Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council SPECIAL EDITION 17

MAN-MADE MARVELS

The robotics, automation and AI revolution – investing in a better world

The car that drives itself • Surgical robotics • Helping children with autism • Robot ethics • Drones for disaster zones CONTENTS 4-15: People Movers and shakers from the worlds of robotics, automation and 11 artificial intelligence 16-23: Evolving automation Professor Philip Nelson sets out the case for further investment in robotics, automation and artificial intelligence 24-25: Joint account Professor Sanja Dogramadzi is pioneering minimally 24 invasive robotic surgery technology for complex fracture patients 26-27: Driving ambition The Oxford Robotics Institute’s revolutionary technology that could make any machine 13 that moves autonomous 28-29: Spin doctor Dr Mirko Kovac is developing exciting new applications for flying UAVs 30-31: Autonomous futures Professor Sethu Vijayakumar thinks ahead 32-33: People power The ground- breaking ORCHID project is reinventing our relationship with computers 34-35: iCub and the tutor Dr Patricia Shaw’s prize-winning portrait of a humanoid robot and its toddler tutor 36-37: I think? Professor Tony Prescott on the ethics of robotics, automation and artificial intelligence 38-39: Flight of the navigator 34 3D-printed drones are a hit with the Royal Navy 40-41: Blueprint for the future EPSRC Executive Director Dr Kedar Pandya on the formation of the UK National Strategy 28 for Robotics and Autonomous Systems 42-43: Hotter than the sun Remote handling technology developed for the Editor: Mark Mallett ([email protected]) EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils which nuclear industry nets £100 million for have responsibility in other research areas. Design: Angela Jones ([email protected]) UK plc The Research Councils work collectively on issues of Contributors: Rob Buckingham; Jo Enderby; James Franklin; common concern via Research Councils UK. 44-45: Cling thing Professor Anne Professor David Lane; Dr Elaine Massung; Professor Philip Nelson; Dr Kedar Pandya; Professor Tony Prescott; Colin To provide feedback on this magazine, and to subscribe to Neville’s frog-inspired medical robot Smith; Richard Tibenham; Chris Warrick print and/or electronic versions of Pioneer, please e-mail 46: In profile Dr Patricia Shaw on [email protected] [email protected] working with the iCub robot Pictures courtesy of thinkstock.com unless otherwise Contact: 01793 444305 stated. 47: About EPSRC Who we are, what we do, and the latest facts and figures

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 2 Spirit of Leonardo EPSRC Chief Executive, Professor Philip Nelson, describes EPSRC’s role in supporting robotics, automation and AI research and training

In 1495 or and infirmed to keep active – are thereabouts, with us now, at various stages of among the technological readiness. many futuristic The numbers are impressive. It is technologies estimated that by 2025 advanced he devised, robotic and autonomous systems Leonardo da could have a worldwide economic Vinci drew the impact of US$1.9 trillion to US$6.4 blueprint for a trillion annually, with an emerging humanoid robotic knight. Packed with market value of €15.5 billion. And “The potential for springs, gears and pulleys, this metal for good reason. We already know warrior could sit up, stand, raise its these new technologies will be arms and even walk. fundamental to healthcare; transport; human benefit Fast forward to the present day manufacturing; agriculture; disaster and Leonardo’s robot still bears response and space exploration; but seems limitless” comparison to the automatons being the potential for human benefit designed by major international seems limitless. corporations, and, of course, to the For several decades, EPSRC has robots we see in science fiction movies. been at the forefront of supporting One thing that Leonardo could not the UK’s research, training and have predicted is the emergence of innovation in robotics, automation and ‘autonomous’ systems and Artificial artificial intelligence systems, and Intelligence (AI). These exciting areas has been instrumental in fostering of science and engineering are interdisciplinary partnerships between rapidly intertwining with robotics as academics, industry, government and we enter a new technological era. other parties. Together with digital technologies Throughout the world, however, from and the Internet of Things, they are the United States to South Korea, at the vanguard of a fourth industrial China to Japan, governments are revolution that is destined to affect investing billions of dollars into these everyone on the planet. new technologies. We are punching Contrary to what we see in most above our weight against this global sci-fi films, the evidence shows competition, but we cannot afford to we are not on the verge of robo- slow the momentum. Armageddon. Terminator-style robots This special edition of Pioneer turns are not about to take over the world; the spotlight on some of the research the “more human than human” and innovation supported by EPSRC androids of Blade Runner will not be and its partners, and provides replacing people of flesh and blood thought-provoking discussion on the and soul. But the technologies they current state of the art for artificial embody – the intelligent systems intelligence, autonomy and robotics. that will safely guide our cars and It also sets out the case for further aircraft and tractors, the autonomous government investment in these machines capable of working in terrain crucial enabling technologies while inhospitable to humans, and the smart opening up a window to the future for devices that will enable the elderly these innovations, and for mankind.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 3 PEOPLE

In the zone

An EPSRC-supported research team at for deployment following an incident The AARM team have also provided the University of Bristol have developed and are effectively disposable if they Sellafield’s first ever drone survey an unmanned aerial drone in response become contaminated.” of any type, demonstrating the to the challenge met by helicopter The drone uses laser distancing to team’s radiation mapping technology pilots who risked radiation exposure as enable safe flight in narrow spaces. combined with aerial photography. they mapped the disaster area in the It can map the 3D environment with James Moore, who leads on UAV wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear millimetre precision and also capture technologies at Sellafield, says: “This disaster in 2011. high resolution images. The team are system, to the best of our knowledge, Oliver Payton, James MacFarlane and also developing thermal imaging, gas represents the current state of the art John Fadoulis, from the university’s and acoustic sensors for the drone. for radiation-mapping UAS systems.” Interface Analysis Centre, developed The on-board microcomputer In 2014, the Royal Academy of the remote controlled Advanced integrates multiple sensor streams to Engineering awarded James Airborne Radiation Monitoring (AARM) provide radiation mapping with excellent MacFarlane and Oliver Payton the system, with funding from EPSRC and spatial resolution and sensitivity. ERA Foundation Entrepreneurs Award. Sellafield ltd. The software is controlled from a The prize is helping them develop Tom Scott, project lead and Director laptop, and attachments can be the drone commercially for use in of the Interface Analysis Centre in the plugged in according to what’s needed. disasters, or for routine radiation university’s School of Physics, says: The rotor arms fold back so that the monitoring at nuclear sites or in “By using lightweight and low-cost system can be fitted into a standard mining operations. Spin-out company unmanned aerial vehicles, we can travel case, making it easy to take on a Imitec was set up to take this forward. immediately and remotely determine plane and rapidly deploy. Earlier this year, the AARM team the spread and intensity of radiation The drone has been used to map reached the semi-finals of the following any such event. radiation surrounding the Fukushima international Drones for Good “The systems used by the drone Daiichi site to help the clean-up before competition, which received over have sufficient in-built intelligence people can return to their homes. 1,000 entries worldwide.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 4 functional prototypes. Robotical Robots that can think and act without has already generated over human intervention are moving from £60,000 in crowd-sourced fiction to reality. The nuclear, aerospace, funding and has started to manufacturing and agricultural take orders. industries are starting to develop Customisable with 3D-printed autonomous systems that can carry out parts, Marty is designed to make tasks that are either too difficult or too learning about programming, dangerous for humans, while driverless electronics, and mechanical cars are already with us. engineering a fun and engaging Researchers from the universities of process. He is also completely Sheffield, Liverpool and the West of upgradeable, and compatible England, Bristol are collaborating on with single board computers like a project to ensure that autonomous the Raspberry Pi. robots of the future will be safer. Out-of-the-box Marty can be controlled The new research should mean robots remotely over WiFi, but he can also be Mini marvel make decisions that are ethical and programmed in a variety of programming follow legislation on robotics. Introducing Marty, a programmable, low- languages, from basic versions such as cost walking robot for children, robot Scratch for children and beginners to The EPSRC-funded project addresses ‘developers’, and educators. those such as Python for experienced concerns that might arise around these Marty was developed by Dr Sandy Enoch programmers. new technologies and is linking new as a side project during his doctorate Marty has drawn rave reviews since launch. developments to existing industrial at the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral The Scotsman enthused that Marty “could standards and responsible innovation Training in Computational Nanoscience radically alter how children learn about frameworks. at the University of Edinburgh under the mechanics and computer programming”. Arria NLG, a company that is supervision of Professor Sethu Vijayakumar Sandy says: “Trying to get a company off the and Michael Herrmann. commercialising artificial intelligence ground is probably the most time-consuming technology developed with EPSRC Sandy’s work with Marty spawned a spin- thing I’ve done so far, but it’s also been the funding at the University of Aberdeen, out company, Robotical, and a range of most rewarding for me.” has been valued at over £130 million. Research leader, Professor Ehud Reiter, says: “The goal is to build ‘articulate Kaspar cares machines’ which communicate with people in the same way that other University of Hertfordshire researchers Professor Kerstin Dautenhahn, worked people do.” have developed Kaspar, a minimally hard to give Kaspar a human-like but very The company’s technology is a form expressive child-sized humanoid robot, simplified and child-friendly appearance. of artificial intelligence developed to as a therapeutic toy to help teachers and communicate in natural language parents support children with autism. Kaspar’s face is capable of showing a range of simplified expressions but with few of the information extracted from complex Designed for use as a social mediator, complexities of a real human face. He has data sources. The system automatically encouraging and helping children with movable arms, head and eyes, which can be generates written reports which would autism to interact and communicate controlled by a teacher or parent but also otherwise take expert analysts many with adults and other children, Kaspar can respond to the touch of a child. hours to complete. has the ability to engage in a range of Cella Energy, a company formed to interactive play scenarios, commercialise EPSRC-supported such as turn-taking or research into hydrogen storage materials, shared-gaze activities, which and Arcola Energy have combined children with autism often to develop a prototype unmanned find difficult to understand or autonomous aircraft that uses a new perform. solid-state hydrogen power system with Previous studies in the field the potential to outperform lithium- of artificial intelligence and ion batteries. For scientists, because robotics have shown that a the hydrogen-fuelled drone’s engine is robot which looks too real emission free, it opens up a whole new can be unnerving. Thus, way to observe the atmosphere. The the research team, led by prototype’s successful maiden flight earlier this year was supported by a grant from Innovate UK.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 5 PEOPLE

Table-toppers

Internationally acclaimed product designer Sebastian Account (IAA), says: “At the heart of our approach is Conran has joined forces with EPSRC-supported human-centred design – understanding the practical needs researchers at the University of Sheffield to bring to market of our users as well as their emotional wants and dreams.” their research into assistive robotics through the launch of Prototypes currently under development include IntelliTable, a spin-out company, Consequential Robotics. an autonomous assistive over-bed table capable of moving The company’s main focus is to develop companion under its own power and which can be voice-activated and assistive robotic systems that will enhance using a smartphone. Together with partners including the quality of life as people age; and will build Sheffield Centre for Assistive Technology and Connected on 20 years’ research at the university into Healthcare the company is adapting the IntelliTable developing robots that behave in a life- platform for hospital rehabilitation therapies. like way and that use control systems Another key project is MiRo (pictured), an emotionally modelled on the brain. engaging ‘pet’ robot companion. MiRo is designed Sebastian Conran, who is the to make decisions, display emotions and respond University of Sheffield’s to others in a truly unique and autonomous way. The Designer in Residence, character and form of the robot have been carefully supported by an EPSRC considered to be friendly and approachable, but not toy- Impact Acceleration like. A developer version of the MiRo robot is currently being manufactured and will be available to robotics researchers in early 2017. Professor Tony Prescott, Director of the Sheffield Robotics research institute, who co-founded the company with Conran and Dr Ben Mitchinson, says: “I’m convinced of the value of including design at an early stage in the development of robotic projects. “Our emphasis is on understanding how people will use robots in their lives at home, at work, and in shared spaces. Robots will be the eyes, ears and hands of the intelligent house or the smart office, designed to work quietly, safely and unobtrusively; complementing and assisting people, not replacing them.”

