ACE Network Position Paper

The UK Automatic Control Engineering (ACE) Network has published a new Position Paper making the case for Automatic Control Engineering as a critical national capability for the UK’s prosperity, security and sustainable growth.

Automatic Control Engineering provides the foundations that allow data, computation and AI to act safely and reliably in the physical world. It underpins modern energy systems, manufacturing, healthcare technologies, transport, telecommunications and defence yet currently lacks a coordinated national programme in the UK.

As society becomes more reliant on AI-enabled and automated systems, control engineering is increasingly essential. AI models alone cannot guarantee stability or safety under uncertainty. ACE ensures systems remain predictable, certifiable and reliable, enabling trusted deployment in regulated and safety‑critical sectors.

The Position Paper highlights the UK’s ongoing automation and productivity challenge and identifies five mission domains where strengthened ACE capability would deliver the greatest national impact:

Trusted Intelligent Autonomous Systems
Clean and Secure Growth
Health, Life Sciences and Ageing
Resilient Mobility and Infrastructure
Defence, Space and Sovereign Capability

To address these challenges, the paper calls for three coordinated national actions:

An ACE Network+ to provide community coordination and roadmap delivery
A UK Centre of Excellence for Future Automation and Control Engineering
A long‑term UK National Programme in Future Automation and Control Engineering

Together, these actions would provide the institutional infrastructure, technical leadership and sustained investment needed to enable safe AI-enabled autonomy, boost productivity, strengthen resilience and secure the UK’s global position in advanced automation.

Read the full Position Paper: