Autonomy and verification robot laboratory

Researching the behaviour of autonomous and robotic systems.

In the Autonomy and Verification Robot Lab we are interested in how we can provide guarantees about the behaviour of autonomous and robotic systems. Much of the work we do uses formal mathematical techniques to analyse designs and programs however it is also important to compare theoretical results with the actual behaviour of the software both in complex simulated environments and on actual robots.

Our robot lab contains wheeled Scout Mini robots, humanoid Nao Robots, and small configurable Raspberry Pi and Lego robots kits as well has high specification computers. These have been used to validate algorithms for robot platoons and the adaptation of behaviour required for long term autonomy. Our simulation studies have looked at the role of verification at runtime and the benefits of explainability.

A corroborative verification approach has been used to compare results from mathematical analysis, simulation and experiments on robots to analyse the behaviour of robots in the home and workplace.

Our team works as part of the Autonomy and Verification Network and also has access to facilities run by other network members.