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 6 The universities of Nottingham, Oxford World’s first printed aircraft and Warwick, led by Nottingham’s Professor Stephen Morgan, are carrying EPSRC-sponsored engineers at the out ‘blue sky’ research into artificially- University of Southampton have designed intelligent medical devices that will and flown what is claimed to be the improve treatment for cancer and world’s first ‘printed’ aircraft, which could intensive care patients and those with revolutionise the economics of aircraft chronic wounds. design. The Sulsa unmanned air vehicle (UAV) was featured on an October 2016 The future technologies will edition of Channel 5’s The Gadget Show. continuously monitor critically-ill patients and administer medicines or The entire structure of the UAV, including adjust treatment automatically, using wings and integral control surfaces, was feedback from built-in sensors. 3D-printed on a nylon laser sintering machine, which fabricates plastic or metal The EPSRC-supported team’s aim is to objects, building up the item layer by layer. provide more personalised, accurate and high altitude balloon to gather data on the timely care and, ultimately, to save lives. No fasteners are used and all equipment atmosphere beneath as they descend. Such is attached using ‘snap fit’ techniques so data is essential for building better models A tracking system based on eye-safe that the entire aircraft can be put together of our weather and climate. lasers, developed with EPSRC support without tools in minutes. at the University of Oxford, could enable As post-flight retrieval is not always The aircraft, which was built in partnership aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and possible (such as in remote areas) even orbiting satellites to transmit vital with 3D-printing specialist RD3T RPD, is the aircraft have to be light, cheap, also equipped with a miniature autopilot data to ground stations more securely, biodegradable and able to transmit the data quickly and efficiently. developed by Dr Matt Bennett, one of the they measure via a radio link. The team’s The proof-of-concept HYPERION system, members of the team, which is led by solution has been to build a unique paper developed through Innovate UK’s HITEA Professors Jim Scanlan and Andy Keane. aeroplane. The electronic circuitry the programme and with Airbus Group Professor Scanlan leads a number of aircraft needs to make measurements and Innovations, has a range of 1 kilometre pioneering EPSRC-funded projects involving send them home is printed directly onto and has been successfully tested in-flight. unmanned and autonomous air vehicles, the paper using consumer-grade products, Work is under way to extend this range. including low-cost drones that, once such as an inkjet printer and ordinary launched, can navigate autonomously photo paper. HYPERION could also enable airliners of the future to offload huge amounts using GPS. In future the team aims to design ways in of technical and performance data Another project, dubbed MAVIS (Massive which fleets of MAVIS aircraft can work gathered by on-board sensors to ground Atmospheric Volume Instrumentation together as a swarm and can respond in crews during final approach to an airport, System), is developing low cost, an autonomous manner to changes in speeding maintenance procedures and biodegradable micro air vehicles. The team the environment, such as when one of the cutting turn-round times. intends to build a fleet of these aircraft vehicles identifies a promising region in the which can be launched en masse from a search for an aerosol cloud. EPSRC-supported researchers at the University of Sheffield have created an aquatic robot which could be used Life saver during underwater search and rescue operations. The technology developed by Dr Day has already been successful in measuring The researchers developed a set of radiation levels at nuclear sites where it robotic modules that, similar to the would be unsafe for people to enter, and this way things are built with Lego, can be project will extend this technology for use in assembled into robots of arbitrary shape. humanitarian landmine detection. This allows robots to be customised to The UAV will be fully customised for meet the changing demands of their landmine detection and will be capable task. of carrying varying sensors and relaying Each module is a cube and has four important data in real time. micro pumps which allow it to move Dr John Day from the University of Bristol is leading a project to develop a new The project is funded by Find A Better Way, around independently in the water. This unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable a landmine detection technology research type of robot could also be used by of surveying potentially mined areas and charity founded by Manchester United utility companies wanting to deal with mapping the location of buried landmines legend Sir Bobby Charlton, in collaboration blockages or faults in pipes that are and explosives. with EPSRC. difficult and expensive to access from the surface.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 7 PEOPLE

Seeing’s believing

Researchers from the University of Bristol, co-led by doctoral student Ilse Daly, have found the eye-rolling behaviour of mantis shrimp helps them see the world around them. The work could lead to the shrimp’s unusual eye movements being replicated to produce an advanced automated visual system. Mantis shrimp are able to see the polarisation of light, and by rolling their eyes they actively improve the polarisation contrast of objects in their marine environment. Research leader, Dr Nicholas Roberts, says: “We have known for a while that mantis shrimp see the world very differently from humans. “They can use 12 different colour channels (humans use only three), and can see the polarisation of light. But the eye movements of mantis shrimp have always been something of a puzzle. Intuitively, a stable eye should see the world better than a mobile one, but mantis shrimp seem to have found a different way to see more clearly.” According to the researchers, the discovery has exciting implications for robotics. If the mantis shrimp’s extraordinary powers of sight can be replicated, it could lead to the development of an automated visual system with a range of applications, including underwater exploration and materials analysis. An automated visual system that can mimic the mantis shrimp eye could provide a low- power, high-performance piece of technology, with applications ranging from underwater exploration to materials analysis. The research was funded by EPSRC, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the European Commission and the Royal Society. EPSRC-supported researchers at Lancaster University have developed Pee power remote-controlled, submersible by humans and farm animals machines that could be used in disaster worldwide – the energy from areas such as the Fukushima Daiichi which could potentially be nuclear power plant in Japan, scene of harnessed by scaling up MFCs the 2013 tsunami which damaged three into stacks. of the six reactors. The stricken facility Another aspect of the research had to be flooded with sea water to is the use of waste from prevent further damage. oxygen-producing organisms The machines will be used to assess such as algae within a self- underwater radiation and check the sustaining system through safety and stability of material within which the bacteria use their submerged areas of nuclear sites. own waste to produce energy. This technology has the potential to be used by the oil and gas sector for In 2005, EPSRC funded a pilot project The latest generation of the robot, imaginatively titled Smart Gut for EcoBot-III, collects its own food and assessment of naturally-occurring Energetically Autonomous Robot. The water from the environment, making it radioactive material in offshore fields. grant, awarded to Professor Chris potentially capable of sustaining itself in The technology could also be used Melhuish and Dr Ioannis Ieropoulos, remote or hazardous environments. to speed up the removal of nuclear from the Bristol Robotics Laboratory The research led to a US$100,000 waste from decaying storage ponds at (BRL), a University of Bristol/University grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates the Sellafield reprocessing facility in of West England research facility, Foundation and the development of a Cumbria – shortening decommissioning spawned a host of follow-on projects, prototype MFC urinal, in partnership programmes and potentially yielding and has led to an exciting partnership with Oxfam and supported by EPSRC, significant savings for taxpayers. with the charity Oxfam. that could light cubicles in refugee Mechanical engineers at the University The core technology for the research was camps. The system was an instant hit of Birmingham are developing developed for Eco-bot (pictured), a robot at the 2015 Glastonbury Festival, unlike ‘disassembly’ processes that could lead which uses microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to Kanye West. to autonomous robots being used in the power itself by digesting waste, and thus Dr Ieropoulos says: “Not only is the UK remanufacturing industry. generate energy. Live microorganisms technology we are developing a green Remanufacturing is the process of inside the fuel cell process the waste to and sustainable means of electricity returning a product to at least its produce electricity. generation, it can also improve original performance. Compared to A unique aspect of the team’s research sanitation. The work carried out under manufacturing, it can use as little is the use of urine as a waste material the new EPSRC grant is primarily as 10 per cent of the energy and raw to power the MFCs. Every day, around focused at developing this technology materials required, while saving more 38 billion litres of urine are produced for the developed world.” than 80 per cent in CO2 emissions. The EPSRC-supported team aim to gain a fundamental understanding Lip service of disassembly processes in order to develop systems that can autonomously Scientists at the University of East their lips. Researchers handle variabilities in a product. Anglia in Norwich, England, are working ‘train’ the system Principal Investigator, Professor Duc on the next stage of automated lip using one person’s lip Pham, says: “We intend to make the reading technology that could be used movements, then test robots collaborative, which means they for deciphering speech from video it on another person’s can work with people safely and do not surveillance footage. lip movements. From a need to be put into cages.” The visual speech recognition technology, database of 12 people, created by Dr Helen Bear and Professor the technology had a success rate of 80 per EPSRC-supported scientists at Richard Harvey of the university’s School cent with a single speaker. Manchester Metropolitan University of Computing Sciences, can be applied Professor Harvey says: “Lip-reading is have developed a high-tech radar “any place where the audio isn’t good one of the most challenging problems in scanner which automatically detects enough to determine what people are artificial intelligence, so it’s great to make hidden weapons on people. The saying,” says Dr Bear (pictured). progress on one of the trickier aspects, device uses artificial intelligence to The technology uses deep neural which is how to train machines to recognise differentiate between common items networks that ‘learn’ the way people move the appearance and shape of human lips.” such as keys from those that present an immediate threat to security and safety.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 9 PEOPLE Navigation nous

