About Robotics Engineering And Computing for Healthcare (REACH)

Who we are

Research into robotics technologies, intelligent sensors and AI to realise user-centred innovative healthcare solutions that improve Quality of Life, Health and Well-being.

REACH is part of Bristol Robotics Laboratory, a centre of excellence in the Department of Engineering, Design and Mathematics at UWE Bristol.

We have been working in the area of assistive robotics since 2009 and the REACH group was formalised in 2016 and, since then, has developed rapidly in terms of size, experience, and reputation.

We are a multi-disciplinary group and our research covers the design, development and evaluation of socially and physically assistive robots, rehabilitation robotics and smart prosthetics, smart home and wearable sensors, as well as apps for health and well-being.

Underpinning these systems, our research covers the foundational areas of machine learning and Artificial Intelligence, data fusion, human-robot interaction, machine vision, safety and ethics.

To realise the REACH approach in pursuing research on the design and development of assistive technologies that can be deployed in care scenarios and people’s homes, we work as part of multi-disciplinary teams of engineers, psychologists and health care experts and end-users. This provides our researchers with the opportunity to validate concepts and trial users’ actual experience of technology and impact on care pathways and roles. One of the studios is a certified European Robotics League testbed for service robotics benchmarking, evaluating realistic healthcare scenarios, and envisioning future concepts. 

Underpinning these systems, our research encompasses seven engineering/scientific areas:

• Accessible human-robot interaction and interfaces
• Robo-ethics
• Bio-inspired mechatronics
• Bio-smart controllers
• Smart sensing and electronics
• Safety engineering and design assurance
• Rehabilitation and user experience

Find out more about our engineering areas