stakeholders to capture key project drivers and requirements while also considering ethical and societal dimension of their work.
4. Present the results of their work in a format accessible to stakeholders and the general public.

How you will learn

The unit is split into three sections:

1) State-of-the-art: In this section, students will attend seminars from experts in life sciences, robotics, and AI who will give their talk either in-person or online. The aim is to introduce bio-inspirations useful for a new generation of robotics solutions (e.g. synthetic biology, animal behaviour, material science, biomechanics, medicine), and show hands-on demonstrations by experts of their robot technologies that are either bio-inspired (soft robots, swarm robots, tactile robots), or are used to aid in the exploration of life-sciences (e.g. monitoring wildlife, automatic scientific discovery, microrobots). Students will also have an opportunity to present some of the latest papers in the field of biorobotics to their peers.

2) Skills: In this section, students will learn fundamental skills needed to build biorobotics solutions, including 3D modelling and printing, basic electronics, robot simulation and programming (including ROS) and soft robotics. These sessions are a mix of in-person tutorials and hands-on exercises.

3) Doing: In this section, students will work in cross-disciplinary groups to solve a global challenge aligned with the UN sustainable development goals and driven by stakeholder engagement (academia, industry, government, NGO). Biorobotic solutions will be imagined and implemented by the students using skills gained on the Biorobotics programme. Social and ethical considerations will be embedded throughout the project. These sessions will all be a mix of short lectures, guided activities, and open time to progress the project within a weekly timetabled session. Each group will be assigned an academic mentor from the teaching team who will provide continuous feedback.

How you will be assessed

Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):

Formative assessments will be provided throughout the course thanks to short feedback on the following elements of the course:

• Short student presentations about recent biorobotics research. This will help them practice their presentation skills and cross-disciplinary understanding useful for assessments 1 and 3.
• The project plan will be reviewed in class by staff and peers before submission for assessment 2.

Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):

• 1) State-of-the-art Blog Post - Individual (30%): A blog post in which students will demonstrate knowledge and a common language in both key disciplines of biorobotics (life sciences and robotics) by writing a blog post that describes the state-of-the-art covered in a seminar. (ILO 1, 2)
• 2) Project Plan – Group (30%): Report describing the state-of-the-art, stakeholder engagement, PESTLE analysis, and detailed project plan. Methods learned in class will need to be clearly featured in the plan. (ILO 2, 3)
• 3) Stakeholder video – Group (40%): 5 minute stakeholder video presenting the results of their biorobotics project and demonstration of their prototype. (ILO 1, 3, 4)

When assessment does not go to plan

Re-assessment takes the same form as the original summative assessment, but adapted as needed to be completed by individual students.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. SEMTM0017).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.

The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.