Program Overview

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Robots are increasingly important in our society. They are used in autonomous driving, domestic assistance, health care, industrial manufacturing, search and rescue operations, and hazardous environment exploration and monitoring. Our BEng Robotic Engineering will equip you with the knowledge and skills to contribute to this rapidly-changing and innovative industry, or to academic research in the area. The course uniquely combines electrical engineering and computer science, allowing you to gain both theoretical and practical knowledge in areas such as navigation, motion control, sensory perception, autonomous decision making, and machine learning, so that you can develop your own robotic systems. High programming skills are developed on this course, as well as essential knowledge of areas of robotics and artificial intelligence. Your course therefore covers areas including:

• Java and C++ programming
• Sensors, motion control algorithms, and high level cognition in robotic systems
• Computer vision and digital signal processing
• Artificial intelligence and intelligent agents
• Computer games modules

Based in our world-class research lab facilities, you will be able to obtain hands-on experience, test your inventions, and engage in the state of the art robotic research. Our School is a community of scholars leading the way in technological research and development. Today’s robotics engineers are creative people who are focused and committed, yet restless and experimental. We are home to many of the world’s top engineers, and our work is driven by creativity and imagination as well as technical excellence. Programming at Essex Teaching someone to programme is about opening a door. In your first year at Essex you will study a module that introduces you to programming using C. We assess your ability to think in a programmatic way in the very first week of term and if you require additional support, we offer classes which will boost your skills and confidence with programming.

Professional accreditation

Accredited by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered IT Professional. Accredited by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for Incorporated Engineer and partially meeting the academic requirement for a Chartered Engineer. Accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer and partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer. BEng Robotic Engineering at University of Essex Why we're great.

• Develop your own robotics systems, using our world-class robot arena to test your inventions.
• Become part of the next generation of industry professionals and academic researchers to help drive the economy, and push the frontiers of knowledge.
• We are top 30 in the UK for Computer Science in THE World University Rankings by Subject 2023.

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Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course. Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.

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Placement year

Alternatively, you can spend your third year on a placement year with an external organisation, where you learn about a particular sector, company or job role, apply your academic knowledge in a practical working environment, and receive inspiration for future career pathways.

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Our expert staff

We have been one of the leading electronics departments in the country throughout our history, and in recent years, our prolific research staff have contributed to some major breakthroughs. Our robotics and embedded systems research group works on interdisciplinary research that combines artificial intelligence, embedded systems architecture and technology, sensors and data fusion, autonomous navigation, planning and human-machine interaction. We research a wide variety of areas, from new drone technology, environment and pollution monitoring to healthcare aids (such as the wheelchair robot and robotic prosthetics). Students will have the opportunity to be involved with current research in their final year projects.

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Specialist facilities

Our unique Robotics Gaming Laboratory offers dedicated space for indoor robots and has 24 VICON cameras for racing car tracking. Our Robot Arena is one hundred square metres in area and has a six metre high ceiling to accommodate flying robots. It has one of the world's largest powered lab floors for long-duration experiments with mobile robots. We have invested over £1 million in equipping this state-of-the-art facility with robotic systems which include:

• thirty wheeled mobile robots
• eight flying robots
• three robotic fish
• three intelligent wheelchairs
• one robotic arm
• one robotic hand with five fingers

We also have six laboratories that are exclusively for computer science and electronic engineering students. Three are open 24/7, and you have free access to the labs except when there is a scheduled practical class in progress. All computers run either Windows 10 or are dual boot with Linux, and software includes Java, Prolog, C++, Perl, Mysql, Matlab, DB2, Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, and Project.

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Your future

Prepare for your future. Robotics and autonomous systems was recognised as one of the eight great technologies by the UK government in 2013. It was estimated the market for both industrial and service robots will be worth more than $66bn by 2025. As a graduate of our BEng Robotic Engineering, you will be well-placed to take advantage of the growing demand in this area. This is a broad and ever-changing field of study; you will always be learning throughout your career, through following research and trade journals, attending conferences, and working on new research yourself as you create the robots of the future. Being a robotics engineer means that you could be working on humanoid robotic toys, animatronics equipment for amusement parks, robotic equipment for defusing landmines in war-stricken countries, or robots for space and deep sea exploration. Read more about computer science and electronic engineering career destinations here. Our recent graduates have gone on to work for a wide range of high-profile companies including:

• National Instruments
• Circad Design Ltd
• McLaren Formula One Team
• B&W Group
• BT
• IBM
• Visa
• Google
• Microsoft

Our department has a large pool of external contacts, ranging from companies providing robots for the media industry, through vehicle diagnostics, to electronic system design and circuit design and manufacture, who work with us and our students to provide advice, placements and eventually graduate opportunities. We also work with our University's Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.