Adaptive Machines
The physical world is complex and constantly changing, making it difficult for machines to find their way around and operate reliably. Intelligent machines that adapt to unpredictable environments can help humanity thrive.
Programme development
As we develop a new programme in the Adaptive Machines opportunity space, we’re inviting feedback on our emerging thinking to help shape its design. This will feed into our thesis for the programme which, subject to approval, will launch in 2027.
Thin Film Phased Arrays
Connectivity and compute underpin much of what becomes possible in society and technology. As both advance, the ability to shape these foundations will matter increasingly. The ability to shape these foundations will increasingly determine what is possible. This programme proposes thin, large area electronic apertures that could transform connectivity and provide a new technology stack with the potential to disrupt global compute.
Connectivity
This programme explores what it would take for non-terrestrial networks, including satellites and High Altitude Platforms, to deliver the majority of global connectivity. Electromagnetic spectrum is limited, so increasing capacity depends on reusing spectrum across many narrow beams. Larger antennas enable narrower beams and greater reuse.
Most commercially available phased arrays are printed circuit boards (PCB), limiting their deployment. Building larger, lighter, more capable, or cheaper arrays requires a different approach. This programme explores distributing radio elements and processing across thin, lightweight membranes, mass manufactured at low cost. By sensing their shape and adjusting their signals to stay calibrated, these arrays could reduce the need for rigid supporting structures.
Compute
The same approach could provide the building blocks for orbital data centres: lightweight electronic structures that unfurl/deploy in space, interconnected processors distributed over large surfaces. Such electronic membranes could overcome central challenges of computing in space: dissipating heat, redundancy, and fault tolerance
Antennas could provide the first commercial market for this technology, establishing a manufacturing base from which much larger applications emerge. Success could give the UK a chance to own a key part of the technology stack underpinning future connectivity and compute.
We want to hear from people across antenna design, metamaterials, semiconductors, optical interconnects, distributed computing, thermal management, and large area electronics manufacturing. Help us challenge the assumptions, identify the hardest problems and shape the programme.
Meet the programme team
Our Programme Directors are supported by a core team that provides a blend of operational coordination and highly specialised technical expertise.
Rico Chandra
Programme Director
Rico is a repeat founder who built his career in national security technologies. He has advised governments, investors, and high-growth companies on emerging technologies and their strategic impact. He founded several companies including Arktis Radiation Detectors, whose systems are now deployed worldwide. Rico holds a PhD in dark matter detection from CERN and an MSc from ETH Zurich.
Caitlin Kubala
Programme Specialist
Prior to joining ARIA, Caitlin led on Cyber Security projects at a New Zealand bank, with a focus on strengthening digital defences and ensuring regulatory compliance. Caitlin supports ARIA as an operating partner from Pace.