The Ministry of Defence has identified a range of emerging technologies it intends to explore as part of a "transformed approach to using and procuring technology". The MoD has this week published the Defence Technology Framework, a 56-page document which lays out a vision for the role the science and tech sectors could play in the work of the ministry and the Armed Forces. The framework identified seven "technology families" it sees as being of most significance. The first of these is "advanced materials", which includes areas such as nanotechnology, 3D printing, and synthetic biology. The second area picked out by the MoD is artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science, while the third is autonomous systems and robotics.