Stephen Barkby

Stephen Barkby will be taking on the role of Navigator on this voyage. His background is in robotics research and he joins us from the Australian Centre for Field Robotics in Sydney, Australia. The centre is affiliated with the University of Sydney which is where he is currently completing his PhD degree. This is also where Stephen completed his undergraduate degrees, a BE in Mechatronics (Space) and a BSc in Physics.

His current research interests are focused on improving the quality of multibeam sonar maps produced by Remotely Operated Vehicle's (ROVs) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) using a featureless based approach to Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM). In particular his technique enforces correct alignment between overlapping sonar swaths which in turn imparts corrections to navigation.