Revolution will be in the air when Catch the Next Wave, a one day conference organised by New Scientist and Oceanology International, is held on 12 March at The Royal Institution of Great Britain.
Catch the Next Wave, with its theme ‘Tomorrow’s solutions to today’s ocean challenges’ includes presentations by leading world authorities on key disruptive and emerging technologies – power sources, sensors, nanotechnology, materials, robotics and cyber infrastructure. Their thoughts will be complemented by presentations from their counterparts working at the highest level in marine research and the ocean industries highlighting where these technologies are migrating to the marine sector.
As conference chairman Ralph Rayner, Professorial Research Fellow, London School of Economics; and Sector Director, Energy and Environment for the BMT Group explains: “It was research into electricity, at the Royal Institution, which ultimately led to the technologies we use to monitor and measure the marine environment by electronic rather than mechanical means.
“In more recent times, many new technologies have found a home in the marine world. For example, new battery technologies, driven by the boom in consumer electronics have extended the capabilities of all sorts of self-contained devices that operate in the marine environment.
“Mobile phone technology too has been adapted to be of use in the oceans – we have seen the migration of ultra-low power signal processing developed by that industry into powerful self-contained devices able to provide very accurate underwater navigation and positioning over very long periods of time.”
He adds: “It’s not going too far to say that we face a coming revolution with today’s emerging and disruptive technologies, and Catch the Next Wave is designed to help ensure that the marine sector takes full advantage of what is on offer. Our March conference is something of a call to arms, as we think of the exciting possibilities that are within our grasp:
- The revolution in materials for aerospace and the automotive industry that is making possible lightweight pressure housings and the construction of an 'underwater plane' capable of diving to the deepest point in the ocean – something we will be hearing about in the opening keynote presentation by Graham Hawkes of Deep Ocean Engineering.
- The revolution in computing power that is making possible the routine forecasting of the oceans.
- The revolution in transmission of data through optical fibres in the telecommunications sector that is driving the ability to collect unprecedented real-time data about the marine environment and the emergence of ocean observatories of the type that will be described by John Delaney, Professor of Oceanography, University of Washington in his presentation.
- The revolution in medical sensor technologies that are migrating into marine applications.
“So, Catch the Next Wave is about putting leaders from across the marine technology and engineering sphere alongside blue skies thinkers at the forefront of researching new disruptive, emergent and convergent technologies in non-marine fields to provide an update on what is becoming possible in the next decade and too spark new ideas for applications in the ocean.”
His fellow conference committee member Professor. Gwyn Griffiths, Chief Technologist and Head, Marine Autonomous and Robotic Systems, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton cites another two examples, which prove that some good ideas take a long time to migrate to other sectors:
“One example is Acoustic Doppler Profilers,” he explains. “They depend on the physics of Doppler shift, proposed in 1842, but as in so many cases, it is the technology that is lacking to use the principles of physics, or chemistry, or biology, in ocean applications. It was the migration of work on the Doppler radar for lunar landing modules that led to self-contained acoustic Doppler instruments for the ocean, thus growing a whole new industry sector.
“Another example is Wireless Fibre Systems. The severe limitations of electromagnetic signalling through a conductive medium (seawater) were clear once James Maxwell formulated his equations in the early 1860s. By applying new signal processing algorithms and hardware initially devised for land communications, benefitting from billions of R&D investment, this company has forged ahead to develop a new market.”
“Two marvellous examples,” says Ralph Rayner. “We hope for quicker adoption of the ideas that will be promulgated at Catch the Next Wave, but of course Gwyn’s examples show that some good ideas just have to wait for the timing to be absolutely right!”
Taking place on the eve of Oceanology International 2012, the world’s leading ocean science and technology exhibition (being held at London’s ExCeL – see www.oceanologyinternational.com for details), Catch the Next Wave is supported by the Society for Underwater Technology; the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology and the Marine Technology Society. Online registration is open and the full programme is available at www.oceanologyinternational.com/catchthenextwave. Networking sessions at lunch, coffee, and tea breaks will be supplemented by a post-conference drinks reception.
For any further information please contact:
Judith Patten
Tel: +44 (0)20 8241 1912
Email: judithpatten@jppr.uk.com