University’s £1 million test facility

, to boost the development of high-tech electrical systems for planes, ships and energy generation. It will complement the existing Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre (UTC) and will develop and evaluate ultra-compact and intelligent electrical networks for use in a range of products including Uninhabited Autonomous Vehicles (UAVs). The facility is jointly funded by Rolls-Royce and the Systems Engineering Autonomous Systems Defence Technology Centre (SEAS-DTC) programme co-ordinated by BAE Systems and sponsored by The Ministry of Defence. Stephen Long, facility project manager at Rolls-Royce, said: “In the future we will see a rapid growth in the use of uninhabited land, sea and air vehicles for military, civil and public use. The electrical systems requirements for these platforms are particularly demanding because they need to be compact, flexible and intelligent.” Police and fire services are becoming increasingly interested in uninhabited air vehicles for surveillance purposes. They could save the emergency services valuable time and money and also allow access to situations too dangerous for manned craft.