Monday, 08 June 2020
A multidisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Nottingham will be part of a Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub that will spearhead work to ensure that autonomous systems such as driverless cars and robots are trustworthy by default and can ultimately benefit society and industry.
Autonomous systems are technologies that gain information about their environment, learn, adapt and make decisions, with little or no human control. They can include automated software and ‘smart’ devices as well as self-driving cars, drones and robots.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is investing £33 million from the Strategic Priorities Fund to support the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems programme, which originated through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s (EPSRC) Big Ideas initiative. EPSRC will manage the programme, with £12 million allocated to support the Hub.
The hub will be led by, and based at the University of Southampton with the University of Nottingham and King’s College London as partners. The hub is the first element of the programme, which will bring together the UK’s world-leading expertise in areas ranging from computing and robotics to social sciences and the humanities. Fully integrated technical and social sciences and humanities research will allow the huge potential industrial and societal benefits of autonomous systems to be unlocked.
The project will establish a collaborative platform for the UK to deliver world-leading best practices for the design, regulation and operation of autonomous systems that are socially beneficial. The Hub will build a community that is coherent, connected and best placed to deliver the fundamental research needed to make autonomous systems trustworthy in principle, and trusted in practice by individuals, society and government.
The Nottingham team includes researchers from across Computing, Engineering, Law, Medicine, Psychology, and Sociology.
We are bombarded with suggested future autonomous technologies from robot care workers to automated credit scoring, but research is urgently needed to ensure these technological systems are built in ways that engender trust, as only with adoption can they deliver the associated benefits to society.
Professor Sarvapali Ramchurn from the University of Southampton is leading the hub and said: “Whether it’s a self-driving car doing the school runs or a virus tracing app alerting us to potential infections, autonomous systems of all types will increasingly test our trust in their design, regulation, and operation.
“We will need to work across disciplines and sectors, and take an inclusive approach, to ensure that autonomous systems are trustworthy by design and trusted by individuals and the wider society. Our international partnerships will also ensure that the programme will have a global impact and position the UK as a world leader in this area.”
Business Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “Technologies like these have enormous potential to transform the way we work and travel. This new programme is therefore essential in increasing people’s confidence and ensuring innovations such as automated cars can become a key part of our everyday lives.”
The Hub will also provide a focal point for new market and society-led research as well as engaging a broad range of end-users, international collaborators and investors. It will explore methods of engagement and cooperation with the public, government, public and third sector organisations and industry to help define best practices, assurance processes, and formulate policy.
Over 60 Hub partners will contribute across a range of sectors and include AXA, BAE Systems, the BBC, Boeing, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), IBM, JP Morgan, Microsoft Research, QinetiQ, Shell, Siemens, Thales and Unilever, providing representation from Financial Services, Defence and Security, Technology, Healthcare, Autonomous Vehicles, Manufacturing, and Creative Industries.
The Trustworthy Autonomous Systems programme will also incorporate a further seven nodes, where each node will focus on a specific area of fundamental multidisciplinary research to address key challenges in the adoption of autonomous systems, such as trust, security and resilience. Funding for the nodes will be allocated later this year.
Dr Anna Angus-Smyth, Head of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at EPSRC, said: “Autonomous systems are already in use in certain industries but there is more to be done to increase their trustworthiness. This will reduce barriers to their adoption by society and industry and the wider realisation of their possibilities.
“By convening expertise from across the UK’s research and innovation sector and conducting vital new research, the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems programme aims to break down these barriers and unlock this enormous potential by ensuring these systems are safe, reliable, resilient and operate in line with human values.
Story credits
More information is available from Professor Derek McAuley at the University of Nottingham on derek.mcauley@nottingham.ac.uk or Jane Icke, Media Relations Manager for the Faculty of Science at the University of Nottingham, on +44 (0)115 951 5751 or jane.icke@nottingham.ac.uk
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About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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