Systems Engineering Research Group

A powered wheelchair fitted with sensors on a work bench in an engineering lab

CREATING A SMARTER WORLD

Research that is creating smart mobility systems, intelligent assistive technology, automatic robotic systems, smart energy management, decision making systems and intelligent sensors

Overview

Winners of the IET Excellence in Creating a Smarter World International Innovation Award and the IET International Award for Outstanding Innovation in Digital Health and Social Care.

Our systems engineering research uses systemic thinking and intelligent systems engineering to assist organisations (mainly industry and business partners) to become more globally competitive.

The application of our research and expertise has provided improvements and solutions to industrial and business problems in design, manufacture, engineering, management, computing, electronics and software.

Our members research activities include:

Modular electro-mechanical systems and electronics
Assistive technology
Computer aided design systems
Knowledge management systems and computing systems
Automation, robotics and sensors
Environmental systems

The Systems Engineering Research Group was established 30 years ago to enable businesses to take advantage of expertise in the University. Collaborations with businesses generally last from one to three years, although several have lasted considerably longer, some for more than twenty years.

Funding for collaboration with business is mainly provided by Innovate UK, research councils and charities.

Current projects

Intelligent decision making

Professor David Sanders, Dr Giles Tewkesbury

Making decisions about saving energy in compressed air systems using ambient intelligence and AI

COFUND, DTA3 Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD Fellowship

Professor Victor Becerra, Professor David Sanders, Dr Giles Tewkesbury, Dr Nils Bausch

Proposed system to combine ambient sensing, artificial intelligence and knowledge management to optimise energy efficiency for compressed air manufacturing units.

Intelligent sensors

Knowledge Transfer Partnership with TGA Industries and Gem Sensors and Controls

Professor David Sanders, Dr Giles Tewkesbury, Dr Rinat Khusainov

Using artificial intelligence to share control of a powered-wheelchair between a wheelchair user and an intelligent sensor system

Professor David Sanders, Dr Alexander Gegov, Dr Malik Haddad, Dr Martin Langner

Building energy management systems

Knowledge Transfer Partnership with InTandem Systems Ltd

Professor David Sanders, Dr Giles Tewkesbury, Dr Jovana Radulovic, Dr Mohamed Hassan Sayed

Vehicle driving

Professor David Sanders, Dr Giles Tewkesbury, Dr John Chiverton, Dr Branislav Vuksanovic

Funding and awards

Our research has achieved national and international recognition, for example, we were recently shortlisted for international innovation awards and Young Engineer of the Year awards.

The group have published more than 400 papers and generated income of than £5,000,000, including nine SERC/EPSRC grants, fourteen KTP/TCS programmes and seven European grants.

New systems

IET Excellence in Creating a Smarter World International Innovation Award
IET International Innovation Award for Outstanding Innovation in Digital Health and Social Care
Biometric and signature capture devices (two patents still in use in the UK and USA, for example in Nationwide Building Society)
Powered wheelchair systems and devices (used by 2,000 people since 2008 in six special educational needs schools and institutions including RNIB and NHS and many private homes, they are reducing the need for carers and changing professional services)
Modular design for manufacture and assembly (currently in use by BlueMT)
Music teaching systems (currently in use in six schools and colleges)
Systems for teaching over the Web (currently in use in eleven schools and colleges)
Tele-operation systems (was used for controlling robots, especially in the energy supply industries)
Energy saving systems (currently used in many buildings, most recently in Chichester Festival Theatre)
Large scale high-recirculation airlift reactors (used by EffTech ltd, Zeneca Bio-products and Anglian Water)
Intelligent monitoring and disaster prevention systems (these have only just been created and are being assessed in the petroleum industry)
Intelligent sensors (these have only just been created and are being assessed by TGA Industries Ltd)

Examples of research work taken up by other Universities

Design systems (especially mechanical and civil engineering and design for assembly): Waterloo (Canada), Chalmers (Sweden), Edith Cowan (Australia), Girona and Politecn Catalunya (Spain)
Virtual reality in engineering (especially powered wheelchair and tele-operator training): Laval (Canada), Chester (UK), and Pittsburgh (USA)
Modelling fluid flows: MIT (USA), Ben Gurion (Israel) and National Chung Cheng (Taiwan)
Internet use in engineering (especially browser-based systems): N Florida (USA), Georgia (Greece), Hong Kong Poly (China), and Madrid & Autonoma (Spain)

Prizes

Twice awarded Highly Merited by the IET
Twice awarded 2nd place at the IET International Innovation Awards
Awarded the UK Engineering Tutor Prize for Best Engineering Project by the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineering
Outstanding Paper Award at the 2012 Emerald Journals Literati Network Awards
Several Best Paper and Best Session Paper awards in journals and at conferences
Education award from the Department for Education
The group have supervised 20 Masters and 70 PhDs to completion