Dr Bugra Alkan

I am a Senior Lecturer in the Computer Science and Digital Technologies Department at London South Bank University (LSBU), where I led the Human Centred Industrial Intelligence (HC·I²) Lab. I carry out research and teaching primarily in artificial intelligence, cyber-physical systems, and robotics, with over a decade of experience spanning smart manufacturing, collaborative robotics, human-computer interactions, and cyber-physical systems engineering. I received my Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) and Master of Science (First Class Honours with Distinction, Graduate Achievement Award) in Mechanical Engineering from Izmir Institute of Technology, Türkiye, before completing my Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering at the WMG, University of Warwick in 2019. Prior to joining LSBU in 2021, I held research positions as a Research Fellow at WMG, University of Warwick and as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Bristol, where I contributed to the EPSRC-funded Thales-Bristol Partnership on Hybrid Autonomous Systems Engineering (TB-PHASE, EP/R004757/1).

My research interests centre on AI-driven smart and human-centric manufacturing, with particular focus on Industry 5.0 and Society 5.0 frameworks, collaborative and autonomous robotics, digital twin technology, machine learning and deep learning for process optimisation and quality prediction, computer vision and sensor fusion for in-process inspection, augmented and virtual reality for operator support, and the modelling and optimisation of manufacturing systems and supply chains. I am especially committed to developing digital solutions that enable robust, self-adaptive, and self-optimising human-centric cyber-physical production systems (CPPS), systems that place human operators at the centre of intelligent automation.

I have an extensive externally funded research portfolio, having contributed to projects totalling over £4 millions in external funding, with my institutional share exceeding £670k across Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator roles. My funding sources span EU Horizon, EPSRC, Innovate UK, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and direct industry partnerships. I currently lead as Institutional PI on the TWIN-IT-ROMANS project (EU Horizon / UKRI EU Guarantee Scheme, 2024–2027; €1.76M total, focused on digital twin and in-line quality control for hybrid manufacturing within an international consortium. My earlier funded work includes Co-I roles on HAWKSBI (Innovate UK, £2.3M) and the Construction Safety Education Platform (Royal Academy of Engineering, £23.6k), as well as research contributions to AMPLiFII 2 (Innovate UK, £7.67M) and the KDCM project (EPSRC EP/K018191/1, £1.93M). 

My scholarly output spans over 50 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals and international conference proceedings. My Google Scholar profile records over 1,100+ citations, an h-index of 16, and an i10-index of 28 (as of April 2026), with citation trajectory showing consistent year-on-year growth. My most cited works include contributions on digital lifecycle management for sustainable smart manufacturing, AMR-based material transport in IoT-enabled flexible manufacturing, and an end-to-end big data analytics platform for EV battery module assembly. My journal publications appear in leading venues including the Journal of Manufacturing Systems (IF 12.1), and Journal of Cleaner Production (IF 9.7), among others. I have received multiple Best Paper Awards, including at the 6th CIRP Conference on Assembly Technologies and Systems (CATS 2016) in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the Best Student Paper Award at IATS 2013 in Istanbul.

A dedicated doctoral educator, I currently supervise PhD students, serving as Director of Studies for five, and have successfully completed supervision across more than 20 MSc dissertations and over 30 BSc final-year projects, as well as 2 Phd and 1 MRes projects. I also hosted seven international visiting scholars from institutions including IIT Kharagpur (India) and Izmir Institute of Technology (Türkiye) at LSBU. My doctoral students work across topics including digital twin-enabled smart assembly automation, AI-driven sustainability assessment, spatial augmented reality for manual assembly, human-robot collaborative disassembly, explainable AI for ergonomic safety, and in-line defect detection for additive manufacturing. I actively welcome PhD and Postdoctoral applications in the areas of collaborative robotics, computer vision in manufacturing, human-centric manufacturing, and digital manufacturing. Interested candidates are encouraged to contact me directly at [email protected], or to explore available projects at www.bugraalkan.com and the lab's website at www.hci2.uk.

In addition to my research and supervision activities, I am an active contributor to the wider academic community. I serve as Associate Editor for Industrial Robot (Emerald) and have guest-edited three special issues for IFToMM Machines, focused on AI-integrated robotics and smart manufacturing towards Industry 5.0. I have conducted 80+ verified peer reviews for leading journals, including the Journal of Manufacturing Systems, International Journal of Production Research, Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, and IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, and have handled over 100 manuscripts in editorial roles since 2023. I have held Technical Chair and Programme Committee roles at IEEE ICPS, TICEC, CLAWAR, IEEE INDIN, and CIRP CATS. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and a Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

• Artificial Intelligence (CSI-6-ARI, Level 6, Module Leader, 2021–present)
• Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems (CSI-7-ICS, Level 7, Module Leader, 2021–present)
• Systems and Cybersecurity (CSI-6-SCS, Level 6, Module Leader, 2021–2023)
• Statistical Analysis and Modelling (CSI-7-SAM, Tutor)
• Research Methods (CSI-7-RME, Tutor)
• Discrete Mathematics (CSI-4-DMA, Tutor)
• Fundamentals of Computer Science (CSI-4-FCS, Tutor)
• Data Structures and Algorithms (CSI-4-DSA, Tutor)