The Laval University Robotics Laboratory is part of the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Faculty of Science and Engineering. The Lab was first established in 1989 by Professor Clément M. Gosselin.  From January 2001 until December 2021, Professor Gosselin was holding a prestigious Canadian award: the Canada Research Chair in Robotics and Mechatronics.  Professor Philippe Cardou joined the laboratory in 2007, followed in 2015 by Professor Alexandre Campeau-Lecours and in 2022 Professor Patrice Lambert joined the team.  Our research team is now composed of more than twenty graduate students and research associates.

Over the years our research team has produced numerous publications and technical achievements. The research carried out in the Robotics Laboratory is funded by several major funding agencies such as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies (FRQNT). The laboratory has also been involved in research contracts with many organisations including: the Hydro-Quebec Research Institute (IREQ), Government agencies and ministries, the Institut de Recherche en Santé et Sécurité du Travail du Québec (IRSST), the Canadian Space Agency, CAE Electronics, Opal-RT, MDA Space Missions and GM Canada, just to mention a few.

Research activities in the laboratory are mainly focused on the study of parallel mechanisms, articulated robotic hands, cable-driven parallel mechanisms, physical human-robot interaction, haptic devices and assistive devices —  all research areas in which the laboratory has gained international recognition.

The laboratory is equipped with state of the art facilities, including several serial and parallel robots, robotic hands, a parallel processing system for real-time control and simulation, a rapid prototyping machine, and a wire EDM machine.

Laval University is located in Quebec City, which is the capital of the province of Quebec in the heart of French speaking North America. The University was founded in 1852, and its origins go back to 1663. Today the student population is more than 40,000 and courses continue to be taught in French.