Robot Locomotion (Launching soon)
Backed by £60m, this programme sits within the Adaptive Machines opportunity space and seeks to create robot bodies with new forms of locomotion that can operate beyond the limits of today’s machines, such as carrying loads across rough terrain or inspecting hard-to-reach infrastructure.
Our goal
Robots can already navigate warehouses, fly, and perform impressive athletic feats. But they still struggle to move through complex environments. Wheels fail on rubble, mud, stairs, and uneven ground. Drones face limits on range and payload. Legged robots show remarkable agility, but cannot yet operate reliably for long periods beyond controlled environments such as warehouse floors.
We are seeking to change this by building more capable robot bodies with new forms of locomotion that can operate beyond the limits of today’s machines, such as carrying loads across rough terrain or inspecting hard-to-reach infrastructure.
More capable robot locomotion could transform how physical work is carried out, helping address labour shortages and reducing the need for humans to work in dangerous or physically demanding environments.
The challenge is not simply better robot software. The next generation of robots requires smarter physical design: bodies that adapt to difficult terrain, absorb impacts, use energy efficiently, and recover from failure in unpredictable environments.
We want to support teams rethinking robot locomotion from the ground up, building deployable systems that solve real operational problems and have clear routes to commercialisation.
Join a team
Interested in teaming? Let us know if you’d like to connect with others exploring similar ideas and looking to collaborate on upcoming programme funding call.
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