Guidance Marine, a spin-out company positioning systems for ships, and has which has its origins in EPSRC- a reputation for the highest level of supported research at the University safety, reliability and ease of use. of Oxford in the 1980s, has been Among a host of products, the identified for the second consecutive company’s LS5 ‘intelligent’ laser year as one of the ‘1,000 companies to scanner, introduced in 1995, was inspire Britain’ by the London the first product launched for the Stock Exchange. autonomous vehicle market. Today, the The company was formed in 1991 as company is a world-leading supplier a result of a long-standing EPSRC- of real-time vessel positioning and supported collaboration with GEC. It manoeuvring systems for critical was founded by Professor Mike Brady, offshore, inshore and inland then director of the highly successful marine applications. Robotics Research Laboratory The company is twice winner of at Oxford. The Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Formerly known as Guidance Control International Trade, exporting nearly Systems, the company is a leading 90 per cent of what it manufactures global developer and supplier of from its facility in Leicester. Researchers at the universities of Flight of the Demon Leeds, King’s College London and Lancaster are taking part in a project to In 2011, Demon, an unmanned develop ways to wirelessly ‘beam’ power ‘autonomous’ aircraft developed into robots and other digital systems. through EPSRC’s Strategic The project is the first collaborative Partnership with BAE Systems, UK effort to develop systems that can became the first aircraft in the simultaneously transfer information and world to fly without the use of power across wireless networks. flaps – and into the Guinness Book Wireless power transfer dates back of World Records for the first flight to Nikola Tesla, who experimentally using no conventional control demonstrated wireless energy transfer surfaces. (WET) in the late 19th century, and Headed by BAE Systems and short-range wireless charging of mobile Cranfield University, the research phones and other gadgets is about to project brought together 10 become standard. universities to develop technologies However, the new project will focus on for future unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). The aircraft can fly without conventional the possibility of longer-range wireless The all-new technology was designed by the elevators or ailerons, relying on air jets charging, exploiting recent advances universities and built by BAE apprentices. installed across the wing to control all in electronically-steered antennae that The advantages of ‘fluidic’ flight over moving in-flight movement, pitch and roll. make it feasible to power robots safely flap technology are considerable – lighter Demon is also able to fly by itself, but with over a significant distance using a and fewer moving parts, lower maintenance, no pilot. Because it is an experimental microwave beam. a more stealthy profile and reduced noise. vehicle, it is not fully autonomous. A key aim of the new project is to While Demon is not expected to go into Demon’s trial flights were the first ‘flapless’ build working prototypes of wirelessly- production, the project has been recognised flights ever to be authorised by the UK powered robots, which will be fabricated as having taken academic research to Civil Aviation Authority. The project won in the new EPSRC National Facility for higher levels of technology readiness the Aerospace Award at The Engineer Innovative Robotic Systems at Leeds. and closer to industrial exploitation than magazine’s annual awards. Engineers from the University of Bristol usually possible. Its innovations are filtering have developed a new shape-changing through to other aviation platforms. metamaterial using Kirigami, which is the ancient Japanese art of cutting and folding paper to obtain 3D shapes. Smart arms Metamaterials are a class of material healthcare professionals in touch with a engineered to produce properties that patient’s progress with intensive remote don’t occur naturally. rehabilitation programmes. The technology The research was developed within a is designed to ease stretched community PhD programme run by the university’s services and relieve patients of some of EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in the daily grind of solitary exercise and Advanced Composites for Innovation attending clinics. and Science. The team have also constructed an award- In future technologies, this Kirigami winning robotic human-like arm, called metamaterial could be used in robotics, A team of PhD students at the EPSRC ALAN, to test the MyPAM device and carry morphing structures for airframe and National Facility for Innovative Robotic out various manoeuvres. Led by mechanical space applications, microwave and Systems at the University of Leeds, engineering student Menelaos Kanakis, smart antennae. supported by Professor Martin Levesley, the ALAN project looks at the possibility of EPSRC-supported research led by have developed robotic technology to using robots in the rehabilitation process Newcastle University has resulted in assist patients’ arm recovery after strokes. of post-stroke patients and for testing technology that enables amputees to The MyPAM system helps patients these devices. ‘feel’ using their prosthetic limbs. improve their arm functions and rebuild The forearm and hand were created using Project leader Dr Kianoush Nazarpour their strength, by guiding their arm in the university’s 3D printer, one of the largest says the bionic arm contains a new a regular horizontal motion, similar to multi-material printers in the world, to generation of sensors which detect stirring a cake mix. individually create each ‘bone’ in the hand pressure, enabling the user to carry MyPAM paves the way for a new which were then connected together, before out complex tasks such as picking up a model of physiotherapy, keeping being put into use on the arm. glass by ‘sensing’ the shape and feel of the object.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 PEOPLE CDT sets sail

EPSRC and the Natural Environment create a community of highly-skilled can also be sent to places traditionally Research Council (NERC) are people whose expertise will contribute considered too difficult or dangerous co-investing £2.5 million in a new both to scientific breakthroughs and to for humans to work in, potentially Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) economic growth. opening up whole new fields of inquiry. in the use of smart and autonomous Innovative sensor platforms such The potential applications include observation systems for the as drones and autonomous robotic sectors such as renewable energy, oil environmental sciences. submarines play an increasingly and gas, deep-sea mining, farming Known as NEXUSS (NEXt generation important role in environmental and aquaculture. Drones could also be Unmanned System Science), the science, carrying out tasks from used to map flood zones from the air centre will provide specialised training monitoring air pollution to exploring so that nearby homes and businesses in this increasingly vital area, providing the deep ocean. To assist their can be better protected. the next generation of environmental research, the students will have access The consortium behind NEXUSS is led scientists with the necessary skills to NERC’s ocean-going research by the University of Southampton, in to develop and deploy ambitious new vessel, Discovery, with its fleet of partnership with the British Antarctic unmanned systems. They will also autonomous vehicles. Survey, Heriot-Watt University, the These systems can cover vast areas National Oceanography Centre, and stay in place for long periods; they the Scottish Association for Marine are already letting scientists gather Science and the University far more data than ever before. They of East Anglia. EPSRC is investing £6.2 million in three projects to further knowledge and understanding of the research challenges related to autonomous systems in UK manufacturing in areas such as the aerospace, construction and automotive industries.

The University of Birmingham, Imperial College London and the University of Strathclyde, supported by companies such as Caterpillar, Kuka Robotics, Skanksa Ltd, Dyson Ltd, SPIRIT AeroSystems and Autocraft Drivetrain Solutions, will investigate areas such as automating the complex disassembly of returned products; developing the world’s first aerial additive manufacturing systems for use on-site, and creating automated non-destructive evaluation systems for use in high value manufacturing.

Sonar bot An EPSRC-supported team from the universities of Sheffield and the West A team of five EPSRC-supported measure depths and collect other data of England have designed a suite of engineering students at the University which the team, from the university’s whiskered robots inspired by rodents. of Leeds have created a small School of Geography, will analyse to lightweight robot carrying sonar improve our understanding of Sheffield’s Professor Tony Prescott says: technology that is designed to skim the global warming. “For most rodents the whisker system surface of water courses. Its purpose is is at least as significant as eyes are to to explore the world to try to understand sighted humans.” how global warming is affecting it. The robots are designed for use in The ‘Bathybot’ resembles a catamaran environments which are hazardous to and can be transported worldwide due humans – such as natural disaster to its size and design. Its most recent zones and fire sites – which are often mission saw it travel to Nepal to sail cramped, full of dust and smoke, and over ‘melt pools’ of glacial lakes to offer limited visibility. In 2009, the team’s SCRATCHbot, which ‘feels’ its way using rat-like whiskers, won the Best of What’s New Robots on reins Award from Popular Science magazine. The team followed this up in 2012 behind holding a rein. The robot helps the with Shrewbot, inspired by the four- firefighter move swiftly in ‘blind’ conditions, centimetre long Etruscan shrew, one while vibrations sent back through the rein of the world’s tiniest mammals, which would provide data about the size, shape uses ‘active touch’ rather than vision to and even the stiffness of any object the navigate its environment. robot finds. Inspired by their rodent research, the This potentially life-saving application of team developed a ‘tactile’ helmet, robotics has been developed by King’s to provide firefighters operating in Firefighters moving through smoke-filled College London and Sheffield Hallam challenging conditions with vital clues buildings could save vital seconds and find University, with funding from EPSRC. about their surroundings. The helmet it easier to identify objects and obstacles, Project partners have included the charity is fitted with ultrasound sensors that thanks to revolutionary reins that enable Guide Dogs, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue detect the distances between the helmet robots to act like guide dogs. Service and Thales Ltd. Now proof of and nearby walls or other obstacles. The small mobile robot – equipped with concept has been completed, the team plan These signals are transmitted to tactile sensors – leads the way, with to build a full working prototype for testing vibration pads attached to the inside of the firefighter following a metre or so in real-world firefighting conditions. the helmet.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 13 PEOPLE Legobots on Mars

A system that Dr Dennis says: “We originally developed exploration and ran over 48 hours in uses Lego the robot as a research tool to investigate 75 cities across the globe. It aimed robots to issues around artificial intelligence, to create open source solutions to imitate the but at the same time we were a selection of problems through the navigation of interested in producing some sort of combined effort of enthusiasts and a space rover, activity that could be taken into schools. experts based around the world. It included 23 NASA challenges and and which led “If you are controlling a planetary rover to a popular 25 non-NASA challenges, of which from Earth, you have to deal with the outreach Dr Dennis’ Lego Robots Challenge time delay. Our system allows the programme was one. children to experiment with driving the for schoolchildren, drew the attention rover when there is a time delay and She says: “It’s a bit circular because of NASA which integrated it into its see how that affects behaviour.” the program code we started out with International Space Apps Challenge. was based on code NASA produced, so The system was originally developed Dr Louise Dennis (pictured), from the to come full circle and take it back to as part of a series of EPSRC-funded University of Liverpool’s Department NASA again is very exciting.” projects by the university’s Centre for of Computer Science, designed the Dr Dennis is currently a research Autonomous Systems Technology, system. The program she wrote allows associate working on a major before being identified as a potential users to remotely configure commands EPSRC-funded reconfigurable outreach activity in schools. for the Lego Rover no matter its autonomy project alongside industrial location – whether the machine is on The NASA International Space partners including BAE Systems and the Moon, Mars or in the same room. Apps Challenge focused on space Network Rail.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 14 How can cars become fully independent of human direction? City fixers What is the best technology to incorporate into new vehicles and indefinitely within live utility pipes infrastructure? How will humans performing inspection, repair, metering and vehicles interact with each and reporting tasks. other and their environment? The team are working with Leeds City These are just a few of the Council and the EPSRC-supported questions facing academics and UK Collaboration for Research in industrialists working on an Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC) to £11 million research programme ensure that the robots are thoroughly to develop fully autonomous cars, EPSRC-supported researchers from tested before being trialled in a safe and jointly funded by EPSRC and the University of Leeds are pioneering a responsible manner in Leeds. Jaguar Land Rover. national infrastructure research project The robots will undertake precision Ten UK universities and the which aims to create technology for repairs and avoid the need for large self-repairing cities. Transport Research Laboratory are construction vehicles in the heart of working on the project with Jaguar The team are developing small robots the city. The team are using the unique Land Rover, which is leading on to identify problems with utility pipes, capabilities of the robotic facility at the the research. The projects are street lights and roads and fix them EPSRC-supported National Facility investigating: with minimal environmental impact and for Innovative Robotic Systems at the disruption to the public. University of Leeds to make new, more • The use of radar and video sensing to interpret the external The research is part of a £21 million capable robots. environment, road conditions investment in ‘Engineering Grand The project is a collaboration between and other road users Challenges’ research, which aims to Leeds, University College London, tackle some of the major challenges and the universities of Birmingham • Ho w drivers will react to new facing science and engineering. and Southampton. Research leader, autonomous systems Projects include research and Professor Phil Purnell, says: “We want to • Ho w systems can be designed development of drones that can perch, make Leeds the first city in the world to to adapt to the personal like birds, on structures at height have zero disruption from street works. characteristics of users and perform repair tasks, such as “We can support infrastructure which • Ho w the transition between repairing street lights; build drones can be entirely maintained by robots human control and automated able to autonomously inspect, diagnose, and make the disruption caused by the systems can be designed to repair and prevent potholes in roads; constant digging up of the roads in our best effect and develop robots which will operate cities a thing of the past.” • Ho w distributed control systems and cloud computing can be integrated with vehicles • Ho w data from drivers, Swarmbots intelligent infrastructure and Researchers from Sheffield Robotics programming method previously used in automated vehicles can be used Laboratory have applied a novel method of manufacturing to experiments using up to to aid interaction. 600 of their 900-strong robot swarm, one of automatically programming and controlling Dr Wolfgang Epple, Jaguar Land the largest in the world. a swarm of up to 600 robots to complete a Rover’s Director of Research and specified set of tasks simultaneously. Swarm robotics studies how large groups Technology, says: “To realise the This reduces human error and therefore of robots can interact with each other in potential for fully autonomous many of the bugs that can occur in simple ways to solve relatively complex vehicles, we need to give drivers, programming, making it more user-friendly tasks cooperatively. Previous research pedestrians and other road users and reliable than previous techniques. This has used trial and error methods to the confidence that a car driving could be particularly automatically program around with little or no human advantageous in groups of robots, input is a safe and rewarding areas where the which can result in experience. These collaborative safety of using unpredictable, and projects will bring some of the robotics is a concern, undesirable, behaviour. UK’s leading academics together for example, in Moreover, the resulting with our autonomous driving driverless cars. source code is time- team to address the fundamental consuming to maintain, real-world challenges that are The researchers which makes it difficult part of our journey towards applied an automated to use in the real world. autonomous driving.”

