Newcastle among locations for new £40 million network of robotics adoption hubs

Newcastle is one of the locations for a new network of Robotics Adoption Hubs being rolled out across the UK from Friday 9 October. Backed by £40 million, the eight hubs, which also include sites in the South West, Milton Keynes and South Wales, will help businesses and public services adopt robotics and autonomous technology.

The hubs will offer expert advice, tailored support to help organisations identify which technology best suits their needs, and real-world demonstrations of the newest innovations. Each will also give impartial advice on the benefits, costs and practical requirements of adopting robotics, and connect organisations with technology suppliers, integrators and finance providers.

The technologies covered include robotic surgical assistants that can make surgery less invasive and support quicker recovery, and automated fruit-picking machines intended to cut harvest times. Other projects include a hub in the South East testing automation in waste and recycling, and work in Milton Keynes on service robots, drones and driverless vehicles.

The funded partnerships will bring together universities, research institutes, local authorities and businesses. Estimates show robotics and autonomous systems could add £150 billion to the UK economy by 2035 if adoption is maximised, compared with £6.4 billion at current levels of adoption.

Speaking on a visit to the HARVEST hub in Lincoln, Minister for AI Kanishka Narayan said: "If we can harness robotics in every sector of our economy, we can speed up how we reindustrialise the UK. It really is that simple, but too often businesses and bosses don't know where to start."