Advancing Probabilistic Machine Learning to Deliver Safer, More Efficient, and Predictable Air Traffic Control
Lead Research Organisation:
The Alan Turing Institute
Department Name: Research
Abstract
The ambition of this partnership between NATS and The Alan Turing Institute is to develop the fundamental science to deliver the world's first AI system to control a section of airspace in live trials.
Our research will take a hierarchical approach to air traffic control (ATC) by developing a digital twin alongside a multi-agent machine-learning control system for UK airspace. Furthermore, the partnership will develop technical approaches to deploy trustworthy AI systems, considering how safety, explainability and ethics are embedded within our methods, so that we can deliver new tools which work in harmony with human air traffic controllers in a safety-critical environment.
Little has changed in the fundamental infrastructure of UK airspace in the past 50 years, but demand for aviation has increased a hundredfold. Aviation 2050, a recent government green paper, underlines the importance of the aviation network to the prosperity of the UK to the value of £22 billion annually. Yet our nation is at risk without rapid action to modernise our airspace and control methods, to ensure they can handle a future increase in UK passenger traffic of over 50% by 2050 and new challenges arising from unmanned aircraft, both against a backdrop of increasing global pressures to transform the sector's environmental impact.
The augmentation of live air traffic control through the use of AI agents which can handle the complexity and uncertainties in the system has transformative potential for NATS's business. This will positively impact live operations, as well as a research tool and training facility for new ATCOs. Correspondingly, NATS's research vision is to exploit new approaches to AI that enable increases in safety, capacity and environmental sustainability while streamlining air traffic controller training.
The anticipated benefits of AI systems to air traffic control have come at a critical time, providing us with an opportunity to respond effectively to the unprecedented challenges which arise from a triad of crises: the coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, Brexit and global warming. The UK must develop independent technical advances in the sector, without compromising sustainability targets.
The Alan Turing Institute is positioned at the rapidly evolving frontiers of probabilistic machine learning, safe and trustworthy AI and reproducible software engineering. Matching this with the world-leading expertise of NATS, supported by a world-first data set of more than 20 million flight records, means that this partnership is in a unique position to build the first multi AI agents system to deliver tactical control of UK airspace.
Our research will take a hierarchical approach to air traffic control (ATC) by developing a digital twin alongside a multi-agent machine-learning control system for UK airspace. Furthermore, the partnership will develop technical approaches to deploy trustworthy AI systems, considering how safety, explainability and ethics are embedded within our methods, so that we can deliver new tools which work in harmony with human air traffic controllers in a safety-critical environment.
Little has changed in the fundamental infrastructure of UK airspace in the past 50 years, but demand for aviation has increased a hundredfold. Aviation 2050, a recent government green paper, underlines the importance of the aviation network to the prosperity of the UK to the value of £22 billion annually. Yet our nation is at risk without rapid action to modernise our airspace and control methods, to ensure they can handle a future increase in UK passenger traffic of over 50% by 2050 and new challenges arising from unmanned aircraft, both against a backdrop of increasing global pressures to transform the sector's environmental impact.
The augmentation of live air traffic control through the use of AI agents which can handle the complexity and uncertainties in the system has transformative potential for NATS's business. This will positively impact live operations, as well as a research tool and training facility for new ATCOs. Correspondingly, NATS's research vision is to exploit new approaches to AI that enable increases in safety, capacity and environmental sustainability while streamlining air traffic controller training.
The anticipated benefits of AI systems to air traffic control have come at a critical time, providing us with an opportunity to respond effectively to the unprecedented challenges which arise from a triad of crises: the coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, Brexit and global warming. The UK must develop independent technical advances in the sector, without compromising sustainability targets.
The Alan Turing Institute is positioned at the rapidly evolving frontiers of probabilistic machine learning, safe and trustworthy AI and reproducible software engineering. Matching this with the world-leading expertise of NATS, supported by a world-first data set of more than 20 million flight records, means that this partnership is in a unique position to build the first multi AI agents system to deliver tactical control of UK airspace.
Publications
Bhatt U
(2023)
Learning Personalized Decision Support Policies
Glyn-Davies A
(2024)
F-DVAE: Physics-informed dynamical variational autoencoders for unstructured data assimilation
in Journal of Computational Physics
Hartmann M
(2022)
Lagrangian Manifold Monte Carlo on Monge Patches
Leite Richardson F
(2024)
Is greed still good in multi-objective Bayesian optimisation?
