Upscaling Autonomy Working Group Report

A community consultation on upscaling of Marine Autonomous Systems (MAS) for future marine research undertaken during the spring of 2023 by the National Oceanography Centre Association, the Challenger Society for Marine Science and the Marine Facilities Advisory Board concludes in this report with three key findings and four key recommendations. The three findings highlight the potential of MAS to significantly accelerate our understanding of the oceans, which are essential to life on Earth but remain largely unexplored. The four recommendations chart a path for the UK to realise these ambitions and avoid pitfalls of fragmentation or unintended loss of the UK’s present world-class capability. It is anticipated that the findings and recommendations will inform UKRI-NERC in shaping Future Marine Research Infrastructures and their aspiration for that to include a massive upscaling of MAS.