A strategic partnership will be created between Smiths, Oxford and Bristol University that will deliver a step change in Composites technology over the next five years, and lay the foundations for more far reaching innovation over the longer term. Two broad themes of research are proposed. The first one on low cost and 3-D composites will be led by Bristol with input from Oxford, and will provide new capabilities that can be applied in the next 3-5 years. The second theme on self actuating composites will be a joint activity, with Oxford laying out a 10 year technology roadmap and Bristol developing a number of innovative concepts which can be demonstrated within a five year timescale. The research on low cost composites will develop automated manufacturing techniques using robotics and mechanical forming and apply low-cost, rapid tooling techniques such as freeze-cast ceramics. It will also seek to use innovative 3-D fibre architectures (e.g. weaves, braids, fabrics) to reduce manufacturing costs whilst providing the excellent mechanical performance necessary for future aerospace applications.The proposed activities to develop self-actuating composites offer exciting opportunities to integrate novel methods of actuation, sensing and health monitoring within future high performance aerospace structures e.g. shape changing aerofoils. 'State-of-the-art' emerging technologies such as piezo- and magneto-strictives, shape memory materials, morphing composites and novel electromechanical devices will be developed and demonstrated. The core programme of activities outlined in this grant will run alongside a substantial programme of existing research, for example our EU Morphing Wing project. Four experienced researchers will be appointed, three at Bristol and one at Oxford. In addition, one senior Research Fellow and 7 PhD studentships not funded under this grant have been committed to the Partnership providing a critical mass of researchers from the outset. A new, dedicated physical centre will be established at Bristol for staff and students linked to offices where related research is carried out, and with additional desks for visitors from Oxford and Smiths. There will also be secondment of staff between the Universities and Smiths and regular joint seminars. The many new ideas certain to emerge during this cutting edge programme will be developed into further proposals for funding from UK and EU sources to create a portfolio of world-class research generating exciting new technologies for exploitation by UK engineering.

A strategic partnership will be created between Smiths, Oxford and Bristol University that will deliver a step change in Composites technology over the next five years, and lay the foundations for more far reaching innovation over the longer term. Two broad themes of research are proposed. The first one on low cost and 3-D composites will be led by Bristol with input from Oxford, and will provide new capabilities that can be applied in the next 3-5 years. The second theme on self actuating composites will be a joint activity, with Oxford laying out a 10 year technology roadmap and Bristol developing a number of innovative concepts which can be demonstrated within a five year timescale. The research on low cost composites will develop automated manufacturing techniques using robotics and mechanical forming and apply low-cost, rapid tooling techniques such as freeze-cast ceramics. It will also seek to use innovative 3-D fibre architectures (e.g. weaves, braids, fabrics) to reduce manufacturing costs whilst providing the excellent mechanical performance necessary for future aerospace applications.The proposed activities to develop self-actuating composites offer exciting opportunities to integrate novel methods of actuation, sensing and health monitoring within future high performance aerospace structures e.g. shape changing aerofoils. 'State-of-the-art' emerging technologies such as piezo- and magneto-strictives, shape memory materials, morphing composites and novel electromechanical devices will be developed and demonstrated. The core programme of activities outlined in this grant will run alongside a substantial programme of existing research, for example our EU Morphing Wing project. Four experienced researchers will be appointed, three at Bristol and one at Oxford. In addition, one senior Research Fellow and 7 PhD studentships not funded under this grant have been committed to the Partnership providing a critical mass of researchers from the outset. A new, dedicated physical centre will be established at Bristol for staff and students linked to offices where related research is carried out, and with additional desks for visitors from Oxford and Smiths. There will also be secondment of staff between the Universities and Smiths and regular joint seminars. The many new ideas certain to emerge during this cutting edge programme will be developed into further proposals for funding from UK and EU sources to create a portfolio of world-class research generating exciting new technologies for exploitation by UK engineering.