Pepper N
(2024)
SeAr PC: Sensitivity enhanced arbitrary Polynomial Chaos
in Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering
Pepper N
(2023)
A probabilistic model for aircraft in climb using monotonic functional Gaussian process emulators
in Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
Pepper N
(2024)
Learning Generative Models for Climbing Aircraft from Radar Data
in Journal of Aerospace Information Systems
Unsworth H
(2022)
Building an evidence standards framework for artificial intelligence-enabled digital health technologies
in The Lancet Digital Health
| Title | Animation video for Project Bluebird |
| Description | "Animation video for Project Bluebird, detailing research and work done to date. To be used for engagement activities for the Progarmme. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxwYv6H8P20&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.turing.ac.uk%2F&source_ve_path=OTY3MTQ " |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | Able to provide a brief overview of Project Bluebird via video animation to general public or prospective collaborators. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxwYv6H8P20&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.turing.ac.uk%2F&... |
| Description | The project has demonstrated the first AI agent capable of rudimentary air traffic control in a sector of airspace. The behaviours demonstrated by the agent still require refinement, but this is a significant step in understanding the feasibility of using AI agents for air traffic control. The project has developed the first framework for assessing the competencies of AI agents for air traffic control. |
| Exploitation Route | This represents a first step along the route to using AI agents in a safety critical environment and elements of it may be taken up by NATS as the project develops. It will be of interest to other air traffic service providers and generally as an example of AI agent control in a complex safety critical environment. |
| Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Transport |
| Description | Prosperity Partnership - Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) 'Pulse' package |
| Amount | £92,186 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2023 |
| End | 03/2024 |
| Title | ATC Clearance datasets |
| Description | ATC clearance dataset |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Able to use clearance data in Digital Twin |
| Title | ATC coordination datasets |
| Description | ATC coordination dataset |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Able to use ATC coordination dataset within the digital twin. |
| Title | ATC en-route research dataset |
| Description | Curated research dataset of radar over UK airspace along with NATS operational Area Control systems data comprising flight plans, instructions to pilot, airspace details, and operational details. |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Allows for the data to be fed into the data in which the Digital Twin and AI Agents are trained. |
| Title | Developed and implemented ATC metrics for Machine Learning. |
| Description | Developed and implemented ATC metrics for Machine Learning. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Developed and implemented ATC metrics for Machine Learning. |
| Title | Enroute RADAR |
| Description | NATS En Route Radar Data for air traffic in UK airspace. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | N/A |
| Title | Extensive, research ready ATC dataset with unified access to aircraft flight plan data, aircraft instruction data, aircraft coordination data, real world airspace data, real world radar data, aircraft communications data. |
| Description | Extensive, research ready ATC dataset with unified access to aircraft flight plan data, aircraft instruction data, aircraft coordination data, real world airspace data, real world radar data, aircraft communications data. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Extensive, research ready ATC dataset with unified access to aircraft flight plan data, aircraft instruction data, aircraft coordination data, real world airspace data, real world radar data, aircraft communications data. |
| Title | NATS Training Exercise Data |
| Description | Set of training exercises and airspace providing a curriculum for learning basic Air Traffic Control |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Allows for the AI Agent in Research Theme 2 of Project Bluebird to attempt to pass NATS Basic Training, which is a key output of RT2. |
| Title | Processing of operational data to provide configuration of scenarios for use in Digital Twin. |
| Description | Processing of operational data to provide configuration of scenarios for use in Digital Twin. |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Processing of operational data to provide configuration of scenarios for use in Digital Twin. |
| Title | Real world data sourced for optimisation scenarios using London Middle Sector (Sectors 25/26). |
| Description | Real world data sourced for optimisation scenarios using London Middle Sector (Sectors 25/26). |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Real world data sourced for optimisation scenarios using London Middle Sector (Sectors 25/26). |
| Title | Scenario generation from real-world data on London Middle Sector (LMS) working and allowing agent training on sector that will be used for validation |
| Description | Scenario generation from real-world data on London Middle Sector (LMS) working and allowing agent training on sector that will be used for validation |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Scenario generation from real-world data on London Middle Sector (LMS) working and allowing agent training on sector that will be used for validation |
| Title | Sourced and secured data from NATS operational systems and intermediate processing for presentation and consumption. |
| Description | Sourced and secured data from NATS operational systems and intermediate processing for presentation and consumption. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Sourced and secured data from NATS operational systems and intermediate processing for presentation and consumption. |
| Title | Air traffic control game |
| Description | An interactive game embodying the main elements of air traffic control in simplified settings for public engagement and to illustrate the efficacy of the Falcon AI agent |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | Public engagement impacts at the British Science Festival (September 2023) and at the Safety Critical Systems Club symposium (February 2024). It will be used at AIUK 2024, further conferences and workshops and at the Royal Albert Museum, Exeter, exhibition on transport in 2024. |
| Title | Behavrioural cloning software, learning fromdemonstrations by agenda and data, learing control behaviours. |
| Description | Behavrioural cloning software, learning fromdemonstrations by agenda and data, learing control behaviours. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Behavrioural cloning software, learning fromdemonstrations by agenda and data, learing control behaviours. |
