The aim of this fellowship is to develop disruptive approaches through theory and experiment to unlock the capacity of future information systems. To go beyond current optical fibre channel limits is arguably the greatest challenge faced by digital optical communications. To target it, the proposed research will combine techniques from information theory, coding, higher-dimensional modulation formats, digital signal processing, advanced photonic design, and machine learning to make possible breakthrough developments to ensure a robust communications infrastructure beyond tomorrow. Optical communications have to-date been able to fulfil the ever-growing data demand whilst simultaneously reducing cost and energy-per bit. However, optical communications have now exceeded the fundamental capacity of existing single-mode technology a trend leading to a rapid duplication of line systems which in time will translate in less affordable broadband access. To meet future demands with prospective cost and energy savings and avoid the impending exhaust of fibre capacity, this fellowship offers a scalable path towards parallelism in optical fibre communications resembling the advent of parallel computing using multiple cores to sustain Moore's law - once we were unable to double the number of transistors in a single-core microprocessor. The emergent technology of spatial division multiplexing (SDM) provides much wider conduits of information by offering additional means for transporting channels over one single fibre, using multi-mode and multi-core fibres. The fellow has shown that the internal structure of optical fibres can be optimised to support thousands of different spatial paths, each with full transmission capacity. And, critically, that there are principal launching conditions that allow for full transmission rate over each path with a small fraction of the equalisation cost assumed before. These discoveries offer the potential to foster a revolution in how optical fibre communications networks operate to meet the ever-increasing traffic demand with decreasing cost and energy consumption per bit, enabling ubiquitous and universal broadband access. This fellowship renewal envisages how to achieve chip-scale integration for multimode SDM transceivers packing intelligent optical beamforming powered by generalised machine learning and principled digital signal processing for highly spatially diverse fibre channels. Moreover, this fellowship renewal will initiate a new class of low crosstalk multi-mode fibres using elliptical cores and a new class of multimode optical fibre amplifiers with adaptive mode gain profile - opening fundamentally new theoretical and experimental possibilities up to now unexplored for SDM systems. These new developments will push multimode SDM technology far beyond that of the standard single-mode fibre infrastructure and bring it to an industry-ready development stage, unlocking decades of capacity growth in future optical networks with sustainable cost- and energy-per-bit.

The aim of this fellowship is to develop disruptive approaches through theory and experiment to unlock the capacity of future information systems. To go beyond current channel limits is arguably the greatest challenge faced by digital optical communications. To target it, the proposed research will combine techniques from information theory, coding, higher-dimensional modulation formats, digital signal processing, advanced photonic design, and machine learning to make possible breakthrough developments to ensure a robust communications infrastructure beyond tomorrow. Optical communications have to-date been able to fulfil the ever-growing data demand whilst simultaneously reducing cost and energy-per bit. However, it is now recognised that systems are rapidly approaching the fundamental information capacity of current transmission technologies, a trend with potential negative impact on the economy and social progress. To meet future demands with prospective cost and energy savings and avoid the impending exhaust of fibre capacity, the only solution is the emergent technology of spatial division multiplexing (SDM). It provides much wider conduits of information by offering additional means for transporting channels over one single fibre, using multi-mode and multi-core fibres. However, SDM has not yet found a viable path to access this much higher information capacity. State-of-the-art SDM transceivers are only compatible with few-mode/few-core fibres (~10 paths) given the requirement to multiplex/demultiplex over all the fibre pathways to successfully estimate and unravel pathways crosstalk and walk-off. This completely defeats SDM's purpose, the installation of new fibres must allow for several decades of capacity growth to offset the high deployment costs of new cables. This fellowship envisages how to transform SDM technology to drive future optical networks by addressing the key issue overlooked by the research community since the introduction of SDM concepts: optical transceivers must undergo >100-fold integration to enable the benefits of multi-mode/core. Focus on new transceivers capable of digital space modulation will enable scalability of all data pathways to reduce the cost and energy-consumption per bit. Digital spatial modulation in novel coherent transmission schemes, i.e. the pathway index itself is used to carry information, will open fundamentally new theoretical and experimental possibilities up to now unexplored. These new transceivers will be capable of exploiting the multidimensional channel properties in the linear and nonlinear regimes through new spatial modulation formats and coding guided by new information theory and nonlinear science methods. Two main challenges are to construct a high-speed digital spatial modulator capable of dynamically addressing different groups of paths (potentially with tens of paths) in massive multi-path fibres and to develop new learning algorithms (guided by new theory methods) suitable of being embedded in spatial-adaptable transceivers to reach the ultimate capacity of nonlinear multi-dimensional channels.

The UK has fallen significantly behind other countries when it comes to adopting robotics/automation within factories. Collaborative automation, that works directly with people, offers fantastic opportunities for strengthening UK manufacturing and rebuilding the UK economy. It will enable companies to increase productivity, to be more responsive and resilient when facing external pressures (like the Covid-19 pandemic) to protect jobs and to grow. To enable confident investment in automation, we need to overcome current fundamental barriers. Automation needs to be easier to set up and use, more capable to deal with complex tasks, more flexible in what it can do, and developed to safely and intuitively collaborate in a way that is welcomed by existing workers and wider society. To overcome these barriers, the ISCF Research Centre in Smart, Collaborative Robotics (CESCIR) has worked with industry to identify four priority areas for research: Collaboration, Autonomy, Simplicity, Acceptance. The initial programme will tackle current fundamental challenges in each of these areas and develop testbeds for demonstration of results. Over the course of the programme, CESCIR will also conduct responsive research, rapidly testing new ideas to solve real world manufacturing automation challenges. CESCIR will create a network of academia and industry, connecting stakeholders, identifying challenges/opportunities, reviewing progress and sharing results. Open access models and data will enable wider academia to further explore the latest scientific advances. Within the manufacturing industry, large enterprises will benefit as automation can be brought into traditionally manual production processes. Similarly, better accessibility and agility will allow more Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) to benefit from automation, improving their competitiveness within the global market.