MSc Intelligent Systems and Robotics

Program Overview

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Our course provides a comprehensive coverage of contemporary intelligent systems, with robots serving as a major example of the technology. Thanks to the leading research being undertaken in our School, you will gain a solid understanding of the foundations of this technology, exploring areas including:

• The principles by which sensed data are converted into useful information
• The practical aspects of developing intelligent and robotic systems
• Biologically-inspired robots
• Biometrics
• Computational intelligence

Robotics requires a well-developed knowledge of areas ranging from computer science and artificial intelligence, to engineering and neuroscience, in order to produce hardware which can sense and manipulate the real world. This field has allowed us to develop everything from satellites and submarines, to racecars and robots. Our MSc Intelligent Systems and Robotics is delivered by our team of researchers, with expertise spanning the entire range of intelligent systems and experience of developing robots intended for land, under water and in the air. Research carried out by our team has resulted in appearance in the Robot Soccer World Cup final, an autonomous robot fish in the London Aquarium, and a self-programming computer vision system. This course is available on a full- and part-time basis, starting in October.

Professional accreditation

Accredited by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT for the purposes of partially 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 partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Candidates must hold a CEng accredited BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree to comply with full CEng registration requirements. Why we're great.

• Work with our team of internationally recognised researchers
• Develop an understanding of the foundations of contemporary intelligent systems
• Our Careers Services is on hand to help with careers advice and planning - you will also have opportunities to present your research and travel to international conferences

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Our expert staff

Our research covers a range of topics, from materials science and semiconductor device physics, to the theory of computation and the philosophy of computer science, with most of our research groups based around laboratories offering world-class facilities. Our impressive external research funding stands at over £4 million and we participate in a number of EU initiatives and undertake projects under contract to many outside bodies, including government and industrial organisations. In recent years we have attracted many highly active research staff and we are conducting world-leading research in areas such as evolutionary computation, brain-computer interfacing, intelligent inhabited environments and financial forecasting. That's why we are ranked 6th in the UK for research power in computer science (Times Higher Education research power measure, Research Excellence Framework 2021).

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Specialist facilities

We are one of the largest and best resourced computer science and electronic engineering schools in the UK. Our work is supported by extensive networked computer facilities and software aids, together with a wide range of test and instrumentation equipment.

• We 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
• Software includes Java, Prolog, C++, Perl, Mysql, Matlab, DB2, Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, and Project
• Students have access to CAD tools and simulators for chip design (Xilinx) and computer networks (OPNET)
• We also have specialist facilities for research into areas including non-invasive brain-computer interfaces, intelligent environments, robotics, optoelectronics, video, RF and MW, printed circuit milling, and semiconductors

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Your future

Our recent graduates have progressed to a variety of senior positions in industry and academia. Some of the companies and organisations where our former graduates are now employed include:

• Electronic Data Systems
• Pfizer Pharmaceuticals
• Bank of Mexico
• Visa International
• Hyperknowledge (Cambridge)
• Hellenic Air Force
• ICSS (Beijing)
• United Microelectronic Corporation (Taiwan)

We also work with the University’s Careers Services to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities. Read more about computer science and electronic engineering career destinations here. “Coming from an electronics hardware background, I was keen to add more software skills to my repertoire. The course has been academically challenging but enjoyable, interesting and relevant at the same time; the modules have a strong practical element, and putting theory into practice is an essential skill in industry.” Martin Smith, MSc Intelligent Systems and Robotics

Program Outline

Course structure

Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field. The following modules are based on the current course structure and may change in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, or in response to COVID-19, we’ll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

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Components

Components are the blocks of study that make up your course. A component may have a set module which you must study, or a number of modules from which you can choose. Each component has a status and carries a certain number of credits towards your qualification.

Status	What this means
Core	You must take the set module for this component and you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Core with Options	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component but you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Compulsory	You must take the set module for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Compulsory with Options	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Optional	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.

The modules that are available for you to choose for each component will depend on several factors, including which modules you have chosen for other components, which modules you have completed in previous years of your course, and which term the module is taught in.