| Title | Digital Twin of UK airspace |
| Description | Probabilistic Digital Twin simulator of London Area Control sectors, capable of artificial or historical scenarios. Provide training and test environment for AI agents as well as human-AI collaboration. |
| Type Of Technology | New/Improved Technique/Technology |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | Allows for AI Agents to be trained on real-life sectors and scenarios within Air-Traffic Control to realise the objectives and aims of the research project. |
| Title | Falcon agent |
| Description | AI agent to plan and control aircraft routes through a sector of airspace by optimising objectives representing safety and efficiency. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | First demonstration of an AI agent showing plausible air traffic control behaviours. |
| Title | Framework and software for assessing machine air traffic control agents |
| Description | A framework and supporting software in a digital twin of airspace for assessing software air traffic control agents. The framework is derived from regulatory documents for the assessment of human air traffic controllers with modifications to accommodate machine agents. |
| Type Of Technology | New/Improved Technique/Technology |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Impact | Impacts for NATS still being realised. |
| Title | Human Machine interface code which has developed the human machine interface to starling, which include the dynamic radar screen and aircraft strip display, for replay and simulation modes. |
| Description | Human Machine interface code which has developed the human machine interface to starling, which include the dynamic radar screen and aircraft strip display, for replay and simulation modes. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Human Machine interface code which has developed the human machine interface to starling, which include the dynamic radar screen and aircraft strip display, for replay and simulation modes. |
| Title | Optimisation Agent Framework for Air Traffic Control |
| Description | Optimisation Agent Framework for Air Traffic Control |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Optimisation Agent Framework for Air Traffic Control |
| Title | Phoenix and Starling Simulator Frameworks & Structure - core simulation code. |
| Description | Phoenix and Starling Simulator Frameworks & Structure - core simulation code. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Phoenix and Starling Simulator Frameworks & Structure - core simulation code. |
| Title | Reinforcement Learning Framework for Air Traffic Control |
| Description | Reinforcement Learning Framework for Air Traffic Control |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Reinforcement Learning Framework for Air Traffic Control |
| Title | SimpleSector & Optimisation Agents prototype code that defines the formulation of an optimisation based agent, for which a simple problem is solved. |
| Description | SimpleSector & Optimisation Agents prototype code that defines the formulation of an optimisation based agent, for which a simple problem is solved. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | SimpleSector & Optimisation Agents prototype code that defines the formulation of an optimisation based agent, for which a simple problem is solved. |
| Title | Software developed for aircraft uncertainty modelling |
| Description | Software developed for aircraft uncertainty modelling |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Software developed for aircraft uncertainty modelling |
| Title | Software developed for scenario generation from real-world data |
| Description | Software developed for scenario generation from real-world data |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Software developed for scenario generation from real-world data |
| Title | Software developed for synthetic scenario generation |
| Description | Software developed for synthetic scenario generation |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Software developed for synthetic scenario generation |
| Title | Starling - An AI Air Traffic Control Framework |
| Description | This is a the simulation framework used for the development of AI agents for Air Traffic Control. This includes a framework for simulation, AI agent training (both Reinforcement Learning Methods and Optimisation) and Also visualisation. The software is currently private, as contracts are still being work on for the prosperity partnership. The full intention is to make the software open for general research in this area. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | This is providing the software interface for collaboration on the bluebird programme, and allows effective collaboration between industry driven challenges and frontier research. It provides separation of concerns, so these groups can work both together on common challenges, but independently on domain specific components. |
| Title | Synthetic airspace designed and implemented |
| Description | Synthetic airspace designed and implemented |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Synthetic airspace designed and implemented |
| Description | AI Solutions and Global Power Systems Transformation Consortium 19-23 February |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Project Bluebird attended the AI Solutions & Global Power Systems Transformation Consortium to network with industry and academia. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | AI in Safety Critical Systems |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Project Bluebird attended the AI in Safety Critical Systems workshop in March 2024 to collaborate with industry and academia on utilising AI for Safety Critical Systems. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | AI-UK 1 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | AI-UK is the Turing's flagship event, providing a space for academia, industry, and government to come together to view the latest trends in data science and AI. Project Bluebird had a stand showcasing the Air-Traffic Control game, inviting attendees to try their hand against the AI agent in ATC. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | AIAA Article |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | AIAA article for Project Bluebird following on from AIAA journal publication submitted in 2023. https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/departments/ai-at-work-mastering-the-airspace/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/departments/ai-at-work-mastering-the-airspace/ |