Cell migration assays are commonly used to study wound healing, cancer cell invasion, and tissue development. Problems associated with the gap closure assays typically employed are that: (i) the stopper or scratch used to make the migration zone damages the extracellular matrix (ECM), (ii) the migration zone size is limited by the size of the stopper, and (iii) the scratched migration zone shapes and sizes are irreproducible. Cell migration is strongly coupled with the structure and mechanical properties of the ECM, and damage to the ECM alters the cell migration path. The main objective of this project is to develop a prototype novel cell migration assay, which will significantly improve the predictive power of cell-based assays while avoiding problems associated with existing assays, based on seeding cells precisely on pristine extracellular matrix tissue mimics with native-like cell-functionality and reproducible migration zones. In accomplishing this, we will also address the following questions: • What are the structure-property relationships between collagen I matrices with controlled thicknesses and fibril diameter and alignment, and their mechanical and electromechanical properties? • What are the critical parameters for achieving functional bonding between the substrate and the highly anisotropic viscoelastic collagen I matrices and controlling the overall mechanical properties? • Does the distribution of collagen fibril polar ordering, i.e., piezoelectric domains, influence cell migration? • What parameters control crimp formation in tendon-like collagen I matrices? • What parameters control and explain the unusual viscoelastic properties (e.g., they not depend on the speed of deformation, at least within the interval 0.01 - 1 mm/sec) of tendon-like collagen matrices? • Which cell types, including cancer cells, co-align with collagen fibril alignment or crimp direction?

Materials and structures in many engineering systems are often subject to dynamic loads, which place challenging constraints and requirements on their design and manufacturing. For example, aerodynamic loads can induce significant vibrations of bladed disks of turbo-machinery potentially causing high cycle fatigue, with major implication on the cost, safety, and reliability of engines, significant efforts are regularly necessary during design to prevent the vibration problems. A wide range of research studies have been conducted to address these challenges with current activities mainly focusing on the development of more advanced and effective techniques for finite element modelling, simulation, and optimization. These are gradually extending the framework of the current state-of-the-art, but one of the main challenges remain, which is: "how to produce a high-fidelity reduced order model and conduct the reduced order model-based design for engineering materials and systems that need to withstand demanding dynamic loads". In order to fundamentally resolve the challenges, this project will develop an innovative digital manufacturing methodology based on the complex systems science and demonstrate the effectiveness and significance of the novel method in three case studies supported by the end users and stakeholders in the UK, including Rolls-Royce plc, Wilson Benesch (sound/acoustics), Thomas Swann Ltd (nanomaterials), MS Research (charity), TISICS (metal matrix composite design and manufacturing), Carter Manufacturing (bearings for railway applications), and MSC Software (digital manufacturing software). The project involves a close multidisciplinary collaboration between the researchers in system and control, mechanical and structure engineering, and materials science from University of Sheffield, University of Bristol, Imperial College, and University of Derby. The achievements are expected to significantly facilitate the fulfilment of the EPSRC vision for Manufacturing the Future, resolving serious challenges related to digital manufacturing and more effectively addressing high-value and specialist design and manufacturing of aerospace systems, advanced materials, and next generation railway system components. These can potentially produce significant benefits to future design and manufacturing activities centred around core UK plc industries.

How can we trust autonomous computer-based systems? Autonomous means "independent and having the power to make your own decisions". This proposal tackles the issue of trusting autonomous systems (AS) by building: experience of regulatory structure and practice, notions of cause, responsibility and liability, and tools to create evidence of trustworthiness into modern development practice. Modern development practice includes continuous integration and continuous delivery. These practices allow continuous gathering of operational experience, its amplification through the use of simulators, and the folding of that experience into development decisions. This, combined with notions of anticipatory regulation and incremental trust building form the basis for new practice in the development of autonomous systems where regulation, systems, and evidence of dependable behaviour co-evolve incrementally to support our trust in systems. This proposal is in consortium with a multi-disciplinary team from Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt, Glasgow, KCL, Nottingham and Sussex, bringing together computer science and AI specialists, legal scholars, AI ethicists, as well as experts in science and technology studies and design ethnography. Together, we present a novel software engineering and governance methodology that includes: 1) New frameworks that help bridge gaps between legal and ethical principles (including emerging questions around privacy, fairness, accountability and transparency) and an autonomous systems design process that entails rapid iterations driven by emerging technologies (including, e.g. machine learning in-the-loop decision making systems) 2) New tools for an ecosystem of regulators, developers and trusted third parties to address not only functionality or correctness (the focus of many other Nodes) but also questions of how systems fail, and how one can manage evidence associated with this to facilitate better governance. 3) Evidence base from full-cycle case studies of taking AS through regulatory processes, as experienced by our partners, to facilitate policy discussion regarding reflexive regulation practices.