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Modules

Modules are the individual units of study for your course. Each module has its own set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria and also carries a certain number of credits. In most cases you will study one module per component, but in some cases you may need to study more than one module. For example, a 30-credit component may comprise of either one 30-credit module, or two 15-credit modules, depending on the options available. Modules may be taught at different times of the year and by a different department or school to the one your course is primarily based in. You can find this information from the module code . For example, the module code HR100-4-FY means:

HR	100	4	FY
The department or school the module will be taught by. In this example, the module would be taught by the Department of History.	The module number.	The UK academic level of the module. A standard undergraduate course will comprise of level 4, 5 and 6 modules - increasing as you progress through the course. A standard postgraduate taught course will comprise of level 7 modules. A postgraduate research degree is a level 8 qualification.	The term the module will be taught in. AU : Autumn term SP : Spring term SU : Summer term FY : Full year AP : Autumn and Spring terms PS: Spring and Summer terms AS: Autumn and Summer terms

Year 1 What fascinates you? Apply your learning in computer science or engineering to solve a problem. Design, implement and evaluate a solution, producing a dissertation on your investigation and giving an oral presentation of your work. Test your knowledge, while gaining practical experience and building your project management skills. View MSc Project and Dissertation on our Module Directory This module gives an introduction to intelligent systems and robotics. It goes on to consider the essential hardware for sensing and manipulating the real world, and their properties and characteristics. The programming of intelligent systems and real-world robots are explored in the context of localisation, mapping, and fuzzy logic control. View Intelligent Systems and Robotics on our Module Directory Humans can often perform a task extremely well (e.g., telling cats from dogs) but are unable to understand and describe the decision process followed. Without this explicit knowledge, we cannot write computer programs that can be used by machines to perform the same task. “Machine learning” is the study and application of methods to learn such algorithms automatically from sets of examples, just like babies can learn to tell cats from dogs simply by being shown examples of dogs and cats by their parents. Machine learning has proven particularly suited to cases such as optical character recognition, dictation software, language translators, fraud detection in financial transactions, and many others. View Machine Learning on our Module Directory Wish to design, program and evaluate embedded systems from software specification to hardware implementation? Study the techniques to develop software for embedded systems and robotics. Examine performance needs and the key issues in designing real-time software for embedded systems in real-world applications. Understand the main techniques of real-time programming. View Programming Embedded Systems on our Module Directory Computer vision is the discipline that tries to understand the content of images and videos. It has an extraordinarily wide range of applications; well-known ones include inspection on production lines, reading number plates, mixing live and computer-generated action in movies, and recognising faces. However, researchers are working on applications such as driverless cars, building 3D models from photographs, robot navigation, gaming interfaces, and automated medical diagnosis -- in fact, whenever you as a human looks at the world and try to understand what you see is fair game for computer vision.This module introduces you to the principles of computer vision through a series of lectures and demonstrations. You have an opportunity to learn how to use these principles and algorithms on real-world vision problems in the associated laboratories using the industry-standard toolkit, OpenCV. View Computer Vision on our Module Directory This module aims to prepare students for conducting an independent research project leading to a dissertation and to provide them with an appreciation of research and business skills related to their professional career. As a precursor to their project students, individually select an area of Computer Science, or Electronic Engineering, or Computational Finance and perform the necessary background research to define a topic and prepare a project proposal under the guidance of a supervisor. The module guides them by a) introducing common research methods b) creating an understanding of basic statistics for describing and making conclusions from data c) helping to write a strong proposal including learning how to perform literature search and evaluation and d) giving an in-depth view into the business enterprise, financial and management accounting and investment appraisal. View Professional Practice and Research Methodology on our Module Directory Teamwork skills are essential for employability. The aim of this module is to provide students with the opportunity to apply their specialised knowledge to a realistic problem and gain practical experience of the processes involved in the team-based production of software. Wherever possible, teams are organised on the basis of shared interest, and the problem is designed to exercise their understanding of their area of specialised study. Starting from an outline description of a realistic problem, each team is required to develop a fully implemented software solution using appropriate engineering and project management techniques. View Group Project on our Module Directory COMPONENT 08: OPTIOL Option(s) from list (30 CREDITS)

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Teaching

• Courses provide a thorough and up-to-date knowledge of the theory, methods and applications of computer science
• Core components combined with optional modules, to enable you to gain either in-depth specialisation or a breadth of understanding
• Our postgraduates are encouraged to attend conferences and seminars, as well as engage with the wider research community

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Assessment

• Courses are assessed on the results of your written examinations, together with continual assessments of your practical work and coursework

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Dissertation

• Your research project allows you to focus in depth on your chosen topic from April
• Close supervision by faculty staff