Research Facilities

The Centre for Intelligent Transport benefits from an excellent range of experimental laboratories and advanced computational facilities across aerodynamics, mechanical testing, robotics, and materials characterisation. These facilities are used for research projects, industrial contract testing and collaborations with other organisations. The following lists some of the core facilities within the Centre:

  • Centre for Advanced Robotics at Queen Mary (ARQ) – The laboratory is equipped with robotic arms, mobile platforms, mechatronic systems and control systems, which are used to research swarm robots, human-like robotic systems, virtual reality interfaces, haptic interfaces, and human motion tracking systems.
  • Computational Modelling Facilities – The Centre has access to the QMUL Computing Clusters Apocrita and DERI Andrena, including dedicated use of CPU/GPU nodes for running parallel simulations on-demand. Computational researchers also have access to Tier-1 and Tier-2 national supercomputing facilities, such as ARCHER2, Isambard, CSD3, and Cirrus.
  • Electrospray Laboratory – The comprehensive facility enables detailed investigation into the dynamics of droplets and jets using high-speed video cameras, a high-resolution microscope, and a vacuum chamber. Several diagnostic tools are available for measuring the properties of liquids, including a viscometer, a pendant drop tensiometer and an electrical conductivity meter.
  • Flight Simulator (currently being upgraded) – The high-fidelity flight simulation training device, which is based on the Airbus A320, is equipped with advanced flight control software, immersive graphics, and an integrated electromechanical system. Its open architecture supports flight simulation research through integration of novel aircraft designs, custom flight control systems, additional airport environments, next-generation guidance and control interfaces, and communication with innovative Air Traffic Management systems.
  • Impact Testing Facilities – The laboratory consists of a gas gun system which can launch objects at high speed alongside a liquid jet impact system to study soft material impact, erosion and penetration. High-quality measurements are conducted using a range of high-speed cameras combined with a split Hopkinson pressure bar for high strain-rate testing of materials.
  • Material Manufacturing Facilities –  The Centre has access to a range of advanced material manufacturing facilities. The Polymer Processing Facility supports polymer and composites processing, including melt-processing and solution processing. There are also manufacturing suites for fibre-reinforced composite materials and rubbers, alongside capabilities in vacuum-assisted resin-transfer moulding, hot pressing and spark plasma sintering for ceramics.
  • Mechanical Testing Facilities – The facility features advanced Instron testing machines for evaluating the mechanical properties of various materials in applications ranging from aerospace components to biomaterials. These systems apply compression, tension, and torsion forces, enabling detailed analysis of materials' strength, modulus, and other key characteristics. The lab can also conduct precise hardness measurements and more complex mechanical evaluations using BOSE systems, including a biaxial tester.
  • Mechanical Workshop – The purpose-built, fully equipped mechanical workshop manufactures parts for research projects in the Centre. The workshop contains both manual and CAD/CAM controlled milling and turning machines for high-speed production of complex components using a variety of materials. A state-of-the-art FDM 3D printer enables rapid prototyping in a broad range of thermoplastics.
  • Q-Arena – The integrated state-of-the-art research facility enables multidisciplinary, collaborative studies on innovative robotic platforms and control robots, in addition to bi-directional communication between robotic devices and the tracking system. The platform is equipped with six degrees-of-freedom multi-camera tracking, a virtual reality stereo-projection screen and a bimanual haptic interaction system with wearable touch feedback gloves.
  • Whitehead Aeronautical Laboratory – The experimental aerodynamics laboratory contains three low-speed wind tunnels, three high-speed wind tunnels and an acoustics facility. The available diagnostics combine traditional methods (force balances, pressure sensors, flow and surface visualisation systems, hot-wire anemometry) with state-of-the-art optical systems (particle image velocimetry, high-speed schlieren imaging) and microphone arrays to provide detailed flow field information.

Many of these facilities are shared with other research centres within the School of Engineering and Materials Science, along with a number of additional facilities:

  • Confocal Laser Scanning and Super-resolution Microscopy Lab for microscopes interfaced with mechanical loading systems;
  • Materials Characterisation Laboratory for structural, thermal and mechanical analysis of materials;
  • Materials Engineering in Magnetic Fields (MagMat) Facility for the synthesis and processing of materials in strong magnetic fields;
  • Nano Fluids Research Labs for measuring flow and heat transfer behaviour of nanofluids in micro-tubes;
  • NanoVision Centre for structural, chemical and mechanical analysis at the nanometer scale using electron microscopes and scanning probe microscopes;
  • Photoelectron Spectroscopy Facility for x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy and ion scattering spectroscopy;
  • Spectroscopy Facility for compound and composition identification using spectroscopy techniques;
  • Sustainable Thermal Systems Laboratory for condensation and flow boiling heat transfer investigation;
  • Thermal Analysis Facility for analysing thermo-mechanical material properties such as glass transition temperature, viscosity, and thermal expansion;
  • Thermoelectric Suite for accurate measurement of bulk and thin film thermoelectric materials;
  • X-Ray Diffraction Facility for diffraction analysis, including materials characterisation using x-ray scattering.

In addition, researchers within the Centre have access to many other specialised research facilities elsewhere in the university. For a comprehensive list of facilities available in the Centre please see the School of Engineering and Materials Science Facilities pages.

microscvopy