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 15 Evolving automation

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 16 Robotics, automation and artificial intelligence will change our lives forever. EPSRC Chief Executive, Professor Philip Nelson, sets out the case for further investment in research, training and innovation.

In June this year I was asked to give ultimate impact will be global, crossing EPSRC currently invests £115 million evidence to the House of Commons cultural and technological divides. in research and training grants Science and Technology Committee It is estimated that by 2025 these relevant to robotics and autonomy. about research into robotics, technologies could have a worldwide This includes both core robotics automation and artificial intelligence. economic impact of US$1.7 trillion to research and related research It was a fascinating experience, US$4.5 trillion annually, with an emerging applied to synergies between these and it was also good to see our market value of €15.5 billion. technologies. Our ICT portfolio also representatives in Parliament taking includes investments of £23.9 million this subject seriously – and as a The challenge for the United Kingdom into artificial intelligence and matter of urgency. is formidable. You only have to look at £15.7 million into human/computer the investments being made in other interaction. They are right to be serious. Robotics, economies, particularly in Japan and automation and artificial intelligence South Korea. We are also investing in networks to are not a thing of the future; they are make sure we gather together all the South Korea has an annual robotics very much of the here and now. expertise, spearheaded by the EPSRC budget of more than US$145 million UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems We are already seeing technologies and has just earmarked US$445 (UK-RAS) Network, linking together that have traditionally been the million for the next five years. Japan outstanding specialist scientists and preserve of science fiction becoming has just put US$350 million into a engineers engaged in multidisciplinary increasingly commonplace, from big programme of assistive robotics. research at 16 universities. robotic limbs to driverless cars. In the United States there is a lot of Technologies that synthesise artificial private investment going into robotics, The UK can only be successful if intelligence, automation and robotics automation and artificial intelligence, research goes hand in hand with will work for us and beside us, assist particularly autonomous vehicles, innovation – particularly through us, and interact with us. from organisations such as Google academic/industry partnerships. and Tesla. This is something the UK Research Sectors already benefiting from these Councils are particularly good at, and technologies include those as diverse Despite these challenges, the United I would like to think that EPSRC leads as healthcare, energy, transport, Kingdom has the opportunity to the way in this regard. For example, environment, manufacturing and become a world-leader in developing over 3,100 organisations are involved aerospace, agrifood, infrastructure, these technologies, and EPSRC is security, retail and logistics, but their helping to lead the way. Continued on page 18

“The UK can only be successful if research goes hand in hand with innovation – particularly through academic/industry partnerships”

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 17 Continued from page 17 at Cambridge and Imperial; the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of in collaborative EPSRC grants, and the Intelligence; the Alan Turing Institute, total invested by business and other and the Centre for Connected and partners is £1.74 billion. Autonomous Vehicles. There is also We are investing more and more great work going on at Innovate UK, in large-scale academic/industry which is helping accelerate research partnerships. For example, in 2012 we to market. launched the £14 million Autonomous These investments have been and Intelligent Systems Partnership, complemented by those from the UK involving eight companies and Government, including a £25 million 19 universities. More recent injection of capital funding in various investments are also proving very EPSRC-supported centres to develop effective. For example, as part of our their work. strategic partnership with Jaguar Land Rover, in 2015 we co-invested However, it is clear there is a £11 million in five projects focusing pressing and growing need for further on human interactions with investment – enabling researchers and “Research and autonomous vehicles. innovators to take advantage of the momentum that has been built. development A culture of enterprise National strategy Creating a culture of enterprise is spending critical to growing this burgeoning Working with Innovate UK, the sector, particularly in young people, Knowledge Transfer Network, other who will be the standard-bearers and Research Councils and stakeholders, on robotics, innovators in the next generation of EPSRC has built a business case and researchers. We have thus provided strategy for further public investment automation and further support for four EPSRC in robotics, automation and artificial Centres for Doctoral Training located intelligence, and there is now cross- artificial intelligence at universities within the UK-RAS sector business recognition of its Network. These centres, launched importance in: is predicted to in 2013, play a vital role in equipping • Growing global market share: students with entrepreneurial skills. Independent reports suggest They have excellent role models to the UK can lead and increase its grow by over draw from. Seebyte, for example, share in a rapidly expanding global which was formed in 1991 by Professor market 17 per cent in the David Lane to commercialise EPSRC- supported research, is now a world • Increasing UK share of global leader in smart software technology growth: Research and development next four years, for unmanned systems. A young spending on robotics, automation entrepreneur already taking his ideas and artificial intelligence is spurred on by to market is Sandy Enoch, a former predicted to grow by over 17 per EPSRC-supported PhD student at cent in the next four years, spurred industrial demand” the University of Edinburgh, founder on by industrial demand. of Robotical, which is breaking new As part of this strategy, we have ground in educational robots for identified four key areas for children, hobbyists and developers. investment: extreme and challenging Specialist incubators, including or hazardous environments; health and Edinburgh Informatics Ventures, social care; autonomous transport; Techcube and Codebase, the UK’s and next-generation autonomous largest technology incubator, are manufacturing. also playing their part in this pipeline EPSRC is playing a pivotal role in of innovation. meeting these challenges through It is also exciting to see how Research its investment in dedicated research, Council and stakeholder investments innovation and skills hubs such as the have reached across the research Bristol Robotics Lab and Edinburgh and innovation landscape, facilitating Centre for Robotics. significant further funding from facilities such as the Dyson Centres Continued on page 20

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 18 Joulo: EPSRC-supported researchers at the University of Southampton won the £30,000 first prize at the British Gas Connecting Homes Startup Competition for a system that aims to improve energy efficiency in the home. The MyJoulo system, developed by Dr Reuben Wilcock and Professor Alex Rogers, led to the launch of a spin-out company, Joulo, which was later acquired by Quby, Europe’s leading developer of smart thermostats and energy displays. The secret behind Joulo is clever artificial intelligence software, built into the Joulo USB temperature logger, which resembles a conventional USB memory stick. Customers place the device on top of their central heating thermostat and leave it for a week to collect data while the heating is used as normal. They then upload data from the logger to a website to receive instant personalised advice on how to reduce their heating bill. Joulo was just one of a host of successful projects arising from ORCHID, a major EPSRC- supported project that aims to reinvent our relationship with computers.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 19 Continued from page 19 Jobs These dedicated centres are meeting The impact of robotics, automation and industry needs by accelerating the artificial intelligence will cut across all flow of knowledge about robotics, major industries, and we are already automation and artificial intelligence seeing the effect they are having on technologies into the economy. manufacturing, logistics, transport, energy, healthcare, energy and retail, We are also opening up new business for example. opportunities by inviting researchers to come up with solutions to specific Advances in technology inevitably challenges, supported by sustained change the nature of the workforce, Research Council, Innovate UK and replacing certain types of jobs while stakeholder investment. For example, creating new opportunities in the “We need to be earlier this year with Innovate UK process – a trend that dates back to we invited researchers to submit the Industrial Revolution and to the proposals for a share of a jointly- more recent rise of digital computers open and fully funded £5 million investment pot to and the Internet boom. develop robotic innovations – helping Something we have learned from prepared for to further build UK expertise in the the Internet revolution and the sector and open up new opportunities rapid deployment of computers the changes in for innovative businesses and is that worries about large-scale economic growth. unemployment have largely evaporated workforce structure EPSRC is also investing in people because other jobs have been created. – expanding and enhancing UK It is no doubt true that the synthesis and for a shift in academic capability and skills by of robotics, automation and artificial supporting tomorrow’s leaders. For intelligence will supplant many example, since 2003 we have provided activities, but experience shows that the skills base” continuous support for the work of new industries and technologies rise Professor Paul Newman, founder as a consequence. of the Oxford Robotics Institute. The key is to be able to upskill the This includes a five-year Leadership workforce to deal with these changes. Fellowship and a recent five-year This requires careful and committed Programme Grant. planning, both for the benefit of the This magazine reflects the huge current workforce but especially for range of cross-disciplinary research the next generation – ensuring children and innovation in these areas, so the embrace the sector from an early age, foundations we are laying are strong. and nurturing an enquiring spirit that But we need to go further. Collectively, will see them create new jobs, indeed the Research Councils, Innovate UK industries, in much the same way that and the Knowledge Transfer Network Apple, Microsoft and, in the UK, ARM believe that the creation of a flagship- were forged from the creative minds coordinated national effort would of young people with talent, vision significantly enhance the national and ambition. and international profile of the UK We need to be open and fully prepared research base, providing a centre of for the changes in workforce structure focus for future development within and for a shift in the skills base. the sector. For this strategy to work Above all, the public needs a clear and we must continue to develop a joined- factual view of the current and future up approach to the investments we development of these technologies. make and in the outcomes arising from them – thus creating a sustained, long-term pipeline of research and Culture innovation from the lab bench to the From the perspective of popular marketplace, and integrating this new culture, which fuels public debate, thinking into technologies for a better robotics and AI are very much to the world. We are not, however, ignoring fore right now, with acclaimed TV the many complex challenges facing series such as Westworld and Humans the development of the sector. For asking serious questions about what example, there are serious public concerns surrounding jobs and ethics. Continued on page 22

