Researcher Takes Space Robot Research to Parliament

Research by an Aberystwyth academic on a camera-snapping robot destined to look for signs of past life on Mars will be showcased at the Palace of Westminster on Monday 8 March 2010.

Stephen Pugh from the Department of Computer Science at Aberystwyth University has been selected to take part in the 2010 SET for Britain competition.

He will present findings of the research he’s carrying out for the ExoMars Programme – a €1 billion project led by the European Space Agency, in cooperation with NASA.

“As part of the ExoMars mission, a robotic planetary rover will be sent to Mars in 2018 and my research focuses on the operation of the rover’s on-board cameras. I have been looking in particular at how the robotic rover can point its cameras at specific targets such as rocks without human intervention,” explained Stephen.

“The second aspect of my research has involved assessing how the images taken by the robotic system can be sent back to Earth in the shortest time possible. We should now be able to send these pictures back within one day rather than three days, giving us vital information about the rover’s surroundings in what is a very unknown environment.”

The SET for Britain competition and poster exhibition was established in 1997 to draw MPs attention to the work of early-stage and early-career research scientists, engineers and technologists.

Prizes are awarded for the best scientific posters, including the Wharton Medal awarded in memory of the late Dr Eric Wharton who founded the event.
 
Professor Dave Barnes, Head of Space Robotics at Aberystwyth University, said: "This is a prestigious UK competition and selection is made on the basis of the very best research work. I am delighted that Stephen has been selected to display his work at the House of Commons."