Next Generation Unmanned Systems Science (NEXUSS)

The NEXUSS programme is training a new generation of scientists to design, build, and operate unmanned systems—drones, autonomous underwater vehicles, and robotic sensors—for environmental research. This matters because the UK’s ability to monitor its changing environment—from coastal erosion to atmospheric pollution—depends on skilled researchers who can deploy these technologies effectively. Currently, there is a shortage of scientists trained to work across the engineering, data science, and environmental disciplines that unmanned systems require. NEXUSS fills that gap by funding doctoral training partnerships that bring together universities and research organisations. If the programme succeeds, it will create a workforce capable of collecting environmental data at scales and in places that are currently impossible or too dangerous for humans. This could improve how the UK tracks climate impacts, manages natural hazards, and monitors ecosystems—systems that quietly underpin everything from flood defences to fisheries management. The research is primarily about building human expertise rather than a specific technology, but that expertise will enable future breakthroughs in how we observe and understand the natural world.