CamCEAD, based at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, builds the data processing systems, scientific software and computing infrastructure behind some of the largest astronomical surveys and space missions in the world. We turn very large amounts of complicated observational data into reliable products that astronomers can use straight away.

Our work covers automated pipelines, cloud processing, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. We are a major partner in WEAVE, 4MOST, MOONS and WST on the ground, and in the Gaia and PLATO space missions.

CamCEAD continues more than forty years of survey work in Cambridge. Its roots are in the Automatic Plate Measuring (APM) facility and the Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit (CASU), which built the data systems for UKIDSS, VISTA, Gaia-ESO, 2dF and many other surveys.

We also use our experience in AI, image analysis and large-scale data management outside astronomy, for example in the biomedical imaging programmes IMAXT and SPACE, where methods from astronomy are helping cancer research.