NOC Working with Business - November 2017

Marine Autonomy & Technology Showcase 2017 This week saw the NOC host its third Marine Autonomy and Technology Showcase (MATS2017) at the Southampton waterfront site. The three day event welcomed more than 200 delegates from eight countries to hear from 40 guest speakers from across industry and academia about the latest developments in marine technology and to share ideas and knowledge. The NOC is a pioneer of Marine Autonomy - a transformative technology that is contributing to the government's Industrial Strategy and continues to generate huge interest from major industry sectors including Offshore Renewable Energy, Oil and Gas, and Defence. MATS2017 brought all of this together in one place. The showcase has gone from strength to strength since it launched in 2015, and by all accounts this year's event was the biggest and best yet. Feedback from delegates and speakers has been overwhelmingly positive and plans are already well underway for next year's MATS, which will take place in November 2018. We'll let you know how you can get involved in a future update. Meanwhile, you can hear more from delegates, speakers and partners on our YouTube channel. Three new NOC projects secure Innovate UK funding Three new research projects will be undertaken by the NOC and its partners following successful bids as part of a collaborative R&D competition run by Innovate UK.  The funding awards were announced at the Innovate 2017 conference by Climate Change and Industry Minister, Claire Perry, as part of the government's £93 million of funding for the 'robotics and AI in extreme environments programme' through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF). The programme aims to develop robotic solutions to make a safer working environments in industries such as offshore energy, nuclear energy, space, and deep mining, increase productivity, and open up new cross-disciplinary opportunities.     The three projects are: Intelligent on-board processing of visual data for real-time situational awareness by Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) led by Seiche Ltd in partnership with the NOC and Autonaut Ltd. Precise positioning for persistent AUVs led by Sonardyne International, partnered by Autonomous Surface Vehicles Ltd and the NOC.   Networked ecoSUB autonomous underwater vehicles led by Planet Ocean in partnership with NOC.  These three new projects means that the NOC and its partners have been successful in all bids submitted to Innovate UK. £19 million investment in NOC technology announced The government last week announced a £19m investment in new technology projects to be delivered by the NOC and its partners, funded through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF).  The funding includes investment in the 'Oceanids' marine robotics programme and two projects to develop new sensors capable of working within the ocean's most extreme conditions. The investment in the Oceanids programme will see NOC engineers develop two new autonomous underwater vehicles: a 1500 m depth-rated Autosub Long Range (ALR1500), that will join the "Boaty McBoatface" family of long-endurance unmanned submarines, and a 2000m depth-rated vehicle capable of carrying high-power sensors and venturing under ice (Autosub2KUI). The Oceanids team will also develop new command-and-control systems for efficient Marine Autonomous Systems (MAS) fleet management, co-ordinate demanding sea trials for the new vehicles and sensors to ensure they are ready for science and operational use, and build an enhanced MAS control room in the Marine Robotics Innovation Centre based at the NOC in Southampton.   Professor Russell Wynn, NOC Marine Autonomous and Robotic Systems Chief Scientist, commented: "This combined investment in marine robotic vehicles and sensors will ensure UK researchers have access to cutting-edge technologies that enable world-leading science, and will also provide a capability pathway for UK Government and industry partners looking to utilise these technologies for safer and more cost-efficient offshore operations."   NOC represents at #BlueTechWeek The NOC was represented at the international Maritime Alliance Summit in San Diego, California, this month. Kevin Forshaw, the NOC's Associate Director of Innovation and Enterprise, attended the summit on Wednesday where he chaired a panel discussion on 'Smart Ports – Robots, Sensors and Data' as part of the 9th annual BlueTech Week, which aims to promote sustainable, science-based ocean and water industries.  The panel was made up of Mark Gundersen (President, Marine Advanced Research, Inc.), Joao Tasso de Sousa (Director, Underwater Systems & Tech Lab, University of Porto, Portugal) and Durval Tavares (President, Aquabotix). See us at: Oceanology International 2018, London (13-15 Mar 2018)  The NOC will be part of the exhibition as well as participating in several conference sessions. Registration and full programme here.   This email was sent using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: National Oceanography Centre · Waterfront Campus · European Way · Southampton · SO14 3ZH · United Kingdom