NOC News Round Up - 14 July 2017

NOC through to next round for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Hub The NOC has been invited by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to prepare a full bid to establish a new research Hub to drive and accelerate the translation of fundamental science in robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems for use in extreme and challenging environments. The NOC submitted an expression of interest to create: The Aquarius Hub - Robotic Capability in Extreme Aquatic Environments, to EPSRC last month, which was assessed by an international panel of experts. The Hubs form part of a programme to develop robotics and AI that can be deployed in extreme environments, that has been identified as a key area of the Government's Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF). The ISCF is a strategic element of the Government's Industrial Strategy that aims to ensure that the UK continues to be one of the best places in the world for research and innovation. NOC-led expedition reaches the Arctic This week the scientists on board a NOC-led expedition arrived in the Arctic ocean. The team have had a busy week, with zooplankton nets returning full, cores being taken of the sea-bed and CTD stations being lowered 2000 metres below the sea surface. The team on board the RRS James Clark Ross were also visited by a whale and a series of fulmars. This forms part of the NERC funded Changing Arctic Ocean program, which aims to better understand how the Arctic ocean is responding to a changing climate. Read more about the program on our website here. MAS workshop hosted by NOC On Thursday the NOC in Southampton hosted, and presented at, the South Coast Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications, Navigation and Communications in Marine Autonomous Systems workshop. As the use of Marine Autonomous Systems (MAS) for science, industry and defence applications increases and becomes complex new challenges arise. One such challenge is around the navigation of vehicles and communications (vehicle to vehicle and operator to vehicle). The workshop explored how MAS is currently operating, the advances in the last few years, how these vehicles interact with satellites and how we will be utilising vehicles in the future in an increasingly human independent way. Challenges include: Vehicle to Vehicle Communication, Swarming of vehicles, over the horizon connectivity for command and control of vehicles and meaningful data transfer from vehicle to vehicle and to operators. Sampleing the river Test This week NOC scientists have been sampling the river Test in Southampton as part of the LOCATE project. This project involves the first ever coordinated sampling of the major rivers in Great Britain to help scientists establish how much carbon from soils is getting into rivers and estuaries. Once in the estuaries the carbon could enter the atmosphere and contribute to climate change, as well as degrading drinking water quality and decreasing the fertility of soils. Did you catch us in the news this week? Read about the NOC-led UK-OSNAP project on the BBC schotland website here A summary of a the 10th Coastal Altimetry workshop, whose organisation is led by the NOC, has also featured on the EOS website here. NOC scientist, Paolo Cipollini, who pioneered this field of science at the NOC, said "traditionally, satellite altimetry data from the coastal zone was discarded due to a number of technical hurdles. For the last 15 years the NOC has led a lively international community of researchers who are mitigating or removing those hurdles one by one."   This email was sent using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: National Oceanography Centre · Waterfront Campus · European Way · Southampton · SO14 3ZH · United Kingdom