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 20 Drone trackers: In October 2016, a team drones, taking to the skies, authorities are of EPSRC-supported researchers from the concerned they pose a significant risk to University Defence Research Collaboration safety and security. To enable the early (UDRC), at the University of Strathclyde, won detection, classification and tracking of UAVs, a major European award for their invention the Strathclyde team developed a Passive of a system that enables the tracking of UAVs. Bistatic Radar (PBR) system that aims to The team won the grand prize at ESNC 2016, monitor sensitive areas such as restricted air awarded by the European Satellite Navigation spaces around airfields. The system could also Competition, the world’s leading innovation be deployed for major public events or to platform for forward-thinking applications in support UAV use for e-commerce. its field. Along with their €10,000 prize, the team are The team’s cutting-edge civilian UAV tracking set to receive an extensive package including system promises to take the use of drones to cash, marketing support and consulting the next level. With more and more civilian services, to accelerate their idea further and commercial UAVs, such as quadcopter towards commercialisation.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 21 Continued from page 20 in which over 30 of the UK’s leading universities have come together it is to be human, and what it is to to stimulate, coordinate, promote be a machine. We must embrace and disseminate research into this debate as part of a wider these technologies. national dialogue. EPSRC has funded a wide range of Through initiatives such as the UK-RAS projects looking into this subject, such Network’s National Robotics Week, as Trustworthy Robotic Assistants, the first of which was held in June led by the University of Bristol and 2016, EPSRC and its partners are the University of the West of England, reaching out to the public, particularly which is developing new verification schoolchildren, to encourage debate and validation techniques to ensure and stimulate action. As a community the safety and trustworthiness of the – academic and industrial – it’s vital machines that will enhance our quality that we broaden people’s understanding of life in the future. A related project, of the issues, both for science and Being There, which has just come to society, so that we can responsibly an end, investigated human-human build next-generation technologies. and human-robot interactions using “As a community state-of-the-art humanoid robots such Ethics and responsible innovation as NAO. – academic It is understandable that there As the field develops, there will be a are public fears around robotics, clear need for standards, regulations and industrial – automation and artificial intelligence. and, perhaps, regulators. Should Building trust and embedding the driverless cars, for instance, be core values of ethics and responsible it’s vital that we regulated through a body similar to research and innovation are the the Civil Aviation Authority? foundation of trust, and underpin broaden people’s good practice. Any new technology needs a framework within which to work. In At EPSRC, we endeavour to ensure understanding my opinion it is a job for Government that the research we invest in is to help establish this framework, and carried out within a framework of ensure that the public develops trust of the issues, responsible innovation – and have in these systems. One caveat would be guidelines in place for researchers to that regulation needs to be a phased think about the societal and economic both for science process so that the practitioners impacts of their work, especially when and experimenters are engaged it comes to ethical issues. and society, throughout, and that innovation is not stifled as a consequence. Verification and validation so that we can In general, technology is trusted if it People, not machines brings benefits and is also safe and responsibly build well-regulated. One of the reasons we The future is about people. It is not trust airliners is that we know they about robots; it is about human are part of a highly regulated industry beings, and we need to make sure that next-generation with an excellent safety record. The the public, regulators, insurers and reason commercial aircraft are so safe lawyers, for example, are involved in technologies” is not just down to good design, it is the way technologies develop. also because there are stringent safety Just as computers are certain to get certification processes and, if things faster and software better, technologies do go wrong, robust processes of air arising from the synergies between accident investigation. robotics, automation and artificial The issue of verification and validation intelligence will become more and of autonomous systems, especially more important as we go forward. systems that ‘learn’ for themselves, is These technologies will not stand still. both extremely challenging and vital, Which is why, while they remain at the and is the subject of many current early stages of their development, we research projects. To this end, we should all be involved in the way they set up the Verification and Validation evolve, helping to create a better world of Autonomous Systems Network, for everyone.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 22 Being NAO: This programmable NAO robot, developed by French robotics specialists Aldebaran, is one of the most advanced of its kind in the world, and is used by researchers in a number of fields. In the UK a team of EPSRC-supported researchers, working with a diverse range of artists, designers and game makers, collaborated on the Being There project, to investigate human-human and human-robot interactions using state-of-the- art humanoid robots such as NAO. The project brought together five teams of researchers from the universities of Exeter, Bath, Oxford, Cambridge (formerly at Queen Mary University of London) and the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, who took NAO into public spaces around Bristol and Bath to measure human interaction with robots.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 23 Joint account

Professor Sanja Dogramadzi, from The Bristol team’s surgical system surgeon, always in control, makes Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL), combines state-of-the-art 3D imaging, the decisions essential to the has led the development of a ground- pattern recognition and robotics. It patient’s wellbeing. breaking robotic system that enables begins with CT scans of healthy and “Ultimately the system allows for surgeons to put joint fractures fractured joints. These are ‘interpreted’ earlier and less onerous surgery; back together using a minimally by a mathematical algorithm which reliable, perfect fragment realignment; invasive approach. Supported by an works out the exact displacement improved patient outcomes; faster underpinning EPSRC investment, and rotation needed for each fragment rehabilitation; reduced hospital it is the first robot-assisted system to be put back together in exactly stays; earlier return to work; fewer designed to deal with this problem. the right place. The solution to this complications; arthritis avoidance; and 3D puzzle is the starting point for Working alongside Professor Roger the minimally invasive surgical significantly reduced NHS costs.” Atkins, an orthopaedic surgeon robotic system. at University Hospital Bristol, and The underpinning research and MatOrtho®, a leading UK medical Professor Dogramadzi says: “The creation of the prototype system was device company, Professor Dogramadzi NIHR project is driven by patient funded by EPSRC and developed in received funding from the National benefit that will arise from taking the collaboration with spin-out company, Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to latest advances in technology and Simpleware, a pioneer of 3D computer refine the system. using them in a real application to modelling software formed in 2003 solve an exponentially growing number to bring to market EPSRC-funded Broken bones that involve joints cause of fractures in our society. research by Professor Philippe Young considerable disability and substantial at the University of Exeter. NHS costs. To work properly and avoid “By working closely with surgeons we painful arthritis, the pieces of the joint have been able to design a workable In May 2016, Sanja Dogramadzi must be put back together perfectly. system which will function within the and her partners won the Best Surgeons do this by making a large constraints of medicine and meet the Medical Paper award at ICRA 2016 incision to open up the area around the needs of patients. The robots we are in Stockholm, one of the leading joint and see the broken bits. These developing will enhance the work of international forums for robotics wounds cause pain, scarring and surgeons by carrying out complex researchers to present their work, infection risk, and long hospital stays. tasks suited to robots, while the with 2,500 delegates in attendance. Professor Sanja Dogramadzi has been developing medical and assistive robotics research at Bristol Robotics Laboratory for the last seven years. Her research builds upon her PhD and is focusing on the use of robotics technologies in healthcare settings. The work is multidisciplinary and involves working with clinicians, users and companies integrating several engineering and computing disciplines including robotics, mechanical engineering, control, optimisation and medical imaging. Robotics expertise for healthcare applications is a combination of many skills developed over years working with professionals in different fields. Understanding clinical requirements and limitations is an integral part of the research expertise. Driving ambition Ground-breaking driverless car technology trialled in public for the first time has the potential to enable any machine that moves to operate autonomously – from combine harvesters to Mars Rovers.

models of its surroundings, can navigate autonomously while avoiding unpredictable obstacles or hazards such as children running into the road. The futuristic car pictured is the latest The vehicle can do this using vision or generation of self-driving vehicle laser – or a combination of both. developed by EPSRC-supported The team’s research led to the creation engineers at the Oxford Robotics of a spin-out company, Oxbotica, which Institute (ORI) – and is the first to be has played a pivotal role in the project, driven on public roads in the UK. integrating the ORI’s software into the In successfully completing the first vehicle, giving it the next-generation public trials, conducted in real time level of intelligence to safely operate in on pedestrianised streets at the pedestrianised urban environments. heart of Milton Keynes, the team Project leader and Oxbotica co-founder behind the LUTZ Pathfinder pod Paul Newman, BP Professor of demonstrated how the vehicle, Information Engineering at the guided by software that builds 3D University of Oxford, has been at the

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 26 exploration. Oxbotica’s navigation software has been licenced for use on the European Space Agency’s ExoMars project. of autonomy”, as Newman describes them: Where am I; What’s around me; Key to the research has been the and What should I do? involvement of industrial partners – from BAE Systems, to Nissan, Rather than utilising GPS, which to Jaguar Land Rover. The team can be disrupted if used in tunnels, forefront of research into mobile is currently challenging itself with underground or underwater, for autonomy for more than a decade. He seamlessly integrating Selenium into example, Selenium uses data captured says continuous EPSRC support for his the latest Range Rover model. by on-board cameras and Light research, which dates from 2003, and Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) laser The LUTZ Pathfinder project was includes a prestigious 2010 Leadership measurement devices to enable backed by Innovate UK, and the Milton Fellowship to develop ‘Life-Long the car to create 3D models of its Keynes trials were in partnership Infrastructure Free Robot Navigation’ surroundings, building up knowledge with the Transport Systems Catapult, as well as a £5 million, five-year of the surrounding environment. which is building an automated vehicle Programme Grant, awarded in 2015, test and integration facility to enable has been “vital”. Professor Newman says: “With the other UK universities and SMEs to Selenium platform we can take “Thanks to ongoing EPSRC support work with the Catapult on new self- any vehicle and make it into an I have been able to build an ecosystem driving technology. autonomous vehicle – from forklifts to of scientists, mathematicians, agricultural machinery. Although the successful Milton Keynes engineers and research assistants,” trials brought the LUTZ project to a says Professor Newman, who “If something can be touched and close, it has left a legacy that could co-founded Oxbotica with his ORI moved by machines, we can make see the first commuters travelling colleague Ingmar Posner, Associate those machines autonomous – moving in self-driving cars within the next Professor in Information Engineering. parcels in warehouses, cabbages in five years, with three routes planned fields, rocks down mines and people Posner and Newman’s work led to between railway stations and specific along streets.” the creation of Selenium, the crucial sites in Oxfordshire, one of which is software at the heart of the project Wider potential applications include the EPSRC-supported RACE robotic that enables the vehicle to satisfy use in manufacturing, the surveying remote handling facility in Culham, of potholes in roads, and even space questions driven by the “basic pillars south Oxfordshire. Mark Mallett Photography

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 27 Spin doctor

A team of researchers led by Dr Mirko Kovac are developing autonomous aircraft that can fly into disaster zones and print emergency shelters.

