Scientists from 4 British universities will use £7
million government investment to develop
1 cm-long robotic
devices that use sensors and navigation systems to find
and mend cracks in pipes. The traffic closures and
disruption to businesses of these roadworks is
estimated to amount to more than £5 billion. A further
14 projects backed by £19.6 million government
investment, through the Industrial Strategy Challenge
Fund (ISCF), will
see robots sent to hazardous work places such as
offshore wind-farms and nuclear decommissioning
facilities. Researchers will test new technologies,
such as the use of artificial intelligence
(AI)
software on satellites in orbit to detect when repairs
are needed, and drones for oil pipeline monitoring.
Science Minister said:
While for now we can only dream of a world without
roadworks disrupting our lives, these pipe-repairing
robots herald the start of technology that could make
that dream a reality in the future
From deploying robots in our pipe network so cutting
down traffic delays, to using robots in workplaces to
keep people safer, this new technology could change
the world we live in for the better. Experts in our
top UK universities across the country are
well-equipped to develop this innovative new
technology.
We have put research and development at the heart of
our modern Industrial Strategy, with the biggest
boost to funding in UK history to create high skill
jobs and boost productivity across the country.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Chief
Executive, Professor Sir Mark Walport said:
The projects announced today demonstrate how robots
and artificial intelligence will revolutionise the
way we carry out complex and dangerous tasks, from
maintaining offshore wind farms to decommissioning
nuclear power facilities.
They also illustrate the leading role that the UK’s
innovators are playing in developing these new
technologies which will improve safety and boost
productivity and efficiency.
The £26.6 million government funding boost is part of
the modern Industrial Strategy, investing in the
technologies of tomorrow and creating high skilled jobs
across the country. The UK already develops
world-leading robotics technologies, and these projects
delivered by UKRI will help
make this a sector for UK businesses to grow and
dominate international markets.
Health and Safety Executive Chair Martin Temple said:
The key purpose of the Health and Safety Executive is
to save lives and prevent workplace injury and ill
health. To achieve this, we need businesses to work
with us and to be innovative in their thinking around
managing risk in the workplace. New and emerging
technologies are shaping our working environment.
As a regulator we want to encourage industry to think
about how technologies such as robotics
and AI can be used
to manage risk in the workplace, safeguarding workers
both now and in the future world of work.
Notes to Editors
The modern Industrial Strategy
Our modern Industrial
Strategy published last year, set out how the
whole of the UK can build on these strengths, extend
them into the future, and capitalise on new
opportunities. Investing in science and research to
keep us at the forefront of new technologies and the
benefits they bring. Nurturing the talent of tomorrow -
through more outstanding schools, world-leading
universities and the technical skills that will drive
our economy. And transforming the places where people
live and work – the places where ideas and inspiration
are born – by backing businesses and building
infrastructure across every part of our country.
It has been taken forward at pace over the last year:
- innovative ideas that bring together world-class UK
science, research and innovation to develop cutting
edge products and services of the future have received
an extra £1.7 billion making it the largest increase
for 40 years (to £7 billion). That includes £210
million to develop new medical diagnostic tools and
treatments, £90 million for the food and farming
industry to embrace agri-tech and £184 million for 41
UK universities to train the next generation of
world-class scientists and engineers
- 6 sector deals between government and industry have
been published – from construction and automotive to
nuclear and the creative industries, including £1.9
billion of investment in life sciences and £1 billion
for artificial intelligence. They are not only about
attracting investment and growth, but also ensuring we
have the skilled, diverse workforce we need for the
future
- plans for new technical qualifications (T-levels)
and to transform the quality and quantity of
apprenticeships
- furthered the connectivity of Britain’s towns,
cities and rural areas, including the first allocations
of the £190 million full-fibre challenge fund and £25
million for 6 5G test-beds across the UK
- opened the Transforming Cities Fund with billions
of pounds ready to go to projects that drive
productivity by improving connections within city
regions
- opened the Faraday Institution in Oxford to keep
the UK at the forefront of global battery manufacture
- announced plans for a new spaceport in Sutherland
- we now have the fastest growing infrastructure
investment across the G7, providing £31 billion
of additional capital spending to areas critical to
improving productivity
- we have launched the £9 million Centre of Data
Ethics and Innovation to act as an advisory body to
government and regulators on ethics of data and its
use, including for AI
- we recently launched the Patient Capital Fund,
which will invest £2.5 billion in our most innovative
companies
- we will shortly publish the Business Productivity
Review setting out ways to support improving
productivity in many of our smaller businesses.
Projects
The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF)
robotics challenge is a £93 million, 4-year programme
that will develop robots to take people out of
dangerous work environments and go into areas beyond
human limits. The challenge will:
- develop robotic solutions to make a safer working
environment in industries such as offshore energy,
nuclear energy, space and deep mining
- increase productivity
- open up new cross-disciplinary opportunities
Innovate UK, part of UKRI, funded some
of the projects through a new scheme called the
Innovation Lab: a one-week residential workshop where
some of the UK’s best robotics researchers and
businesses joined forces to create innovative project
proposals.
The successful projects are:
Inspect, Maintain and Repair in Extreme Environments
Collaborative R&D
- autonomous aquatic inspection and intervention led
by ROVCO Ltd
- Chimera – robotic inspection of pressure vessels
led by Forth Engineering Ltd
- Connect-R led by Barrnon Ltd - an industrial-scale
self-building modular robotic solution to provide
robotic access to work-sites in hazardous environments
- Prometheus - a reconfigurable robotic platform(s)
with advanced sensing for confined spaces led by
Headlight AI Ltd
- MIMREE - Multi-Platform Inspection Maintenance
& Repair In Extreme Environment (MIMRee) led by
Plant Integrity Ltd
Demonstrator phase 2 projects
- advancing underwater vision for 3D Phase 2
(AUV3D-P2) led by ROVCO Ltd
- LEO satellite based AI demonstrator
led by Myrtle Software Ltd
- unmanned surface vessels for rapid environmental
assessment in challenging inland waterways and tidal
environments led by Safeguard Nautica Ltd
- autonomous robotic intervention system for extreme
maritime environments (ARISE) Stage 2 led by Autonomous
Surface Vehicles Ltd
- demonstrator for robotic inspection and maintenance
of offshore wind turbine blades led by Bladebug Ltd
- in-service X-ray radiography of offshore wind
blades (RADBLAD) led by INNVOTEK LTD
- autonomous, robotic and AI enabled
bio-fouling monitoring, cleaning and management system
for offshore wind turbine monopile foundations (RobFMS)
led by Innovative Technology and Science Ltd
- WatchChainR led by Archangel Imaging Ltd
- offshore infrastructure robotic inspection system
(OSIRIS)
demonstrator led by Autonomous Devices Ltd
