A Scottish University has been awarded funding to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies that will enhance safety in outer space.
The University of Strathclyde is to share in a £20m pot from the UK Space Agency to help develop tech which will keep astronauts safe by scanning for incoming objects such as debris or meteors.
The money was awarded under the first phase of the UK Space Agency’s £20 million International Bilateral Fund investments, which is aimed at helping British organisations link up with the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, India, Singapore, South Africa.
Strathclyde is one of only two Scottish universities and 32 projects to secure a share of the initial £2.1 million available from a total of 125 applications.
The ultimate goal of the AI for Space Safety and Sustainability project is to set up an International Institute on AI for Space Safety and Sustainability that will accelerate the development of AI technologies from concept, at early technology readiness levels, to adoption in the space sector.
Strathclyde will work with others including Arizona University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Waterloo and Canadian company Columbiad Launch Services Inc to lay the foundations of such an Institute.