Dr Kovac’s team, from Imperial College London. Industry partners College London, are working with include Dyson, engineering academic partners and industrial consultancy BuroHappold, contractor collaborators to combine a suite of Skanska, Dutch 3D print firm technologies that could be used in Ultimaker, and the UK’s BRE Trust. disaster relief and in a host of Dr Kovac’s team say that the other situations. world’s first Aerial Additive Building Supported by an EPSRC manufacturing Manufacturing System (Aerial ABM) grant, the team are developing could even revolutionise conventional autonomous drones, miniaturised construction by miniaturising 3D print 3D printers and artificial ‘swarm capability, giving it autonomy, and intelligence’ systems which would putting it in the air. allow the robots to build life-saving The systems could also have wide- structures in places that are too ranging benefits for the environment dangerous or difficult for construction and society at large. For example, teams to get to. Aerial ABM can significantly reduce Dr Kovac, Director of the Aerial transportation volumes and carbon Robotics Laboratory at Imperial, says: emissions – 3D printers only use the “Once the site has been identified material they need to build with, with where shelters would be needed, we minimal wastage. can create the virtual model on the There could be health and safety computer offsite, away in a safe zone.” advantages, too, with autonomous The concept sees swarms of drones systems carrying out hazardous scanning and modelling the landscape tasks previously undertaken by and using building information humans, as well as contributing to modelling (BIM) systems to print the development of smart cities, with structures on the spot from scratch. drones sensing the environment, It builds on research at Imperial that inspecting structures and then has already led to flying drones that repairing or maintaining them. can extrude 3D print material in the Dr Kovac’s leadership has been pivotal air, as well as simulations of swarms in the success of a related project of drones planning and making things by Imperial PhD students that uses autonomously and collaboratively. drones to repair water and industrial The four-year project involves pipelines. The award-winning project researchers from Imperial College, is the brainchild of PhD student and the University of Bath and University inventor Talib Alhinai.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 Photography: Imperial College London Imperial College Photography:

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 29 Autonomous futures

Professor Sethu applications such as the large-scale serious player in this domain in Europe Vijayakumar, 3D-printing of structures for transport and the trajectory is great. We have Director of the and housing. EPSRC continues to clearly put ourselves on the map. EPSRC-supported support blue-sky research in these In order to maintain this upward Edinburgh Centre areas. One day they will become trajectory, there needs to be sustained for Robotics, a reality. investment in both people and centres. tackles the Space is another frontier that has We need to encourage and provide challenges facing traditionally been very receptive to RAS incentives for investment from the robotics, automation and artificial technology. At the Edinburgh Centre large companies becoming interested intelligence, and discusses the for Robotics we are collaborating with in these centres, because it’s a win- public’s misconception of these rapidly NASA and the Johnson Space Center win situation. The key industrial advancing technologies. He also gazes (JSC) to develop humanoid robots players will develop and influence into his crystal ball… capable of dexterous behaviour in the next generation of technological Within the next 10 years we are likely complex environments for unmanned leaders, while giving the centres the to see major advancements in the way missions to Mars. freedom and timescales to carry out robotics and autonomous systems disruptive, high risk innovations. We are extremely privileged to be (RAS) are used in areas such as the only team in Europe with one of Advances in RAS and AI pose many manufacturing or packaging, leading NASA’s Valkyrie humanoid robots social, ethical and moral questions. to greater efficiency and generating (funded partly through an EPSRC We need to ensure there is cost savings. capital grant). Valkyrie’s human-like consultation not just with scientists A revolution is also under way in how shape is designed to enable it to work and lawmakers but with wider society these systems are used in labour- alongside people, or carry out and stakeholders, the end users. We intensive industries such as mining high-risk tasks in place of people. also need to manage the hype of what and agriculture, where they are not Edinburgh has a preferred partnership is possible and what is not. just undertaking physical tasks but with NASA-JSC, making it the only Humans in general tend to also interfacing with new AI-like institute outside of a couple of overestimate the importance of new technologies such as real-time universities in the US with the capacity technology in the short term and sensing, intelligence and logistics, to address these challenges. underestimate it in the long term. This to make the processes safer and Dedicated centres for research and is very relevant to robotics because more efficient. training excellence in the UK, initiated when people see an exciting new In other socially important areas that and funded by EPSRC, have been technology demonstrated they think affect our day-to-day lives, such as crucial in addressing major challenges the problem is solved, and assume transport or water and food security, for RAS, and have gone a long way they will be getting a robot butler next. RAS technology is increasingly applied to improving the visibility of UK Short-term overestimation of new to monitor, maintain and repair assets. robotics research outside of the robotics and AI technologies can lead There are also new novel capabilities country and Europe. It has helped to concerns about robots taking over where none existed previously such attract lots of talent. the world and such like. I know how as innovative healthcare technologies, hard it is for a bipedal robot to balance underwater mining or point-to-point This commitment to long-term investment is very important for itself without falling over and breaking drug delivery in remote geographical its ankle – we’re a long way from locations using drones. robotics, which is a high-investment, high-return discipline requiring having to worry about robot overlords. Looking further forward, we could see cutting-edge infrastructure, personnel There is a gap between the vision of the creation of micro-robotic systems and training. EPSRC’s investments making robust, reactive systems and designed to carry out repairs, deliver contrast with the scattergun approach the challenges of realising it. drugs or even repair cell structures we used to have, with robotics Nevertheless, RAS technology will within our bodies. inevitably falling into the cracks significantly and positively change the At the other end of the spectrum between the ICT and engineering way we live, work and play in the very there are massive, as-yet unexplored portfolios. The UK has evolved into a near future. I am confident of this. “We’re a long way from having to worry about robot overlords”

One giant leap: NASA hopes to send Valkyrie humanoid robots like this one to Mars many years before astronauts are able to make the journey, for pre-deployment tasks and to maintain assets on the Red Planet. Valkyrie’s human-like shape is designed to enable it to work alongside people, or carry out high-risk tasks in place of people.

31 People power

ORCHID, a major academic industry research collaboration, funded by EPSRC and partners, has led to world-leading science and real-world applications in areas such as disaster response, citizen science and smart energy systems. Its ultimate aim? To reinvent our relationship with computers.

As the 21st century unfolds, instead of issuing instructions to passive machines, we will increasingly work in partnership with ‘agents’ – highly interconnected computational components able to act autonomously and intelligently. Funded by EPSRC and partners, the five-year ORCHID project brought together researchers at the universities of Oxford, Southampton and Nottingham and major industrial How is the situation changing? partners including BAE Systems, ORCHID researchers developed Secure Meters UK Ltd, and the charity systems that can collate, interrogate Rescue Global. and manage information drawn from Professor Nick Jennings, ORCHID a variety of sources including social project leader, says: “Human-agent media, CCTV and crowdsourcing. collectives (HACs) are required to make Among numerous success stories, a sense of the volume, variety and pace team of ORCHID researchers from the of data that is available today from University of Southampton designed myriad sources and devices. a new tool to help monitor national “By flexibly combining the best of radiation levels in the aftermath of the human ingenuity and problem-solving 2011 nuclear accident at Fukushima- with machine intelligence we can hope Daiichi in Japan. The technology they subsequently applied to a real-world to build the complex socio-technical created intelligently harnessed the disaster response situation with systems required by tomorrow’s power of crowdsourced data from Rescue Global immediately following applications.” private individuals who deployed the earthquake in Nepal in 2015. 577 Geiger counters across the country A case in point is the project’s to help the public track the spread In the field of smart energy, ORCHID development and testing of new of airborne radioactive particles. To research led to Joulo, a spin-out systems to support the management identify accurate information from so company whose technology provides and coordination of disaster response. many sources, the platform combines ‘clever’ insight into heating systems, Faced with disaster situations such reports from thousands of sensors and allowing customers to save money as earthquake, forest fire or flooding, uses machine learning algorithms to on their energy bills and make their rescue services have to make critical correct for inconsistencies and weed homes more comfortable. Joulo was decisions, often drawing on uncertain out defective sensors. tipped as the UK’s brightest home information and within a rapidly tech start-up when it won first place changing context. Where are the ORCHID’s crowdsourcing/citizen at the 2013 British Gas connecting casualties? Where are the resources? science-based technology was homes competition. ORCHID highlights The Cicada app: A smart phone app to help locate the New Forest cicada – this has been downloaded by over 5,000 members of the public. CollabMap: A crowdsourcing system to construct emergency maps in the aftermath of major disasters. Apocalypse of MOP: An on-line game developed to explore understandings of provenance. The CrowdScanner system: Developed for, and won, the US State Department’s TAG challenge for social mobilisation and rapid information gathering. Squadguru (squadguru.com): An automated fantasy football manager that has outperformed 2.5 million players in the online Fantasy Premier League. The OutrunCancer platform: Launched to evaluate networked incentive schemes in collaboration with Cancer Research UK. A key element of ORCHID was the swift spawned 30 follow-on projects worth transfer out of the lab and into the £15 million stretching beyond the GalaxyZoo: ORCHID technology marketplace. BAE Systems’ Knowledge initial universities and partners. is used in a large-scale project Transfer Officer, Dr David Nicholson, The project has also established a new of galaxy research; classifying says: “You can do the research in the multidisciplinary research community millions of galaxies. universities and build demonstration and deployed real-world applications SharedTask App: An award- systems, but getting research into of human-agent collectives that will winning crowdsourcing app that real products and systems is difficult. endure and be further developed. aims to classify tweets. Developed In ORCHID we’ve gone a long way to in collaboration with Microsoft close that technology readiness gap.” In September 2016, in the latest from a long list of international prizes Research. Although ORCHID has now finished, its and accolades, the ORCHID project Hire and Fire for TREC: research agenda and research network won the top prize in the Data A crowdsourcing app that helps continue to flourish. ORCHID directly and Connectivity category at The recruiters to detect trustworthy trained and employed 50 researchers Engineer magazine’s Collaborate and capable workers. and doctoral students and has to Innovate Awards. 34 iCub and the tutor

