In robotics, being able to plan robustly and efficiently in a complex environment is still a challenge, yet so important to make it easy to teach and program robots to be able to operate in dynamic workspaces. We will tackle this problem by benchmarking state-of-the-art planning algorithms on a list of relevant problems and use this to test the feasibility of a new approach to engaging multiple planning strategies. We will disseminate our results and developments benefiting from an Open Source approach to the community. This will speed up future development of new planning algorithms.

Shadow Robot has been exploring teleoperation and robotics to address the crisis now or better prepare for any catastrophes in the future. Vaccine and drug manufacturing is a key part in the healthcare supply chain and currently the pharmaceutical industry across the world is extremely stretched to meet this need. While the big pharma companies like Pfizer, AstraZeneca, etc., are aggressively researching to come up with a vaccine for COVID-19 at the earliest, almost all the pharma companies world-wide are gearing up for **volume production** in the coming months. The social distancing, quarantine during the pandemic and the already existing Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) regulations only allow limited workforce in PPE at any given time. **Therefore technologies that can aid new ways of working, allow adaptable and efficient scale-up of manufacturing are key contributors in the healthcare supply chain.** With teleoperation, critical workers can perform intricate lab tasks at a safe and comfortable distance - without physically being in a lab. This reduces the contamination, the risks to workers and keeps the labs sterile. Shadow with inputs from Pfizer would carry out the technology development that can **contribute to adaptable and efficient manufacturing in the pharmaceutical industry for future pandemic requirements**.

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This Project reviewed the state of the art in robotics and teleoperation inside and outside the nuclear industry to form recommendations as to how new technologies can be applied to address the significant challenges faced in the nuclear industry. Scenario-based roadmapping was undertaken, producing an assessment of key capabilities requiring nuclear-specific development, as well as an understanding of available robotics technologies that could be quickly brought across to the industry, and initial concept prototypes were produced.

It is desirable to use advanced robots for difficult, dirty and dangerous tasks, rather than humans. The capabilities of robots are limited by their dextrous manipulation abilities. Current hardware provided by the industrial partner gives robots manipulation capabilities comparable to humans, but use is now fundamentally limited by front-end control systems. To overcome this limitation, we will develop a new design of control system, based around a "base station" that uses ultra- wide-band signals to locate "locator" antennas precisely within the unit. These antennas will be placed on gloves worn by human operators. This will offer a simple, ergonomic method to communicate the location of the human operator's hand and hence effectively control the robotic hand. The proposed system has also exciting applications in the performance industry for large sets control with accurate manipulation and also in medical systems as precise surgery robotic.