Defence Events

Dstl to host its first Future Sensing and PNT symposium

Posted 12 July 2023

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is inviting industry, academia and wider government to shape thinking on future technical challenges for defence sensing and position, navigation and timing (PNT) at its first Future Sensing and PNT symposium, being held at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham on 20th and 21st November 2023.

Image courtesy Dstl

This symposium will provide insight into generation-after-next (GAN) technical defence challenges for sensing and position, navigation and timing (PNT). This is planned to be an in-person event but the main talks will also be live-streamed for those who are unable to attend.

In our rapidly changing world, sensor technologies increasingly underpin operations across military and civilian sectors (from autonomous mobility, to modern just-in-time logistics and industry 4.0 manufacturing). We also continue to experience dramatic changes in terms of improving technological capability, proliferation of networked sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) enabled analytics.

In military capability and security operations, sensors are essential in providing data to help build a picture of the operational environment. They are used everywhere from space to underwater, supporting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, to enhancing platform survivability and targeting within advanced weapon systems.

However, as capability grows so does the challenge of ensuring the UK has an information advantage over adversaries. Future operational environments are likely to present severe challenges to sensing as increased clutter creates congestion for sensors, targets become smaller and more mobile, and countermeasures become ever more complex and sophisticated.

Who can attend
Academics, industry partners (including small and medium-sized enterprises and non-traditional defence suppliers) and colleagues from Ministry of Defence (MoD) and across government are all invited to attend the symposium, which will provide space to network and discuss collaboration opportunities with Dstl scientists to shape future thinking on how to address sensing challenges.

Symposium details
The Future Sensing and PNT programme vision is based on creating revolutionary sensing concepts and novel underpinning technologies to deliver pervasive, resilient situational awareness and targeting. Understanding these elements is essential to enable operational advantage and freedom of action against complex and diverse threats in challenging future congested and contested environments.

The symposium will cover:

shared challenges for emerging sensing and PNT technologies in future operating environments (both inside and outside of defence)
how research and development investment can be harnessed in future approaches

There will be a range of:

keynote speakers
technical presentations
interactive workshops
poster and networking sessions (to encourage collaboration across defence)

Presentations will consider advances and implications in topics including:

The future operating environment
Distributed sensing and time transfer
UK Quantum programme and quantum sensing
Defence and civilian sensing technology: synergistic development

To enable suppliers to work with MoD on defence sensing and PNT topics, the event will also include representatives from the key commercial frameworks (for example, Serapis) and the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA).

Posters and workshops
There will be sessions for technical posters and Dstl-led workshops to consider and discuss challenges in areas, such as:

Radar systems
Electro-optic systems
Sensor fusion and management techniques
Quantum sensing and timing technologies
Alternative PNT technologies
The future of sensing

Posters will be presented across both of the two conference days. If you would like to submit a poster aligned with the themes of the symposium, please pre-register for the event first. Submission of posters will close on 23rd August 2023.

This symposium will be co-located with the Operating in the Future Electromagnetic Environment (OFEME) symposium 2023. Delegates registering can participate in both events.

Any information that is to be presented by any party at this symposium and further that is detailed within this event will be deemed to be in the public domain and therefore will not require further approval for its use by the receiving parties not withstanding any rights of ownership of information set in law.

To attend this symposium you need to pre-register your interest.
For any further information or to pre-register your interest, email FSPsymposium@dstl.gov.uk by 6th October 2023. You will then receive a link to the event registration portal.