TECH-Gov: ENDEAVOUR
ENDEAVOUR – Accessibility & Multi-sensorial Science for Safety Enhancement and Risk Reduction in Critical Operations
Astronaut and Deep Sea Explorer join forces with STEM and SHAPE scholars to Enhance Safety for the Future of Critical Operations through Inclusive Innovation
This article was first published on French Embassy in the UK website
Link: https://uk.ambafrance.org/Astronaut-and-Deep-Sea-Explorer-join-forces-with-STEM-and-SHAPE-scholars-to?var_mode=calcul
On 26 and 27 September, 2024, the French Embassy in the UK hosted the seed meeting for Project “ENDEAVOUR – Accessibility & Multi-sensorial Science for Safety Enhancement and Risk Reduction in Critical Operations.” The event gathered 12 researchers and practitioners active in advancing inclusive innovation in the domain of Technology Governance, Deep Sea and Maritime Exploration, Space Innovation, Multi-sensorial and Accessibility Science, as well as the film industry. The event was joined by Naoko Yamazaki – former JAXA Astronaut — and Jess Hong — lead actress from Netflix’s Emmy-nominated “3 Body Problem” – via video recording and video link. Daniel Cron, an experienced mariner and an explorer who has wintered in Antarctica, also joined the project’s discussion on strengthening safety of critical maritime operations.
Convened and conceptualized by ENDEAVOUR UK lead Dr Nikita Chiu (Associate Professor in Space Innovation & Technology Governance at Durham University), the scientific discussions were enriched with cross-disciplinary input from Dr Wanda Diaz-Merced, a noted astronomer in the sonification of space data from Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, and Prof Maud Marchal, renowned scholar in haptic science and Professor at Université de Rennes, among other practitioners and scholars.
“Technological advances in critical domains which are extremely risk-averse, such as space exploration, could be heavily path-dependent. Technology in these domains could develop in a way that became increasingly more exclusive rather than inclusive over time. This path-dependent development not only hinders innovation in these domains, it also points to potential risks of failing to mitigate against and account for known risks. For example, the temporary loss of visual input reported in exploration activities in extreme environments.” Dr Chiu observes, “ENDEAVOUR brought together an eclectic and complementary group of advanced researchers and practitioners to jointly explore future mitigations through the integration of accessibility and multi-sensorial studies. In doing so, it not only seeks to identify new synergy to enhance safety for critical operations in space and maritime activities, but also to ensure efforts in these critical domains continue to unite and inspire.”
Daniel Cron, scientific co-ordinator from Ponant Science onboard Le Commandant Charcot, said, “As a diver and seasoned mariner, I can see strong synergy between deep sea and space exploration, and the potentials for these critical operations to benefit from more inclusive innovation, incorporating additional alert elements for risk reduction.”
Marcin Nowicki from Noviki Studio added, “Dr Chiu is one of the most original thinks I have encountered. Her work is always prescient, in this case the proposal to utilize tactile, sonic, and haptic elements to support critical operations in space and maritime exploration is groundbreaking.”
“As moon-bound activities rapidly develop, inclusive innovation becomes an important area of research to support more accessible developments of space activities. I am impressed with the project’s ability in identifying innovative ways to not only address existing technological limitations, but also to develop actionable research to support a more inclusive space future.”
said Naoko Yamazaki, former JAXA astronaut.
To propel and implement the project’s vision, Dr Nikita Chiu and Prof Maud Marchal are pleased to announce the launch of the UK-France Collaborative Network on Inclusive Innovation for Critical Operations (CN2I). For further details, contact sze.w.chiu (at) durham.ac.uk
ENDEAVOUR Leads:
Dr Nikita Chiu – Convenor,Principal Investigator and Event Lead (Durham University, UK)
Prof Maud Marchal – Co-PI (Université de Rennes, France)
with
Dr Wanda Diaz-Merced (Arecibo Center / Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, USA)
ENDEAVOUR Meeting Rapporteur:
Dr Tibor Dome (University of Cambridge, UK)
With special thanks to:
Jess Hong, Actor from Netflix’s “3 Body Problem”