The robotics group has a large and modern robot laboratory targeting robust field autonomy in diverse domains that is used in both research and teaching: https://www.ntnu.edu/frl 
The group also has extensive laboratory facilities for separation and water treatment. 

The strategy for the Norwegian industry is to reverse the trend of outsourcing production to low-cost countries. Instead, many companies want to achieve profitable production in Norway by using robotics and digitization. Norway has an industrial structure that is largely characterized by large and expensive products that are produced in small numbers. This applies to, among others, the shipbuilding industry which builds advanced ships and ship equipment, the offshore industry where oil platforms and drilling equipment are being built, and the aquaculture industry which makes salmon sea cages and equipment for fish farming. 

As a result, special requirements arise  when introducing robotic production; robots must be able to be switched between different variations of products. This increases the need for intelligent robotics systems with field-demonstrated autonomy, efficient computer systems, and the use of robot vision and sensor technology.

When using robotics, it is possible to produce a variety of products in Norway. Robots are widely used in oil and gas, offshore platforms, wind turbines, fisheries, aquaculture, agriculture, manufacturing, and the energy sector. Examples also include the food industry, the furniture industry, and the production of automotive parts in aluminum.

Robust Field Autonomy

The development of resilient robotic systems is an important focus. These systems are designed to perform autonomous Inspection, Maintenance, and Repair (IMR) operations in diverse and highly dynamic environments. To achieve this, it is essential to develop robust field autonomy for mobile robots operating both on land and underwater. The purpose is to reduce costs, increase efficiency and objectivity, and support sustainable development in field robotics.

Robust field autonomy requires advanced robotic capabilities. This includes perception systems that allow the robot to understand its surroundings, precise localization and mapping for navigation, and reliable control to perform tasks safely and accurately. Integrating these technologies and developing new systems is important to ensure that robots can operate safely, reliably, and efficiently in complex, real-world conditions. These systems should be designed to operate for long periods in unknown and complex terrains, and they should be capable of performing IMR operations more reliably even in environments that are dull, dirty, dangerous, difficult, or dear (the 5Ds of robotization).

Computer Vision

In robotized production, the use of computer vision is important. This includes three-dimensional cameras and laser sensing systems that provide new opportunities. These sensors, combined with modern imitation learning (IL) approaches for advanced autonomous robotic arm operations, enable robots to learn complex manipulation skills from demonstrations, natural language instructions, and multimodal sensory inputs. This includes the use of Large Language Models (LLMs), Vision–Language Models (VLMs), and Vision–Language–Action (VLA) models.

These models enable robots to learn complex manipulation skills from demonstrations, natural language instructions, and multimodal sensory inputs, allowing for more flexible task generalization and human–robot interaction. Practical examples include vision-guided grasping, assembly, and task planning, where robotic arms leverage multimodal learning to interpret scenes, reason about tasks, and execute coordinated actions in dynamic production environments. Computer vision can also be used to verify finished products. 

AGV robots

AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) robots are used to move parts between production units in an automatic factory. AGV robots use computer vision to navigate automatically and can build digital maps of the environment. This is the same type of technology used in robotic lawnmowers and self-propelled cars.

Welding robots

An important application of robots in Norwegian industry is robotic welding. This applies to the manufacture of ships with welding of ship panels and parts for ship equipment. Furthermore, there is a need for robotic welding of large salmon stocks. In the offshore industry, welding steel chassis to oil platforms is an important application. Here, a single weld between two pipes in the construction can take up to 100 hours during manual welding. In robotic welding, camera systems are used to obtain automatic tracking of the weld joint.

Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 is the digitization of factories. This involves product development and production being integrated and digitized. Digital factories have digital models where products and production systems are simulated and presented in three-dimensional graphics. This can be done when planning and designing a new factory, it can be used for planning the next week's production, and it can be used for monitoring and controlling the production while it is going on. In a digital factory, data is collected from many sensors and from camera systems, and this is linked to control systems and computer graphics in a plug-and-play solution.

Mechatronics

Mechatronics is the design of mechanical systems with built-in sensors, electronics and computer technology. It is a trend that more products are made in this way. This is made possible by the proliferation of sensors that are available as small and cheap electronics components that are easy to build into a product, often together with a microcontroller, which is a small, specialized complete computer on a single chip.

Automation

Underwater production and processing systems

Oil and gas remains a key component in Norwegian and international value production. On the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), much of that production is done with underwater production and processing systems, either as a replacement or as an augmentation of more traditional platform solutions; this long-standing trend is expected to continue for as long as oil and gas is extracted from the NCS. Such subsea installations must be remotely controlled from a platform or from land. This is done by using computer systems and underwater control systems. The development is towards a greater degree of automation and installation of more advanced processing equipment on the seabed.

The R&ED group at MTP is chiefly but not exclusively focused on separation and water treatment to ensure reduced energy costs, reduced emissions, and increased production, as well as compressors and other power machinery. 

Modeling and simulation

Modeling and simulation are widely used in advanced automation. In order to automate a system, mathematical models are used to create simulators. Such simulators have much in common with modern computer games where running car and airplane simulators are used to generate realistic movements displayed on computer graphics. In robotics, graphic simulators are used to plan robot positions and program operations. For offshore crane systems, dynamics for cranes and ships are modeled using ship dynamics and mechanism dynamics in combination with wave models. Mathematical models and simulators are important for development and testing.