Course units
Year 1
You will begin to broaden your computational skill set with an underpinning in coding in languages used in the robotics industry, such as Python and C++ and building to include data, maths and methods, relevant to signals, geometry and quantitative methods.
Skills will be applied to creative making and computational practices encompassing fundamentals of mechanics as well as introduction to physical computing, such as Arduino coding.
You will learn introductory creative mechanics, such as digital fabrication, 3d printing of robotic parts and understanding basic mechanisms of robotic movement.
You will have access to open robots used in industry such as robotic arms and humanoids. You will explore the history of robotics and computational creativity and studies and methods and how to write essays.
Coding 1: Introduction to creative computing and coding practice
Taught through coding classes, this unit introduces ideas that are fundamental to building a conceptual understanding of computation for creative practice. Computational thinking requires more than writing code. It enables learning new ways to think about problem solving.
Critical robotics: A history of robotics and computational creativity
Taught through seminars and workshops and resulting a piece of academic writing, this unit aims to give you a solid understanding of what robots are in a cultural sense, where, when and who developed them, and how they have led to specific forms of creative practice.
Creative making: Design and coding
Taught through creative practice, in this unit you explore techniques and design methods needed to create and control robotic prototypes using a popular libraries for creating robotics. You will tour the basics of the coding languages including functions, data structures and conditional statements to make project-based prototypes.
Coding 2: Data, maths and methods for mechanical engineering
Taught through coding classes, this unit introduces fundamental mathematical and numerical concepts required for the development of algorithmic and computational approaches in computing for robotics. you will develop their knowledge of Calculus, Geometry and Algebra through applied, practical programming tasks.
Computational practices: Creative mechanics
Taught through practical classes and workshops, this unit introduces you to essential concepts and core techniques in mechanics that underpin contemporary robotic practices. This units is essential to building an understanding of what robots of all scales can do.
Creative making: Physical computing
Taught through creative practice, this unit you will lean to build physical computing prototypes using sensor actuators and electronics. This will enable you to take robotic ideas form paper to prototype.
Year 2
As you develop your computational understanding, you’ll progress into machine learning and AI, with an introduction to basic concepts, framed by computational creativity.
You will explore the impact of robotics in society and posthumanism theories, learn human-robot interaction and design methodologies, such as speculative and participatory methods.
You will progress into creative making of art and robotics, such as robots that make music and drawing machines. Building on these you will learn coding of social robotics, such as chatbots, and designing and conducting studies with humans and robots.
Coding 3: AI and machine learning
Taught through coding classes, this unit introduces you to functional approaches to machine learning and AI fundamental to the computer vison systems required for autonomous robotic systems. These systems allow robots to recognise objects and interact with them.
Critical robotics: Robots and society
Taught through seminars and workshops and resulting a piece of academic writing, this unit explores how robots have evolved differently in societies across the world and the implications of these contexts for robotic futures.
Creative making: Art and robotics
Taught through creative practice, this unit allows you to translate ideas into robotic artworks using your new skills and understandings. As well as building your individual portfolio of robotics practice this unit will test how well your intentions translate into creative outcomes.
Coding 4: Social robotics
Taught through coding classes, this unit introduces you to functional approaches to building robots that interact with each other and people.
Computational practices: Advanced creative mechanics
Taught through practical classes and workshops, this extends techniques in robot mechanics that underpin contemporary robotic practices specifically in the area of human robot interaction.
Creative making: Creative human robot interaction
Taught through creative practice, this unit allows you to apply the skills learnt in this block to an interactive robotic prototype alongside the theory of human robot interaction.
Optional year in industry
The Diploma in Professional Studies is an optional placement year in industry between the second and third year of the course. It is a managed year of professional experience, largely undertaken in the creative industries in a variety of national and international locations.
Successful candidates are selected on a competitive basis from academic performance and studentship, successful completion of the DPS bridging studies and by portfolio and proposal
Year 3/4
In your final year you will explore networked robotic and the ethical implications of robotic technologies. Alongside this you will develop creative project work using applied robotic open-source frameworks, such as ROS, openRAVE, MoveIt and have the opportunity to develop a self-directed graduation project that brings together the skills and expertise you have gained throughout the course.
Coding 5: Networked robotics
Taught through coding classes, this unit introduces you to functional approaches to building robots that work together and act in concert and in swarms.
Critical robotics: Robotic ethics
Taught through seminars and workshops and resulting a piece of academic writing, this unit explores the ethical context of robots and our increasing use of autonomous robotic systems.
Creative making: Applied robotics - sensing in the wild
Taught through creative practice, this unit allows you to apply the skills learnt in this block to a robotic prototype that engages with its environment through sensor data exploring contemporary applied robotics contexts.
Coding 6: Developing robots in the creative industry
Taught through coding classes, this unit interduces a range of advance frameworks for robotic development in use across creative industry contexts. This units also contains industry talks from robotic practitioners detailing their robotic workflows.
Creative making: Graduation project
This unit is the opportunity for you to develop a significant project with the skills you have developed over the course to date. In negotiation with your tutors, you will scope a project that focuses on robotic innovation and/or creative practice and preferably both. You will also write an associated thesis exploring thesis associated with your work.
