The University of Salford has secured funding from the European Regional Development Fund to support the creation of a £13m Robotics Centre.
The North of England Robotics Innovation Centre will house robotics, manufacturing labs, teaching space and an automotive laboratory on the ground floor.
It will serve as a hub for the university’s robotics and automation specialists who are looking to work with SMEs around the country to provide design, testing and validation of digital innovation.
Disciplines covered by the development will include robotics for intelligent infrastructure; digital automation and supply chain improvement; and health, wellbeing, and integrated care technologies.
The development is part of the Salford Crescent and University District Masterplan, a £2.5bn, 240-acre regeneration scheme geared towards driving economic and social prosperity.
Georgina Harris, director of engineering at the University of Salford, said: “The ERDF funding is a huge achievement for those involved in this project, and a real endorsement of how important the project is, not only for the university, but for all the people whose lives it can impact through innovation in the future.
“We want to focus on the needs of small and medium-sized industries and work with them, providing the facilities, expertise and equipment, to help them introduce new technologies in innovative ways.”
Construction work on the Robotics Centre is due to start in September this year.
