Robotics for Extreme Environments
Tue 22 Sept
|Harwell Science and Innovation Campus
Building the future of operations on Earth and beyond. Robotics for Extreme Environments is a unique event showcasing the UK's strengths and capabilities in robotics, autonomy and emerging technologies operating in some of the world's most demanding environments.
Time & Location
22 Sept 2026, 10:00 – 16:00
Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Quad Two, Rutherford Ave, Didcot OX11 0DF, UK
About the event
UKRI's Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), in partnership with the UK Beyond Earth Network (UK-BEN), the UK Autonomous and Connected Earth (UK-ACE) Network, and the Satellite Applications Catapult, are bringing together organisations from the robotics, space, nuclear, defence, maritime, manufacturing and communications sectors to explore shared challenges and uncover new opportunities for collaboration.
Robotics is playing an increasingly important role in hazardous, remote and challenging environments, from fusion facilities and nuclear infrastructure to offshore operations, defence applications and future activities in space. Whilst these sectors often operate separately, many face remarkably similar challenges around inspection, maintenance, resilience, remote operations and autonomy.
A key theme running throughout the day is an "Earth-to-Space" narrative, exploring how lessons learned from established sectors can help inform the next generation of robotic and autonomous systems operating in space, positioning space as an emerging extreme environment.
This event forms the first part of a broader…