Date: 16 May 2024

Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm (lunched provided from 12.30pm)

Venue: IfM Seminar Room 2, Alan Reece Building, 17 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 0FS

Speaker: Dr Gonzalo Aguirre, Director of machine learning and robotics, Astroscale Holdings Inc

Booking link: PLEASE REGISTER HERE (to help us plan for catering)

Talk Summary

Every day, we rely on services from space that impact our lives in ways we often overlook. From communication and navigation to agriculture and finance, satellites play a crucial role in our global economy. However, the current approach to space reflects a single-use and discard mentality, which is unsustainable in the long run.

At Astroscale, we're leading the charge to transition from this throwaway culture to a servicing culture for the long-term safe and sustainable development of space. In this talk, we'll explore the three pillars of our vision: innovative technologies, advanced business cases, and international policy advocacy; digging into key aspects of robotics and machine learning, essential tools in building the infrastructure for on-orbit services of the future.

Space is not just the final frontier; it's also our shared responsibility. Together, let's pave the way for a future where space remains accessible, sustainable, and beneficial for future generations.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Aguirre is currently the director of machine learning and robotics at Astroscale Holdings Inc., where he coordinates the global efforts to advance technologies to support space sustainability. He holds a PhD from Waseda University in compliant robotics systems and a Masters in Automation and Information Technology from Esslingen University of Applied Sciences. Along with his academic research, he has also worked for several years in automotive and aerospace engineering in Germany, and his recent work in robotics and AI at Preferred Networks has been granted several patents and publications in journals such as IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics.