• Swindon & Wiltshire News
• Wednesday May 25 2022
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Dyson reveals top secret plans to build UK’s biggest robot centre at Hullavington

Engineering firm Dyson has revealed its plans to build the UK’s largest, most advanced, robotics centre at Hullavington Airfield.

The announcement was made at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Philadelphia, where the firm released pictures of secret robot prototypes carrying out household chores.

The company said it was accelerating the development of an autonomous device capable of household chores and other tasks.

A film, which was also released on social media, catches the latest developments of Dyson-designed robotic hands grasping objects, indicating that the tech company is moving beyond robotic floor-based vacuums.

The secret R&D work at Hullavington Airfield in Wiltshire is being led by Dyson’s chief engineer Jake Dyson.

Dyson is halfway through the largest engineering recruitment drive in its history. Two thousand people have joined the tech company this year, of whom 50 per cent are engineers, scientists, and coders.

Dyson is supercharging its robotics ambitions, recruiting 250 robotics engineers across disciplines including computer vision, machine learning, sensors and mechatronics, and expects to hire 700 more in the robotics field over the next five years.

Its plan is to create the UK’s largest, most advanced, robotics centre at Hullavington Airfield and to bring the technology into our homes by the end of the decade.

New recruits will be based at Hullavington Airfield, a new London laboratory close to the Dyson Robotics Lab at Imperial College, and Singapore at Dyson’s global headquarters.

Over the past six months, Dyson has been secretly refitting one of the main aircraft hangars at Hullavington Airfield to prepare for 250 roboticists to move into their new home.

Its latest robotics makeover is the next stage in Dyson’s £2.75bn investment plan in new technologies, products and facilities; £600 million of which is to be spent this year.

“Dyson employed its first roboticist 20 years ago and this year alone we are seeking 250 more experts for our team,” said Jake Dyson, chief engineer at Dyson.

“This is a ‘big bet’ on future robotic technology that will drive research across the whole of Dyson, in areas including mechanical engineering, vision systems, machine learning and energy storage. We need the very best people in the world to come and join us now.”