BI1RM3: Robotics in Medicine and Prosthetics

Module code: BI1RM3

Module provider: School of Biological Sciences

Credits: 20

Level: 4

When you’ll be taught: Semester 1 / 2

Module convenor: Dr Yoshikatsu Hayashi, email: y.hayashi@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 18 September 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module introduces students to the multifaceted challenges involved in developing functional prosthetics, robotic systems, exoskeletons, and advanced medical equipment such as surgical robotics. Emphasizing medical and rehabilitation applications, the module explores how engineering solutions can restore or augment human function through intelligent and adaptive technologies.

Students will gain hands-on experience alongside foundational knowledge in prosthetics, orthotics, biomechanics, and robotics. They will engage with the design, control, and operation of complex medical and assistive devices, fostering a practical understanding of the interplay between mechanical systems and the human body. The course aims to deepen students’ appreciation of the engineering that underpins these technologies across clinical and industrial settings.

A core focus is on kinematics and biomechanics—the study of forces, torques, and joint mechanics—as applied to humans, animals, and robotic mechanisms. Students will learn how these physical principles govern movement and interaction, and how they can be modelled and replicated in artificial systems.

In parallel, the course integrates key principles of control engineering to examine how feedback, stability, and dynamic response are crucial to the performance of robotic and biomedical systems. Through this, students will understand how control strategies can be used to regulate motion, enhance safety, and enable responsive behaviour in both robotic devices and hybrid bio-mechanical systems.

Finally, mathematical methods are used to derive equations of motion for robots, humans, and animals. This quantitative framework bridges theory and application, enabling students to analyse and simulate complex biomechanical and robotic systems with precision and clarity.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Articulate the mechanical, biomechanical, and engineering design principles necessary to create innovative devices, robotic systems, and orthotic solutions. This includes an understanding of how forces, torques, joint mechanics, and motion dynamics influence both biomechanical and mechanical systems.
2. Describe in detail specific examples of robotics and engineering advancements in areas such as prosthetics, orthotics, surgical robotics, assistive technologies, medical devices, and broader industrial applications. Students will analyse how control engineering principles—such as feedback, system stability, and dynamic response—are applied to enhance performance and reliability in these systems.
3. Attend intensive lab practical sessions, students will be expected to understand and demonstrate both theoretical and physical solutions to targeted problem areas, integrating biomechanical analysis and control strategies in their design and evaluation process. This includes developing and testing solutions using appropriate modelling, simulation, and prototyping tools.
4. Critically engage with scientific and engineering literature, using it to justify their approaches and to situate their designs within the broader context of current research and technological development.
5. Develop a deeper understanding of engineering design processes, including the interplay between group collaboration and individual contributions. They will acquire and apply a range of interdisciplinary tools and techniques—spanning biomechanics, mechanical design, and control systems engineering—that can be adapted to a wide array of real-world challenges.

Module content

Topics covered will include comprehensive engineering design methods, the selection and performance of engineering materials, and the use of computer-aided design (CAD) and rapid prototyping techniques. Students will explore free-form fabrication methods, as well as the integration of passive joints and active joints (such as motors and actuators) within biomechanical and robotic systems. The course will also emphasize the structural design and dynamic behaviour of these systems, incorporating key principles of control engineering to address feedback, system stability, and real-time responsiveness in robotic and assistive technologies.

A strong focus will be placed on biomechanics, including the analysis of forces, torques, joint kinematics, and movement patterns in both biological organisms and robotic mechanisms. This biomechanical foundation will inform the design and evaluation of functional devices that interact with the human body.

Sensing and control topics will be expanded to include sensor integration, signal processing, and closed-loop control strategies that enable adaptive and intelligent behaviour in robotic systems. Students will apply these concepts to simulate and implement control architectures suitable for assistive and rehabilitative technologies.

Students will be encouraged to research and critically evaluate a range of advanced topics, such as legged robotic systems, intelligent upper and lower limb prosthetics, and the assessment of emerging technologies through platforms like the Cybathlon. Additional areas of study may include surgical robotics, haptic interfaces in rehabilitation, transcutaneous and implanted mechanisms, and advanced sensor technologies. Through this, students will gain exposure to the intersection of biomechanics, control systems, and engineering innovation in both clinical and industrial contexts.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures and open laboratories.

Study hours

At least 50 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each calendar day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three calendar days;
• where the piece of work is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in you Individual Learning Plan), the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three calendar days of the deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

Where a piece of work is submitted late after a deadline which has been revised owing to an extension granted through the Assessment Adjustments policy and process (self-certified or otherwise), it will be subject to the maximum penalty (i.e., considered to be more than three calendar days late). This will also apply when such an extension is used in conjunction with a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs