The QUT Centre for Robotics is one of the largest and most successful robotics groups in the world, with over 100 full-time researchers, including 15 core academics. It has ranked as the leading
robotics group in Australia by The Australian Research Magazine for three years running, 2019 -2021.
QUT Robotics has been involved in over $100M of research and industry initiatives, and has led or co- led major strategic investments in Australian robotics, including the $26M Australian Centre for Robotic Vision (2014 – 20), the $18M Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Hub (2019), two robotics-related ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centres (ITTCs), in Collaborative Robotics (2020) and Joint Biomechanics (2019), an ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub (2020), and major research infrastructure including a $2M ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities grant to establish Australia’s largest covered outdoor lunar testbed facility (2022), and the Autonomous Combat Warrior (ACW) Research and Technology program (2019 onward, 60 people), part of a $5.2bn contract with collaborator Rheinmetall to develop the Australian Defence Force’s future vehicles.
We lead the robotics components of the joint Australia–US AUSMURI Neuro-autonomy (2019–23, $15M) and Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF, 2020 onward, $36M) international and national initiatives. The Centre has worked with, and been funded by, many of the world’s leading companies and universities, including Amazon, Google, Intel, Ford, Caterpillar, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Harvard, Oxford and MIT.
The QUT Robotics Group has more than 60 current PhD and Masters students, and has had more than 40 completions since the Centre’s inception in 2020. Several dozen alumni have taken opportunities at leading startups (including several spun out or associated with the lab) and technology companies during their PhD.