| Description | Air Traffic Control Officer Training for AI and Data Scientists |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This is a knowledge transfer activity associated with ups killing AI and data science experts with domain specific knowledge around Air Traffic Control. This was a run as two independent of 1 week courses by the prosperity partnership, with real training / simulator experience given on the Air Traffic Controller course. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| Description | Air Traffic Control talks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Series of Air Traffic Control talks delivered, with operational staff at NATS leading bi-weekly scenario sessions for the project team to inform the research and code development. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | British Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Stand at the British Science Festival at Exeter, including the ATC game. Introducing general public to project and the game has allowed to drive interest in the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Data Study Group challenge with Bristol University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Data Study Group challenge with Bristol University- Set a research challenge for undergraduate 'study group' at Bristol University |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | December Plenary |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Two-day workshop inviting industry and academia to knowledge sharing activity around the community. Invited RAI-UK, Edinburgh Uni, Trusted Autonomous Systems Hub. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | FT article |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | RE and RC spoke to FT reporter about the project and an article was written and published. Financial Times has a wide-ranging reach and has allowed the project to gain some more publicity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.ft.com/content/783a9d91-cce3-4177-bfe0-5438aa3b892a |
| Description | Farnborough International Air Show |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Project Bluebird invited by EPSRC to showcase the work on the programme at Farnborough International Air Show. Led to good engagement across new and existing networks. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Hosted MIT Researchers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Bluebird hosted leading researchers from MIT Lincoln Lab to present to the Bluebird research team and a wider NATS audience to try to drive engagement and build connections with the MIT researchers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Joint UK-Saudi AI Roundtable |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This is an event organised by the UK Embassy in KSA and hosted by the The Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) and The Artificial Intelligence Initiative (AII) at KAUST. Richard Cannon and I were invited to represent and present Project Bluebird and lead a discussion about ethics and regulation of AI in air traffic control. The event was attended by the British Ambassador as well as leaders in government, industry, and academia from both countries. The discussion covered various topics, such as the regulation and ethical considerations of artificial intelligence, how both countries encourage innovation and utilize AI, and the challenges and effective strategies related to privacy, public trust, transparency, and the role of organizational labs. Additionally, there were conversations about how private sector leaders from both countries collaborate on implementing AI ethics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.arabnews.com/node/2397266/saudi-arabia |
| Description | Monthly Project Management Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Monthly Project Management Group set up and running to support and advise the PIs to ensure effective delivery, efficient cross-site operation of the research, and monitoring progress towards milestones. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | Moral Psychology of AI conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This was a 1-day conference organised by Dr. Jim Everett at University of Kent which brought keynote speakers from top institutes and from various backgrounds (computer science, psychology, philosophy). The intended outcome was to present a poster and meet and interact with people at the AI ethics community |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | NATS "Altitude" Podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | BC featured on the NATS "Altitude" podcast, discussing the role of AI in NATS and aviation through a live panel discussion with other experts to drive engagement with the project and raise awareness of the aims and objectives of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.nats.aero/news/altitude/27-artificial-intelligence-and-aviation/ |
| Description | NATS "Elevate" Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | BC released an article in the quarterly "Elevate" newsletter from NATS, describing the aims and work of Project Bluebird, including video clips and general discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.nats.aero/news/elevate/october-23/project-bluebird-the-mission-to-create-a-digital-twin-... |
| Description | NATS seminar about Project Bluebird to invited industry attendees |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | NATS seminar about Project Bluebird to invited industry attendees. 13/01/23 Engaging with MOD, DSTL, CAA, BEIS, UKRI |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Oxford BioXPhi Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This is a recurrent seminar at a research group at the Oxford Uehiro Centre, University of Oxford. The seminar focus is on issues related to moral psychology and experimental philosophy of topics in bioethics and AI ethics. The intended outcome was to get some feedback from the audience (in person and online) who also represent diverse backgrounds and come from different top institutions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation at AI Expo |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation at AI Expo giving an overview of the project and its aims. Engaging with UK Gov, European Gov, Tech Industry 15/02/23 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation at AIUK 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | RE gave an invited talk about Project Bluebird to researchers at SLB. In person and webinar internationally to drive engagement at AI-UK, the Turing's flagship event that brings together industry, academia, government for talks and debates on AI & data science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation at Aerospace Research Centre UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation at Aerospace Research Centre UK, made up of 11 leading UK aerospace universities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation at Cambridge University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | MT gave presentation to academics at the Civil Engineering department at Cambridge University, on Project Bluebird |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation at DISCNet Showcase at Royal Society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | BC presented to the annual DISCNet showcase at the Royal Society, covering the work of Bluebird and how interns have formed a key part of the work we are doing. