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PhD in Robotics | Electrically Actuated Metamaterial Grippers with Sensing

Project 2734 · University of Sheffield · School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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Save this opportunity and prepare around its actual requirements. Confirm deadlines and eligibility at the original source.

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Country or region
United Kingdom
Application deadline
2027-01-13 (confirm the exact time with the source)
Funding
EPSRC DLA project award described as 3.5 years, covering full tuition, a UKRI-rate stipend and project research funding; the scheme separately lists a £4,500 Research Training and Support Grant over the award. Home candidates are prioritised; international awards are capped at 30% (up to 10 anticipated), with fee-difference support for eligible successful awardees. The 2026/27 £21,805 stipend is a dated benchmark, not the 2027/28 amount. Personal fee band and grant terms should be confirmed.

The research opportunity

PhD in Robotics | Electrically Actuated Metamaterial Grippers with Sensing

Project overview This PhD aims to extend a simple dielectric-elastomer-actuated mechanical metamaterial gripper developed by the University of Sheffield with Airbus Operations into a multi-segment, multi-finger system with embedded sensing. The work combines theoretical and computational design, physical prototyping and testing, with close collaboration with Airbus on design and tests. Complex manufacturing is the main application context; space environments are mentioned as a wider motivation, not as a promised deployment or validation setting.

Mechanical metamaterials use engineered structural elements whose collective response can provide mechanical behaviour unavailable from a conventional constituent material alone. Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are polymers that deform under an applied electric field. Project background notes describe potential advantages such as fast response, controllability, low power use and scalability, alongside low force output and limited adoption. Prior metamaterial gripper work may improve contact area, but existing work cited in the project is specialist and not necessarily tested against industry requirements. The Sheffield–Airbus predecessor is described as versatile, but no baseline, sample size or quantitative performance evidence is given. This PhD will prototype and test a new design; no numeric targets are published for grip force, payload, speed, cycle life, object range, grasp success, sensor resolution, voltage/energy use, repeatability or task benchmarks.

The student will be based in Sheffield’s Applied and Theoretical Metamaterials Lab, within the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. The project information lists FDM and resin printers, a high-voltage testing enclosure, mechanical and electrical assembly stations, and simulation workstations. Facility access, equipment allocation, required high-voltage safety training and Airbus test-site access are not specified. Airbus is named as an industry collaborator; the detailed work split, joint supervision, placement, confidentiality and intellectual-property terms need confirmation.

Application and eligibility The project is advertised as a fully funded EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Award (DLA) PhD for October 2027 entry. The project page specifies 3.5 years of support covering full tuition, a UKRI-rate stipend and project research funding. The general DLA scheme lists a £4,500 Research Training and Support Grant over the award; it is research/training support, not a living stipend. The 2026/27 UKRI minimum stipend reference is £21,805 per year, effective from 1 October 2026; the October 2027/28 amount is not established by that benchmark. Home-fee applicants are prioritised. The DLA scheme caps international recruitment at 30% (up to 10 places anticipated) and says Sheffield covers the fee difference for eligible successful international awardees. This does not remove the international-place competition. Visa fees, the NHS health surcharge and relocation costs are outside the stated scheme coverage.

The 2027/28 EEE PhD overseas tuition range in the cited fee information is £31,870–£36,870; the Home fee and an individual fee band remain to be confirmed. The 2026/27 51-week Sheffield accommodation examples range from £7,939.68 to £9,981.72 and include some utilities and services, but are not a full living-cost budget or a 2027/28 guarantee.

Applicants must use the dedicated EPSRC DLA form and select 1 October 2027 as the start date. It contains three DLA questions, each limited to 300 words. Applicants may select up to two projects; Sheffield strongly recommends two where relevant, but this is optional. The deadline is Wednesday 13 January 2027 at 17:00 GMT. The saved application information anticipates Home interviews in mid-February 2027 and international interviews in late March; confirm the round’s schedule. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Dr Simon Pope and Dr Amir Ghalamzan before applying.

The project calls for applicants who hold or are close to completing a relevant degree, with examples in Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace, General, Robotics or Control Systems Engineering. The project description does not give a minimum grade, English score, publication count or prior DEA experience requirement. Check the university’s admission requirements separately. The DLA AI-use statement linked in the application material allows research and disclosed editing support, but prohibits fully AI-generated applications or CVs, fabricated experience, advance-generated interview answers and real-time AI in interviews; confirm the rules for the application round before submitting.

Funding terms are described at programme level, but the applicant’s award result, 2027/28 stipend, exact fee band, £4,500 grant usage rules, project research grant budget, Airbus contribution and individual eligibility all require written confirmation. Ask the supervisors for the key performance measures, benchmark tasks, partner responsibilities, safety requirements, facility access, data/IP terms and the award’s continuing conditions.

Research and application brief

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Show report contents

PhD in Robotics | Electrically Actuated Metamaterial Grippers with Sensing

University of Sheffield · School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering · October 2027 entry
Advertised deadline: Wednesday 13 January 2027, 17:00 UK time (GMT)
Research checked: 7 November 2026

Quick Decision

Promising with material uncertainties. This engineering PhD aims to develop an electrically actuated mechanical metamaterial gripper from a simple predecessor into a multi-segment, multi-finger system with embedded sensing. Work spans theoretical/computational design, prototyping and testing with Airbus Operations. The EEE project page states a 3.5-year DLA award covering full tuition, UKRI-rate maintenance and a project research grant. The deadline is 13 January 2027 at 17:00 UK time. The topic is timely, but the advert publishes no numeric grip, sensing, durability or repeatability targets, and Airbus's detailed workshare and any placement or extra stipend are unknown. Before applying, ask the supervisors what successful performance means and what the partner contributes. Project page DLA scheme

Research Problem and Doctoral Work

What Is Unsolved and Why It Matters

Many robotic grippers are optimized for a narrow task or object class, and require redesign to handle other shapes, sizes, materials or operations. Mechanical metamaterials use engineered structural elements whose collective behaviour can provide responses not available from the constituent material alone. The project combines such a structure with dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs), polymers that deform under an electric field, and embedded sensing. Its main use case is advanced handling in complex manufacturing. The advert also mentions space environments as a wider motivation, not a promised deployment setting. Project page UK metamaterials roadmap

The project says Sheffield and Airbus have already developed a simple DEA-driven metamaterial gripper with versatile gripping performance. The PhD would extend it into a multi-segment, multi-finger design with embedded sensing. The listed work includes theoretical and computational design, physical prototyping and testing; the student is expected to work closely with Airbus on design and tests. A Henry Royce Institute event lists Simon Pope presenting a related Industrial Collaboration Programme gripper case study. This supports a related translation activity, but does not establish the PhD's Airbus workshare, placement, funding or measured performance. Project page Henry Royce event

Work, Methods, and Potential Outputs

Likely engineering questions include how cell geometry changes stiffness, bending and contact; how much force and motion the chosen DEA can produce; how sensing can detect contact, slip or deformation; and whether the design repeats across objects and task types. These are research angles inferred from the stated scope, not published milestones. The advert identifies the Applied and Theoretical Metamaterials Lab and lists FDM/resin printers, a high-voltage testing enclosure, mechanical/electrical assembly stations and simulation workstations. It does not say which facilities are reserved for the student, what safety training is required, or how much time is available for Airbus tests. Project page

Performance evidence boundary: no numeric target is published for grip force, payload, speed, cycle life, object range, grasp success, sensing resolution, actuator voltage/energy, repeatability or task benchmark. The advert also does not define safety limits or the threshold for “versatile” performance. Ask which measures are core outputs and what benchmark conditions will be used. The cited references need careful interpretation. DOI 10.1016/j.matdes.2025.113649 is a 2025 paper on pneumatic soft actuators with metamaterial reinforcements; its tests do not measure the proposed electrically actuated Airbus gripper. DOI 10.1088/2399-7532/ac4c95 is a broad 2022 soft-robotics roadmap, not a DEA gripper performance study. Pope and colleagues' 2026 active-metamaterials roadmap discusses field-level actuation and reconfiguration challenges. Ghalamzan's 2025 slip-control paper is adjacent work on trajectory modulation and predictive control, not evidence of this device's metrics. Pneumatic actuator paper Soft robotics roadmap Active metamaterials roadmap Slip-control paper

School, Programme and Field Context

The University of Sheffield is the host and degree-awarding institution; the project is based in its School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Airbus Operations is named as an industry collaborator, not a co-awarding institution. The page says the student will work in Sheffield's Applied and Theoretical Metamaterials Lab and closely with Airbus; it does not confirm an Airbus site placement, joint degree or joint registration. EEE describes an interdisciplinary environment spanning control, robotics, mechatronics and industrial automation. EEE School University of Sheffield

Sheffield reports that its Faculty of Engineering came eighth in REF 2021 research quality, with 96% of its submission in the two highest categories and a top national research-environment result. The EEE page describes a joint-first research environment as part of the wider Engineering submission. These are Faculty/submission-level signals, not an EEE-only or lab-level ranking. Sheffield's DDP provides research skills, ethics, IT/statistics and career development. The 2025–26 Code of Practice covers registration, supervision and progress; recheck the 2027–28 rules when published. Faculty REF results REF guidance DDP hub Code of Practice

Supervisor and Lab Assessment

Dr Simon Pope's profile describes work on active mechanical metamaterials, manufacturing and aerospace/robotics; he leads the UK Metamaterials Network's active metamaterials group. Dr Amir Ghalamzan is a Senior Lecturer and robotics theme lead whose Intelligent Manipulation Lab focuses on grasping, manipulation, robot learning and tactile sensing. Their profiles complement the project's material and manipulation strands, but do not state the primary supervisor, work split or meeting cadence. The project page lists prototyping and simulation facilities; confirm access, safety training and availability. Simon Pope Amir Ghalamzan Project facilities

Three recent papers give adjacent context: Pope et al.'s 2026 roadmap identifies active-material design/operation challenges; Ochoa et al.'s 2025 pneumatic-actuator study shows how reinforcement geometry changes soft-actuator behaviour; Nazari et al.'s 2025 slip-control work shows trajectory adaptation and predictive modelling can improve grasp stability in particular tasks. None reports results for the proposed multi-finger electric gripper. The Royce programme supports university-business translation, but there is no confirmation this PhD receives separate Royce funding. Active-materials roadmap Pneumatic actuator paper Slip-control paper Royce programme

Field Outlook and Career Context

The UK Government's metamaterials roadmap, published 22 October 2026, prioritises demonstrators, manufacturing scale-up, assurance/standards and workforce skills, while identifying gaps between research, industry and production. The Government Office for Science's 2025 rapid assessment is useful background but has a January 2024 evidence cutoff. Together these support the translation problem without implying that a lab prototype is already an industrial product. Skills from this PhD may transfer to robotics, advanced manufacturing, soft robotics, aerospace R&D or academic research; this is inferred from the work and sector plans, not a hiring or Airbus employment promise. 2026 roadmap 2025 assessment Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan

Funding, Application, and Living Cost

The EEE project page states a fully funded 3.5-year DLA award: full tuition, UKRI-rate maintenance and a project research grant. The general scheme lists £21,805 as the 2026/27 stipend and a £4,500 Research Training and Support Grant over the award. Collaborative industrial DLA awards may be 3.5 or 4 years and may include partner supervision, placement or enhancement; this project says 3.5 years but does not itemize an Airbus contribution, placement or project-level grant budget. UKRI's £21,805 minimum applies from 1 October 2026; the October 2027 rate is not confirmed. Project funding DLA scheme UKRI support International applicants are capped at 30% of DLA awards, with up to 10 places anticipated; Home candidates are considered first. Sheffield says it covers the fee difference for successful international awardees. The general award does not cover relocation costs such as visa fees or the health surcharge. DLA application rules

Sheffield lists 2027–28 EEE PhD Overseas fees at £31,870–£36,870; Home fees remain TBC. The University lists 2026–27 51-week postgraduate campus rents as £7,939.68–£8,839.32 for shared-bathroom rooms and £9,178.47–£9,981.72 for selected en-suite rooms, including utilities, contents insurance and internet. Housing alone is about 36–46% of the 2026/27 £21,805 stipend reference, before food, transport and personal spending. These are planning references, not 2027–28 guarantees. Fee lookup Living costs 2026–27 rents

The dedicated EPSRC DLA form is required; a standard PhD application cannot substitute. It contains three questions, each capped at 300 words, covering motivation, relevant skills and an example of addressing a research question. Complete all sections and choose 1 October 2027 as start date. Up to two project preferences are allowed; the university strongly advises two where relevant, but this is not mandatory. The deadline is Wednesday 13 January 2027 at 5pm UK time; on that date UK time is GMT. Shortlisted Home interviews are expected mid-February and International interviews in late March. Collaborative applications may be shared with the partner. DLA how to apply The DLA AI statement permits research and disclosed editing support, but prohibits fully AI-generated application/CV content, false claims, generated advance interview answers and real-time interview AI. The form asks applicants to disclose AI use. Check the AI-use statement that applies to your application round. DLA AI statement

Applicant Fit and Preparation

The project says a strong candidate will hold, or be close to completing, a relevant degree such as Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace, General, Robotics or Control Systems Engineering. No grade threshold is stated in that project line. Specific prior DEA, cleanroom or programming experience is not listed as a formal prerequisite. Useful preparation inferred from the tasks could include CAD/FEA, mechanism design, electroactive materials, mechatronics, sensor integration, control, prototyping and experimental analysis. These are suggestions, not added eligibility rules. A portfolio example should state what the applicant designed, how performance was measured, what failed and how evidence guided iteration. A profile seeking only theory with little prototyping may be a weaker fit based on listed tasks, but this is not an exclusion.

Next Actions and Questions to Verify

Before applying: ask both supervisors for success criteria and benchmark tasks; clarify Airbus's workshare, access, co-supervision, placement, confidentiality/IP; confirm admission and document requirements.

At interview: ask how force, voltage, deformation, sensing, safety and cycle life will be balanced; what prototype exists at the time of application; and what fallback is planned if sensing or multi-finger manufacture slips.

Before accepting: obtain written award dates, 2027/28 stipend, fee coverage, project grant allocation, whether the £4,500 support grant applies, and any Airbus enhancement or placement terms. Confirm equipment access and primary registration school.

Evidence and Sources

Project, school and training

Supervisors, lab and collaboration

Funding, application and costs

Papers and field context

Sources

The listing may come from a university or recruitment platform. Check the notice and official sources in the report for current application requirements. View the recruitment source

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