The National Robotarium

The National Robotarium is the UK’s centre for robotics and AI at Heriot-Watt University, developed in partnership with the University of Edinburgh to accelerate innovation, strengthen industry collaboration, and translate research into real-world impact. It sits within a wider ecosystem of critical technologies, where advances in robotics increasingly depend on progress in photonics, quantum, semiconductors, sensing, and connectivity. These technologies provide the foundations for smarter machines: semiconductors enable compute at the edge, sensing and photonics improve perception and precision, connectivity supports distributed autonomous systems, and quantum has emerging potential in navigation, optimisation, and secure communications. By bringing together researchers, businesses, and public-sector partners, the National Robotarium helps connect these enabling technologies to practical applications in areas such as healthcare, offshore energy, manufacturing, and autonomous inspection. In this way, it is not only a hub for robotics development, but a catalyst for innovation across the wider deep-tech landscape.