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Presentation at Edinburgh University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | MT and BC gave presentation to academics at Edinburgh University with focus on aspects of Project Bluebird which are relevant to optimisation, High Performing Computing and quantum computing |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation at GPST Consortium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | BC and RE gave a presentation to the Global Power Systems Transformation Consortium during a 5 day workshop in Edinburgh. The workshop was examining the applications of AI in safety critical industries from a control room perspective. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Presentation at Queen Mary university |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Project Co-I presented project Bluebird at Queen Mary university in Nov 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Presentation at SCSC |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | BC and RE presented to the Safety Critical Systems Club Symposium on the work of Bluebird and the challenges of developing AI for safety critical applications. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Presentation at Schlumberger Cambridge Research Centre |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | RE gave an invited talk about Project Bluebird to researchers at SLB. In person and webinar internationally to drive engagement with Bluebird. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation at Southampton |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | MT gave a presentation on Project Bluebird as part of an awards ceremony for undergraduates of the South East Physics Network |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation at The Control Room of the Future workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation at The Control Room of the Future workshop in Ghent to audience of Digital managers, data scientists and researchers in the field of digital operations and predictive analytics in safety-critical settings, utilities, transportation, control rooms |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Presented project Bluebird at AI Fest |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Two project Co-Is presented project Bluebird at AI Fest in Feb 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Project page published on Turing site (Project Bluebird: An AI system for air traffic control) to share information about the project as well as team and contact information. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Project page published on Turing site (Project Bluebird: An AI system for air traffic control) to share information about the project as well as team and contact information. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022,2023 |
| Description | Quarterly Joint Steering Committee set up to provide the main strategic interface into the plan and strategy for the partnership. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Quarterly Joint Steering Committee set up to provide the main strategic interface into the plan and strategy for the partnership. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | Radio Interview - Greatest Hits |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | RE gave an interview about the project for Greatest Hits Radio. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Research engineering teams at the Turing and Exeter University held a 'Dugnad' collaborative code clean-up session to facilitate shared working. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Research engineering teams at the Turing and Exeter University held a 'Dugnad' collaborative code clean-up session to facilitate shared working. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Talk at Queen Mary University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | MT gave an invited talk/seminar to academics and graduate students on AI in air traffic control and Project Bluebird |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Talk at University of Exeter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | RE and GD gave a talk on the project and one of the AI agents in research theme 2. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Talk to BAE AI Labs |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of Bluebird research to an audience of approx 20 ML engineers to drive knowledge sharing and enhance engagement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Turing Podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Recorded Turing podcast with: Marc Thomas, George De Ath and Nick Pepper to promote Project Bluebird amongst a wider audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-hcjzc-156686d |
| Description | Turing Podcast on Project Bluebird |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Project Bluebrid invited onto Turing Podcast to discuss "Revolutionising Air Traffic Control with AI & digital twins" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAMRoJ1CVUU |
| Description | Turing blog |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Wrote a blog post for the Turing website on research into the Bluebird Digital Twin to further drive engagement in the project amongst the Turing community and further beyond. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.turing.ac.uk/blog/why-were-developing-digital-twin-uks-airspace |
| Description | Two-way training activities with NATS and the Turing. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Two-way training activities have been run from both NATS and the Turing involving the whole project team, building skills across disciplines for both the industrial and academic team members, including an on-site, four-day familiarisation course at the NATS Corporate Centre. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | UKRI Show & Tell |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited by UKRI for annual show and tell of ongoing research as part of Project Bluebird. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | UNCECOMP presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presented RT1 research into the Digital Twin at UNCECOMP, an applied mathematics conference in Athens, Greece. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Weather/storm avoidance subtask investigated during 3 day weather optimisation workshop at Exeter. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Weather/storm avoidance subtask investigated during 3 day weather optimisation workshop at Exeter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Webinar delivered to NATS stakeholders, in conjunction with NATS International Affairs on The Role of AI in Safe Efficient Aviation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Webinar delivered to NATS stakeholders, in conjunction with NATS International Affairs on The Role of AI in Safe Efficient Aviation- Engaging with Safety regulators, EASA, CAA, Eurocontrol, EU Parliament, Unions, other ANSPs 15/2/23 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |