Cutting-edge Telexistence technology given funding boost

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) today announced a £800,000 funding boost to develop innovative ‘telexistence’ technologies to reduce the risks associated with military personnel, emergency workers and civilians operating in dangerous and hazardous environments.

Nine organisations, undertaking eleven different projects, will share the funding through the DASA Telexistence Themed Competition, run on behalf of the Ministry of Defence’s Chief Scientific Adviser and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), and managed by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).

Such is the appetite for innovation on Telexistence, the initial competition opportunity of £500,000 was subsequently bolstered by a further injection of funds by both Dstl and the NDA, who are keen to realise the potential benefits of such technologies in the nuclear sector.

The Telexistence competition aims to develop and demonstrate innovative technologies and novel solutions that have the potential to give military and government personnel, emergency services, or humanitarian workers the capability to operate in hazardous environments without physically being present.

Ultimately, this capability will allow a human operator to perform complex tasks and operate equipment from a safe distance.

Read more about this latest innovation here.