The U.K. is considering testing new robots in decommissioned nuclear sites and coal mines to advance research in robotics technology.
The country's Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is offering a new proposal that copies the U.S. government policy "Grand Challenges" and is aimed at creating autonomous robots that can complete specific assignments, according to the International Business Times reported. "Grand Challenges" had researchers set out to achieve a certain goal a decade or two in advance in order to produce a major advance in science, technology or engineering.
The agency has been granted 400 million pounds by the U.K. government in funds over the next year.
The board is also looking to have the government implement recommendations on test sites and put money into Bristol, Edinburgh, and other geographical areas.
"We need to provide a business environment in the UK that is geared towards helping robotic and autonomous technologies out of the lab and into the marketplace," said Prof. David Lane of Heriot-Watt University and head of the Robotics and Autonomous System Special Interest Group at TSB, which designed the plan.
Lane said the U.K. is currently leading in a variety of forms of robot technology, which include driverless cars, technologies that assist elderly people, nuclear plant safety monitors and railway systems capable of monitoring and fixing damaged tracks on their own, the International Business Times reported.
"The UK has an exceptional heritage in many of the industries where robotics can be most useful," he said.
Lane also stressed the timing of the project, saying "We need to act quickly if we don't want to be left behind," BBC News reported.
"With the right course of action, we believe the UK could achieve 10% of the global market share by 2025."
The plan also received praise from Noel Sharkey, robotics expert and professor at the University of Sheffield, who said the proposal was "great news."
"The UK is the lowest user of industrial robotics in the technically developed nations of Europe- well behind Spain and Italy," he said. "We have a lot of robotics talent in our universities with enormous potential to bring the UK to high-tech glory.
"It is a massive market and we have already slipped well behind."
