Automatic Control Engineering (ACE) Network

我们越来越依赖复杂的“智能”系统：城市、房屋、车辆、电网和无数连接的“事物”，它们收集信息并执行自动化决策，无论是否有人参与。这在一定程度上是因为传感、驱动、计算机硬件、网络和通信方面的技术进步，这些技术进步使得能够利用、处理和分析大量数据。自动控制工程的重大进展提供了设计和实现高度复杂的控制和决策系统所需的基础理论，方法和实践。自动控制工程在实现英国政府提高生产力和盈利能力的长期工业战略方面继续发挥着至关重要的作用。具体而言，自动控制是2017年英国工业战略中确定的所有四个主要社会挑战主题的关键技术：人工智能和数据、清洁增长、未来移动性和老龄化社会以及每个主题中的特定挑战领域。自动控制不仅大大提高了所有行业中各种过程的生产力、效率、可靠性和安全性，而且还提供了基础理论，方法和工具，以进一步理解和使发现在其他学科，如生物学，医学和社会科学。虽然英国通过采用包括自动化和控制在内的新技术引领了第一次工业革命，但今天它落后于国际竞争对手。过去十年生产率增长缓慢，这与其他经济指标形成鲜明对比，部分证明了这一点。有人认为，如果英国不共同努力向自动化过渡，它将错过一个关键的增长机会，估计到2030年将为英国经济带来超过2000亿英镑的价值。英国有一个强大的控制工程社区，拥有超过1000名活跃的研究人员和跨越所有职业阶段的工程实践者，他们在国际层面上由英国自动控制理事会（UKACC）代表，英国自动控制理事会是国际自动控制联合会（IFAC）的英国国家成员组织（NMO），是英国和国际控制社区之间的有效联系。在自动化、人工智能、传感和计算技术取得巨大进步的时候，为了有效地参与英国大挑战研究议程，避免工作分散，并确保控制工程师从一开始就参与最终用户或计划，英国控制界需要与其他学术和行业利益相关者有效联系，制定共同的研究愿景和战略，并开始通过雄心勃勃的试点研究来应对这些挑战，为全面的，高影响力的赠款提案，新颖的开创性研究和知识转移项目铺平道路。自动控制工程网络旨在推动英国在下一代自动化和控制方面的研究和国际领导地位，通过汇集和连接该国在自动化，物联网，网络安全，机器学习和机器人技术方面的专业知识，与行业利益相关者和更广泛的研究社区共同努力解决同样紧迫的社会挑战。通过创建自动化和控制虚拟卓越中心，该网络将确保应对重大挑战所需的研究工作、行业参与、培训活动和资源共享的协调在资助期结束后继续进行。

We are increasingly dependent on complex "smart" systems: cities, houses, vehicles, electricity grids and a myriad of connected 'things' gathering information and performing automated decision-making with or without a human in the loop. This is in part possible because of technological advances in sensing, actuation, computer hardware, networking and communication, which enable the harnessing, processing and analysis of vast volumes of data. Major advances in Automatic Control Engineering have provided the underpinning theory, methodology and practice needed to design and implement highly complex control and decision-making systems. Automatic control engineering continues to play a vital role in realising the government's long-term industrial strategy of raising productivity and earning power within the UK. Specifically, automatic control is a key enabling technology for all four major societal challenge themes identified in the 2017 UK Industrial Strategy: AI and Data, Clean Growth, Future Mobility and Aging Society and the specific challenge areas within each theme.Automatic control not only dramatically improves the productivity, efficiency, reliability and safety of a wide range of processes across all sectors, but also provides fundamental theory, methodologies and tools to further the understanding and enable discovery in other disciplines such as biology, medicine and social sciences. Whilst the UK led the First Industrial Revolution through the adoption of new technologies, including automation and control, today it lags behind its international competitors. This is evidenced in part by the slow productivity growth over the past decade, which is in sharp contrast to other economic indicators. It is argued that if the UK does not make a concerted effort to transition towards automation, it will miss a pivotal opportunity for growth, estimated to be worth more than £200 billion to the UK economy by 2030.For the UK to become a global leader in intelligent automation and leapfrog international competitors, it is vital that it consolidates its research leadership in automatic control engineering. The UK has a strong control engineering community of well over 1000 active researchers, and engineering practitioners spanning all career stages, which are represented at an international level by the UK Automatic Control Council (UKACC), the United Kingdom's National Member Organisation (NMO) of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC), acting as an effective link between the UK and the international control communities. At the time of dramatic advances in automation, AI, sensing and computation technologies, in order to engage effectively with the UK Grand Challenge research agenda, avoid fragmentation of effort and to ensure control engineers are engaged from the outset with end-users or initiatives, there is a need for the UK control community to connect effectively with other academic and industry stakeholders, to develop a common research vision and strategy and to start addressing these challenges through ambitious pilot studies, paving the way for full-scale, high-impact grant proposals, novel groundbreaking research and knowledge transfer projects. The Automatic Control Engineering Network aims to drive forward the UK's research and international leadership in next-generation automation and control, by bringing together and connecting the country's expertise in automation, the internet-of-things, cybersecurity, machine learning and robotics, with industry stakeholders and the wider research communities working towards addressing the same pressing societal challenges. Through the creation of a Virtual Centre of Excellence in Automation and Control, the Network will ensure that the coordination of research efforts, industry engagement, training activities and resource sharing needed to address Grand Challenges, will continue beyond the end of the funding period.