This picture of the iCub robot and its playmate won the People category in the 2015/16 EPSRC Science Photo Competition. It was taken by Dr Patricia Shaw from Aberystwyth University. You can find out more about Patricia’s research on page 46.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 35 The fourth industrial revolution – the near-term, it is likely they will era of autonomous machines – is upon eventually take on many roles currently I think? us and we urgently need to reflect performed by people, possibly leading on how this is changing UK society to job losses, or reduced working and how to ensure there are positive hours. We need to start thinking about Professor Tony impacts for all. this now. People already worry about the A key benefit could be a rise in Prescott, Director impacts of automation on jobs, the standards of living. People will do of the Sheffield use of robots as weapons, invasion of less dreary, repetitive or unfulfilling privacy, and possible loss of human work with the possibility of replacing Robotics research autonomy (AI systems making this with activities focused on family, institute, discusses decisions for us). Some changes are social life, education, arts, and self- gradual, coming with little fanfare, realisation. Hurray, we might think! the ethics of robotics, but we need to be attentive to their Nevertheless, evidence suggests automation and cumulative impacts on our freedoms that automation might actually lead and lifestyles. to greater wealth inequality, leaving artificial intelligence. For example, while robotic and AI many people considering a less technologies will create jobs in the secure future. To meet this challenge, governments may need to make substantive changes to taxation and social security, or consider more root-and- In 15 years there will be a 50 per singularity’ – the moment at which branch approaches such as a switch cent increase in those over 65 and humanity is surpassed by its own to universal income. Taxing robots has the proportion of older people in our super-intelligent creations. While even been mooted, possibly not as society will continue to grow. Robotic these outcomes may seem like science crazy as it sounds. systems could mitigate some of the fiction, they are, at least, theoretically In 10 years we are likely to see most significant effects of this shift, possible and are the focus of many TV increased use of robotics in our public including labour shortages as skilled shows and movies that make them and personal spaces. For instance, older workers retire, and health seem believable. Unsurprisingly, this in health and social care, which is and social care services’ capacity to unsettles people. the area of focus of our new spin-out support an ageing population. New, It is right that centres such as the company, Consequential Robotics, safe, human-friendly robots could help University of Oxford’s Future of there are potentially many benefits for extend the active, independent lives of Humanity Institute are starting to an ageing UK population. older citizens at home and at work. consider these possible long-term At the same time, there are concerns impacts. I believe that the wider about replacing human care with research community should start machine care and these need giving them some thought. consideration. For me, one lesson is Climate change shows us that human that we must work to make robots technologies can have potentially complementary to human carers, irreversible world-changing effects. and perhaps consider legislation that It is not over-dramatising to say that protects a basic right to some direct long-term impacts of robotics and AI human contact. technologies could be as significant. In the far future, there is the question To better understand and address of whether robots and AIs could public concerns we will need improved achieve a level of general science communication, and, to intelligence and autonomy assure people that the research and where we would need to development work we are doing is for see them as other beings, their general good, we may also need potentially with rights. increased governance of research and People may form personal innovation in these fields. relationships with such AIs. The EPSRC framework for responsible Ultimately, there is the innovation AREA (Anticipate, Reflect, risk of the so-called Engage, and Act) is a useful starting ‘technological point. At Sheffield Robotics Institute we are building this approach into the way we develop new projects, how we conduct our day-to-day research and interact with people across our city and region. However, research in robotics and AI is global, conducted by many different types of organisation – both traditional bodies such as universities and corporations and newer and more informal players such as online and open-source ‘maker’ communities. Governance and regulation will need to be international if it is to be effective and not simply promote competitive advantages for less regulated countries. It will also need to be smart and persuasive if it is going to command the attention of all possible players. I believe that the UK can and should provide global leadership in meeting this very significant challenge. @tonyjprescott

37 Flight of the navigator

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 A tiny pilotless aircraft, built by The laser-sintered aircraft, the world’s EPSRC-supported researchers at the first ‘printed’ aeroplane, is controlled University of Southampton, has been from a laptop on board the ship, deployed by the Royal Navy’s ice patrol cruises at nearly 60mph and is all but ship HMS Protector to assist with noiseless thanks to its tiny engine. navigating through the Antarctic. Its low cost means it is cheaper than The 3D-printed aircraft, along with a one hour’s flying time by a Fleet Air quadcopter, scouted the way for the Arm helicopter. survey ship so she could find her way Captain Rory Bryan, Protector’s through the thick ice of frozen seas. Commanding Officer, says: “This is an It’s the first time the Royal Navy has important first step in establishing the used unmanned aerial vehicles in utility of unmanned aerial vehicles in this part of the world, and provided this region. It has demonstrated to me the icebreaker with real-time high- that this is a capability that I can use quality information courtesy of a to great effect.” detailed picture of the surrounding environment from a perspective that is only available from the air.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 39 Young master: Dr Kedar Pandya and Professor Guang-Zhong Yang, from Imperial College London, chair of the UK-RAS Network, with Daniel Macholl, winner of the School Robot Challenge during UK Robotics Week. The challenge is a competition for schoolchildren and students that links biology, robotics and digital skills and involves designing your own virtual robot bug and teaching it to move. Blueprint for the future

from history that successful economies The impacts arising from this are those that invest in long-term investment will happen in all sectors science, technology and innovation. and all around us. It will help develop Published in 2013, the now much-cited the next generation of autonomous McKinsey report estimates an impact vehicles on land, sea and air to enable of robotics and autonomous systems better leisure travel, faster recovery on global markets of US$4.5 trillion by during disasters and more efficient 2025. To put that into context, the UK service provision. It will allow safer, more cost effective and convenient In recent years, EPSRC has formed economy currently has a nominal GDP inspection and repair of critical and ever-closer bonds with partners of US$2.65 trillion. In May of this year, resilient infrastructures, such as such as Innovate UK to develop a the Financial Times reported a doubling energy and oil and gas facilities on united strategy for research, training of global investment in robotics in which the UK depends, as well as help and innovation in technologies that the last year alone. Whereas the ICT maintain the nation’s historic buildings synthesise robotics, automation revolution has affected everything that uses data, the revolution arising for our descendants. As populations and artificial intelligence. EPSRC age in the UK and around the from the synergies between robotics, Associate Director, Dr Kedar Pandya developed world, we will increasingly automation and artificial intelligence and Professor David Lane, CBE, FRng, look to new kinds of robotic systems to FRSE of Heriot-Watt University, look are predicted to affect everything that assist us in the home and across the back on the formation of the strategy moves, making us more productive urban environment. – and look forward to its adoption and safer. Following a year’s worth of and implementation. For the last three years, we have consultation, debate and validation How will our lives be transformed in worked closely together, with many with academia, industry and public the 21st century? No-one knows for colleagues and partners, to build bodies, in 2014 a Special Interest sure. However, change is all around a case for how UK investment in Group set up under the leadership of us – from the technologies we use in robotics, automation and artificial Professor David Lane published the our homes to the way we work, travel intelligence can make a long-term UK’s first ever national strategy to and play. While we cannot predict the contribution to our economy and develop our robotics and autonomous future, we can prepare for it. We know quality of life. systems innovation pipeline for

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 40 jobs and growth. This provided a build on such investments. By really for the event to be even bigger and framework to focus the activities of all starting to build the innovation pipeline better next year. stakeholders to work coherently and for robotics, automation and artificial As we look to the future, we have a develop innovation and new businesses intelligence from this promising start real sense of being at an inflexion point across sectors from new technologies we can enable the UK to achieve its – a distinct change in momentum. in the research base. Either side of potential and competitive advantage. Technologies are converging at an that date, investments by EPSRC and Another first was the UK Robotics ever-increasing rate, society is evolving other funders have helped to build Week, set up under the auspices at an ever-rapid pace and we know UK capabilities. of the EPSRC UK Robotics and that international competitors are In the early years, we focused our Autonomous Systems Network making major investments right now. investments on underpinning capital (UK-RAS Network), which we Early adoption is key, and here in the infrastructure and collaborative held in July of 2016, enthusing UK we have all the raw ingredients research across sectors. In more academics, business leaders and to be successful – one of the best recent years, key postgraduate training most importantly schoolchildren to research bases on the planet, an centres (Centres for Doctoral Training) get involved in debates, and to discuss innovative business environment and major programmes of research the technological, commercial, legal, and a government strongly committed and innovation have really started to ethical and social aspects of robotics, to a forward-looking industrial put the UK on the global map. as well as to shine a spotlight on strategy. Significant government EPSRC and Innovate UK are working the UK’s technology leadership investment in robotics, automation very closely with other research in RAS through challenges and and artificial intelligence will help the councils and stakeholders to show demonstrators. UK stay competitive, productive and how a future integrated programme We were delighted by the coverage this ahead in a changing world. The future of research and translation would received and there are already plans is now.

The EPSRC UK-RAS Network

The EPSRC UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems The recent capital investment from the UK government Network (UK-RAS Network) was established in March through EPSRC has resulted in the creation of the 2015 with the mission to provide academic leadership eight RAS facilities and four CDTs covering key areas of in Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS), expand transport, healthcare, manufacturing, and unmanned collaboration with industry and integrate and coordinate systems to ensure that the UK maintains its leading activities at eight EPSRC-funded RAS capital facilities, engineering and research capacity in RAS. four Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) and partner www.ukras.org universities across the UK. The Network, which is chaired by Professor Guang- Zhong Yang, from the Hamlyn Centre, Imperial College London, is expanding to include broader stakeholders including key national laboratories in the UK and leading international collaborators in both academia and industry. The UK-RAS Network has already received strong support from major industrial partners, the Science Museum and the UK’s major professional engineering bodies including the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Engineering and Technology, and the Institute Hands-on research: Students at the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training Future Autonomous and Robotic Systems of Mechanical Engineers. at the University of Bristol.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 41 Hotter than the sun

Mascot It was not possible to use a pre-programmed The units are linked by computer, not or robotic type of maintenance system for mechanically, so that the slave unit can be Servicing and maintaining the JET nuclear JET. Instead, the system makes use of special operated at any distance from the master. The fusion reactor at Culham (above), which manipulators to extend the operator’s own Mascot is used to undertake a wide range reaches temperatures 10 times hotter than arms into the radioactive environment. These of tasks including welding, cutting, bolting, the sun, required the development of a manipulators provide the operator with a handling and inspection. Many of these remote handling system called Mascot sense of touch and feel and, together with are performed using special tooling which (above left) which can adapt to the changing the associated CCTV system, create a sense of in the majority of cases was designed and configurations and conditions of the machine. being inside the machine. developed at JET.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 42 Since its launch in 2015, the Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE) centre in Oxfordshire has hit the ground running – and has been a key element in UK companies notching up over £100 million in global orders – based around its autonomous robotic remote handling technologies, developed to meet the challenges of maintaining one of the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactors.

