Marine sensor funding to help researchers probe mysteries of the blue planet

Four projects involving the University have received a share of £4.3m funding set aside to develop marine sensors. The cash is part of a £68m funding package for robotics and artificial intelligence projects awarded through the government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF).

The sensors that will result from the projects – designed to be compatible with autonomous underwater systems such as NOC’s autosub Boaty McBoatface – will be able to perform a variety of functions at sea, helping researchers to answer questions about our changing oceans.

One project  - BioCam – will develop a 3D visual mapping system to obtain detailed colour images and topographical measurements of the sea floor. Another, the snappily named Single Turnover Active Fluorometry of Enclosed Samples for Autonomous Phytoplankton Productivity (STAFES-APP) will develop an active chlorophyll fluorometer sensor for measuring how phytoplankton – marine micro-organisms that play a key role in the Earth’s carbon cycle – process carbon for food in situ.