MASTARS - Marine Autonomous Systems: Technological Capabilities, Assurance Approaches, Responsible Innovation and Safety Management

The MASTARS project will equip marine researchers and other stakeholders with the skills to integrate Marine Autonomous Systems (MAS) effectively and responsibly into their work. This will be achieved through the delivery of short training courses (STC) and workshops, offering insight into the technical capabilities, risks, and challenges of MAS in oceanic research. The project recognises that the increasing rate of technological change and the transition to MAS represents a significant technical, socio-technical and structural challenge to scientific research, and will upskill stakeholders and enhance their understanding so that they can make best use of this transition. To achieve this, MASTARS will deliver two, three-day STCs featuring in-person teaching, case study analysis, and 2 days of workshops. These will help researchers understand how MAS can be applied to their experiments and long-term studies, providing insights into the technical capabilities, risks, and challenges of MAS in oceanic research. The Centre for Assuring Autonomy (CfAA), is at the forefront of research into safe and performant MAS, supporting the responsible deployment of MAS through training, consultancy, and stakeholder engagement. CfAA is well-positioned to support the adoption of MAS across NERC’s science community, advancing the use of MAS in research, and addressing current and future scientific priorities through training and best practice. MASTARS will leverage this expertise and engage with stakeholders to deliver high impact training that fulfils the NERC communities’ educational needs. Through expert facilitated workshops, the project will also bring scientists together to discuss how MAS impacts their experimental mission planning, data collection and retrieval. The core material for the STC will be drawn from the CfAA Body of Knowledge, engagement with regulators, and research outputs from the SAINTS CDT program. While MAS offers advantages in hazardous environments, their design and operation must carefully consider their risks, including operational disruptions, performance issues, and environmental impacts. MAS operations rely heavily on Marine Autonomous Infrastructure (MAI), which affects mission planning and has wide ranging safety, ethical, and legal implications. As MAS and AI capabilities grow, their envisioned benefits must be weighed against acknowledged risks, especially in physical systems where malfunctions or misuse could cause harm. Additionally, MAS operates in complex, challenging and fragile environments, therefore a holistic approach to planning from early mission development is essential to ensure safe, secure, responsible and successful deployments. In spite of these developments, the regulatory landscape is uncertain, the frameworks for MAS assurance and certification are still underdeveloped, and national and internationally compliance challenges may limit deployments, reducing MAS's scientific value. Concerns from port states and the slow pace of regulatory progress internationally such as at the International Maritime Organisation IMO highlight the challenging nature of these issues. MASTARS aims to build the skills of developers, operators, and end-users to ensure the safe and responsible adoption of MAS, which offers cost-effective support that meets the needs of researchers, reduces carbon emissions, and fosters and grows innovation and technology landscape in the UK. Learning outcomes include understanding AI-driven autonomy, responsible innovation, and the operation of MAS in deployment contexts. The CfAA, a partnership between Lloyd’s Register Foundation and the University of York, which is a leader in AI safety assurance and promotes the ethical use of AI and autonomy.