When Mary Berry takes a cake out of hazardous environment. Biological “Just as human beings can’t survive in her oven, she wears protective gloves. material does not like radiation, a radioactive environment, neither can After all, the oven is hot, very hot. But neither do electronics. So to keep JET electronics – at least for more than a what if your oven is an experimental maintained, scientists and engineers few hours. We have to come up with nuclear fusion reactor, which routinely at Culham, drawing on 20 years’ and new ways of working. 30,000 hours’ of experience, have heats hydrogen-based plasma up to “For instance we are considering developed and designed remote 200 million degrees Centigrade? Such drone-sensors that can quickly fly nuclear oven gloves, or rather a suite a reactor exists, in a quiet corner in, collect the data we need and get of south Oxfordshire, but it’s not for of remotely operated robots – some up out before expiring. Our goal is zero baking cakes. to 12 metres in length, and weighing manual intervention – both during 10 tonnes – that can work inside The reactor, known as the Joint operation and for many years the JET vessel, performing tasks after shutdown.” European Torus (JET), is based at the including welding, attachment of tiles, UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Culham diagnostics, and detailed surveys. As if this does not give the Science Centre HQ, one of the world’s 85 engineers at RACE enough to be leading laboratories investigating This wealth of experience, expertise getting on with, remote and robotic nuclear fusion, the process by which and cutting-edge technologies paved applications outside of fusion are now the sun and the stars produce heat the way for a brand new government- being pursued in collaboration with and light. funded £9.8 million robotics/remote academic and industrial partners, handling facility at Culham called Funding for JET comes from the including with the Science and RACE (Remote Applications in Technology Facilities Council. 27 members of EUROfusion with the Challenging Environments). UK’s component administered by RACE offers access to test facilities, EPSRC. The UKAEA plays a key role in In addition to conducting research and robotic equipment and expertise the global fusion community with close development for the JET programme, to SMEs, multinationals, research ties to research in South Korea, Japan, RACE has attracted worldwide demand laboratories and academia – in China and the USA. for its unique skills and technology, fact, any sector with a ‘challenging and has hit the ground running since it environment’ such as space Fusion has the potential to provide an opened in 2016. It has already enabled exploration, petrochemical, almost limitless clean, safe, renewable industry to win £100 million in contracts construction, mining and, of course, energy source for future generations. from the International Thermonuclear nuclear fission and fusion. The centre is investigating how to Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, harness this power, and one day put it based in southern France, one of the It is estimated that robotics and on the national grid. most ambitious energy projects in the autonomous systems will grow into world. And its appeal goes way beyond a worldwide market worth over One way of achieving fusion is to trap £60 billion in the coming years. a hot gas (or plasma) of fuels with the nuclear industry. a magnetic field and heat it up to RACE is a key partner in and sub- Rob Buckingham says: “We are temperatures 10 times hotter than contractor for the ITER project, where also finding direct links with the sun in a doughnut-shaped device over 30 nations are collaborating to seemingly dissimilar subjects such called a ‘tokamak’. JET is currently the build the world’s largest tokamak, to as autonomous cars, which rely world’s largest tokamak experiment. advance fusion science and prepare on advanced sensing and mapping These temperatures are not a public the way for the fusion power plants technologies. For example, we safety concern because the amount of of tomorrow. are working with the EPSRC- fuel inside the tokamak is extremely supported Oxford Robotics Institute RACE’s Director, Rob Buckingham, low, weighing about as much as a at the University of Oxford on future says: “Robotic technology will be postage stamp. autonomous vehicle trials. We need fundamental to future nuclear power mobile autonomy in fusion so are keen JET is nevertheless a nuclear generation. ITER is essentially an to work with the UK’s world-leading facility; its central chamber is a industrial facility – a nuclear factory researchers, all within the same mildly radioactive and chemically which has to be completely automated. EPSRC family.”

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 43 Cling thing

EPSRC-supported researchers at the wall, turn and stop under control, and University of Leeds have used the feet stay stable enough to take good quality of tree frogs as a model for a tiny robot images for the surgeons to work with. designed to crawl inside patients’ “While basic capillary action works to bodies during keyhole surgery. The an extent, the adhesion fails as soon tiny device is one of a growing stable as there is movement, so we have of bio-inspired robots created at the looked at the tiny mechanisms used in School of Mechanical Engineering for nature. It is only if you look at the scale which the university’s EPSRC National of a thousandth of a millimetre that Facility for Innovative Robotic Systems you can get enough adhesion to give is providing unique manufacturing the robust attachment we need.” capability. The prototype surgical device was The robot is designed to move one of a number of the university’s across the internal abdominal wall of bio-inspired robots to feature on BBC a patient, allowing surgeons to see One’s The One Show, including an what they are doing on a real-time electric ‘mole’ designed to dig through video feed. rubble in disaster zones and a giant The tree frog’s feet provide a solution robo-worm that mimics the nervous to the critical problem of getting the system of a real nematode worm. device to hold onto wet, slippery tissue The use of ‘structured’ surfaces to when it is vertical or upside down. manage traction/friction is exploited Although it is relatively easy to find in the Leeds facility’s latest Rollerball ways of sticking to or gripping tissue, robot which has been designed to the patterns on the frog’s feet offer a perform hydrocolonoscopy. Three way to hold and release a grip without driven rolling balls are used to propel harming the patient. the robot along the colon wall with the Professor Anne Neville, Royal Academy surfaces optimised for traction and of Engineering Chair in Emerging minimal trauma. Technologies at Leeds and an EPSRC Professor Neville is a leading RISE Fellow, leads the research. She researcher in the fields of corrosion says: “Tree frogs have hexagonal and tribology – the study of what patterned channels on their feet that happens on surfaces and at the when in contact with a wet surface interfaces between materials. In many build capillary bridges, and hence an engineering applications tribology has adhesion force. significant interactions with corrosion. “The effect is similar to a beer glass In 2016 she received the prestigious sticking to a beer mat, but the patterns Leverhulme Medal from the Royal on the feet of our robot build a large Society for her research. The medal is number of adhesion points that allow awarded triennially for an outstanding it to move around on a very slippery researcher in the field of chemical surface when it is upside down. engineering and applied chemistry. “To work effectively, the robot has to move to all areas of the abdominal

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 44 PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 45 In profile Dr Patricia Shaw Patricia, an EPSRC-supported researcher at Aberystwyth University, describes her passion for robots, and explains how robotics is helping her research into how humans start learning from the moment they are born.

I have been interested in computers since I was very young, trying to understand how they work and how to program them. Growing up, watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, I was fascinated by the android character Data, along with other intelligent robots in sci-fi. When I first came across the idea of artificial intelligence, I knew this was something I wanted to learn more about, leading me to do a PhD researching Intelligent Agents. When the opportunity arose to work with a humanoid robot at Aberystwyth University, I leapt at it. I lead a team of researchers, pushing the research forward, and am also helping to develop the next generation of engineers and scientists. Supporting the students’ learning, and hopefully inspiring some of them to continue the research in the future, is highly motivating. As robots become more commonplace, the social and psychological implications of human-robot interaction become more important. I’m lucky enough to work with platform. This is really exciting because not an iCub robot, which is modelled on a only do we get to understand more about About iCub™ young child. how our children develop, we get to use iCub™ is a humanoid robot this knowledge to help the robot learn. Being humanoid in shape and child-sized, developed by the Italian Institute of the iCub tends to elicit a friendly almost By helping the robot to learn about how to Technology and used in more than caring response from children and adults move and interact with its environment, 20 laboratories worldwide. It has alike. This is used a lot by researchers it is more likely to be able to deal with 53 motors that move the head, studying how members of the public unexpected situations than if it were arms & hands, waist and legs. can teach the robot to perform a task. simply told what to do. We also aim to Able to both see and hear, the robot This involves a lot of crossover between help psychologists better understand how has been specifically designed computer science and psychology. I entered and why certain behaviours develop in to support research in embodied a picture I took of the iCub in the 2015/16 certain orders. artificial intelligence. At 104 cm tall, EPSRC Science Photo Competition, and I also see robots being used more the iCub is the size of a five-year- was delighted when it won first prize in the prominently in the future, whether old child. It can crawl on all fours, People category. exploring environments that are unsafe walk and sit up to manipulate I work with some really amazing people or inaccessible to humans, or working objects. Its hands have been doing some great research in a wide alongside humans. For this to be possible, designed to support sophisticated variety of topics – from space robotics and the robots need to be able to deal with a lot manipulation skills. image processing to computational biology of unknown scenarios that are very difficult The iCub is distributed as Open and knowledge-based reasoning. They to prepare for without the ability to learn Source and can now count on a encourage me to keep pushing forward and and adapt. worldwide community of enthusiastic doing the best I can. To see Patricia’s winning photograph, and developers. More than 30 robots The research we are doing aims to all of the winners of the EPSRC Science have been built so far which are understand how humans learn starting Photo Competition, go to: EPSRC Flickr. used in laboratories in Europe, the from birth, and apply it to a robotic UK, the US, South Korea and Japan.

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 46

Total value of EPSRC’s research and training portfolio: £4.6 billion

Percentage of research portfolio that is multidisciplinary: 56%

Total invested in research and training annually: £800 million

Organisations involved in collaborative EPSRC grants: Over 3,553

Percentage of research portfolio that is collaborative: 54% About EPSRC

Total leveraged from users: £1.1 billion

About the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) As the main funding agency for engineering and physical sciences research, our vision is for the UK to be the best place in the world to research, discover and innovate. By investing £800 million a year in research and postgraduate training, we are building the knowledge and skills base needed to address the scientific and technological challenges facing the nation. Our portfolio covers a vast range of fields – from healthcare technologies to structural engineering, manufacturing to mathematics, advanced materials to chemistry. The research we fund has impact across all sectors; it provides a platform for future economic development in the UK and for improvements for everyone’s health, lifestyle and culture. We work collectively with our partners and other Research Councils on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK. www.epsrc.ac.uk Follow us on: www.twitter.co.uk/EPSRC

PIONEER 17 Winter 2016 48

PIONEERAutumn 2008 PIONEERWinter 2009 PIONEERSummer 2009 PIONEERAutumn 2009 www.epsrc.ac.uk www.epsrc.ac.uk www.epsrc.ac.uk www.epsrc.ac.uk 01 New Power 02 03 04 Generation Creating the wave of engineers to make wind energy work

Speed Freak Could Going Can Richard Noble’s virtual humans Underground team build the fastest revolutionise UK research is making carbon car in the world? healthcare? capture technology a reality

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Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council 09 EngineeringEngineering andand PhysicalPhysical SciencesSciences ResearchResearch CouncilCouncil 10 Leading UK infrastructure edge the next 50 years Spotlight on the research leaders of tomorrow

Smartphones in space The lensless microscope The pulling power of the PhD Peer review – why it works Bug magnets Science minister on engineering the future Alf Adams, godfather of the internet The train that runs on hydrogen

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council 14 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council 15 SPECIAL EDITION: SCIENCE FOR 16 A CONNECTED NATION EPSRC the science behind the second decade Super brain 2004-14 The Professor Steve Furber – building Theory of a computer to think like a human Everything the hit film’s scientific consultant on Hawking, black holes and hangovers

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