news, national

Robots that fly, swim and drive are being designed and built by internationally renowned Queensland scientists to find out how the world's loneliest continent is responding to climate change. Researchers from the Queensland University of Technology will form part of a new interdisciplinary research centre created to build the technology needed to help preserve, model and monitor Antarctica. Navigating and finding answers in the icy terrain of the continent is no small feat and that's why QUT has dedicated top experts in environmental conservation, data science and mathematical modelling to assist. Among them are internationally renowned roboticists Professor Peter Corke and Professor Matthew Dunbabin. "We are creating advanced robotic systems that fly, swim and drive in the hostile Antarctic environment to gather data that will inform scientific models of how the continent is responding to climate change," Prof Corke said in a statement on Friday. Expert in aeronautical engineering and artificial intelligence Professor Felipe Gonzales and statistical modelling researcher Dr Kate Helmstedt will also join the Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF) team. "The goal is to link new streams of data to the kinds of questions that managers need to answer - where, when and how should we protect local ecosystems and species to enable long-term decisions," Dr Helmstedt said. The SAEF program has partnered with 30 organisations in Australia and overseas, and is being led by Monash University. Australian Associated Press

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