A decade of success in the Digital Economy A decade of success in the Digital Economy

What a difference a decade makes. Over That is why a defining feature of the the last 10 years, the importance of digital Digital Economy Theme has been the way technology has grown dramatically, to the that it brings researchers together, across point where it affects almost every aspect of a wide range of very different disciplines. our lives. But making the most of digital – and It is about connecting engineering, avoiding the potential downsides – depends computing and mathematical sciences upon understanding the interaction between with the social sciences, the arts and technology and the people who use it. humanities and beyond.

The Digital Economy Theme is a programme In its first 10 years, the Digital Economy of funding for research that, for more than a Theme has invested more than £200 million decade, has been looking at ways of harnessing in outstanding research. And because the the enormous potential of digital technologies, Theme is all about real-world impact, it has for our economy, our communities, our cultural brought researchers together with businesses, lives, and our health and wellbeing. government bodies, charities and public organisations, bringing in over £80 million Led by the Engineering and Physical Sciences in funding, and supporting work with direct, Research Council (EPSRC) in partnership with practical applications. the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Innovate UK and the Economic and To coincide with the tenth anniversary of Social Research Council (ESRC), the Digital the Digital Economy Theme, this publication Economy Theme is about much more than showcases some of the best research it has just IT. It’s about how we as human beings supported: research in the service of an interact with the digital world: how we live innovative economy, healthy communities with it, and how it affects us. and an inclusive society.

Contents

Towards a connected world ...... 04 Telling tales ...... 20 The digital economy a decade on An Oxfam app giving the back-story of donated items

Networked for success ...... 08 True grit ...... 22 Nurturing the talented researchers of tomorrow Smart sensors that could save millions

New generation pioneers ...... 10 HAT trick ...... 23 Digital spin-outs and partnerships Getting ownership of your online data

Seeing the person ...... 12 Data into words ...... 23 How digital can help in dementia care Finding a pattern in complex information

Alexa for everyone ...... 14 Fair’s fair online ...... 24 Access to technology for the poorest communities Revealing the hidden bias of online

More bang for your buck online ...... 15 Interactive paper ...... 26 Better-targeted advertising on social media How multimedia content is bringing the page to life

Digital nature ...... 16 Moving pictures ...... 27 DIY devices for budding Attenboroughs Motion-tracking tech for video games with vim

Stories at the dentist ...... 18 Telling its own story ...... 28 The reassuring app when you have an appointment The guitar that talks to you

Leave no trace ...... 19 Fancy a chocolate teapot? ...... 30 How digital helps people in abusive relationships A tasty way with 3D printing

Digital Economy - a decade of success | 03 A changing landscape Of course, there have been changes in the Towards a digital economy and political landscapes as the programme has developed, but the Digital Economy Theme has created a dialogue, a new way of opening doors to partners. Some connected world of the people who were involved in the Digital Economy Theme in the early days – people like A decade on from the start of the Digital Economy Theme, Tom Rodden, who is now Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and the world has been transformed by digital technology. Sport (DCMS) – were leading the thinking on how digital technology can help Government A decade ago, the very phrase ‘digital economy’ these core researchers. Hence the hub-and- provide services, for example. was not in common parlance. According to spoke idea.” EPSRC’s John Hand, who led the inception of the John Baird took over as Head of the Digital Digital Economy Theme in 2008, “it was a new The latest interdisciplinary research Hub to be Economy Theme in 2011. He says: “In the concept, a phrase used more in the media than funded through the Digital Economy Theme beginning people used to ask what the digital among researchers.” is PETRAS: a consortium of nine leading economy was. It shows how things have UK universities, working with business and changed: nobody asks that now (the economy “People were beginning to talk about the government partners to explore critical issues is almost totally digital – if you’re not digitally digital economy where before they had talked in Privacy, Ethics, Trust, Reliability, Acceptability, enabled, a business with a digital platform, or about e-commerce, but as something much and Security of the (IoT). you’re not on social media, then you’ll struggle). broader than just carrying out transactions The programme has worked in this respect: a lot over the Web. It was about digital as it engages To test IoT in the environment, a UCL team of what we were doing was way ahead of its time. with society: about how technology is used by deployed a network of bluetooth-enabled matched funding, which worked to connect people. That’s why the Digital Economy Theme ‘conversational agents’ in the Olympic Park. “The rural communities). John Hand says: “We “The things that the Digital Economy Theme needed to involve a broader set of disciplines These agents, including trees and benches, but wanted to get technology out there, being has supported have covered a wide area. We than just , and why it needed most notably garden gnomes, share information question used by real people in real situations. We have worked closely with the Digital Catapult, to engage with businesses and user groups as with people as they walk past, and ask them needed the short-term hit of money to pay for example, as part of IoTUK; an activity funded well as researchers.” about their experiences. This has enabled the now is for people to go out and use it, but then we by Government, via DCMS, to help ensure that team to analyse what information people are need to engage ethnographers to understand everything is integrated and connected digitally At the time the programme began, there willing to share with these devices and learn to ‘where how people were using it and what the issues through the Internet of Things.” was nothing of its kind elsewhere. A lot what extent they trust them. were that this raised.” of innovative thinking was being done in hasn’t Similarly with digital health: “Four or five years companies like Microsoft, but this generally Then there were the Research in the Wild ago, when we last set our priorities, digital health had a focus on straight commercial impact: Digital in the wild digital projects (‘the wild’ meaning ‘out there in came up as a strong area: a good example of the Digital Economy Theme, by contrast, is everyday life’) – things like research that engaged where using people’s data can lead to benefits. very much about social impact. It is people- Early flagship projects included BURD had an with a working men’s club in the North East, EPSRC’s Healthcare Technologies Theme has driven, social sciences-driven: some of the (Bridging the Urban-Rural Divide – joint encouraging people to try boxing using the now largely picked up this research, but this is early projects it supported involved working research involving India and the UK, with effect?’” Nintendo Wii, making it competitive between a good example of where we’ve tried to get with charities and NHS Trusts, for example, different clubs, and so getting people to exercise. ahead of the curve. with a focus on digital inclusion. The Digital Economy Theme used ‘Sandpits’ “In other areas – such as digital currencies, – creative workshops involving academics, distributed ledger and – in Building a community business and others – as a way of bringing the Digital Economy Theme we’ve supported together people from a variety of disciplines research on a small level that has then come to John Hand, who is now Head of EPSRC’s to tackle a socio-technical challenge topic. A fruition when it has gained wider attention. That Physical Sciences Theme, recalls: “We spent series of projects from one Sandpit involved includes from policymakers: the Chancellor, for a lot of money in the first year putting in place looking at what design means in the digital example, suddenly asking what research had five Centres for Doctoral Training and three world. The TOTeM – Tales of Things, Electronic been done on cryptocurrencies. Through the research Hubs. This was the first time that we Memory – project, for example, used QR codes Digital Economy Theme we had funded some in the Research Councils had used the ‘Hub’ on second-hand items that Oxfam were selling, work looking at the effect of digital currencies and vernacular. The Hub idea was important: there to provide a back-story for them. This research crypto-currencies (Bitcoin being the best-known). were groupings of researchers working in the programme was one of the first to address So when a request came from the Treasury for core space, but we wanted to build a bigger, the social dimensions of digital economy, examples of research around this subject, we broader community, and do something to specifically the ‘Internet of Things’, and was were able to report back that we had indeed encourage that community to work with a forerunner of the Olympic Park project. supported some – it was only a small grant, but it

04 | Digital Economy - a decade of success Digital Economy - a decade of success | 05 led to EPSRC’s Chief Executive being questioned A unique programme government. They are future-planning and by the Chancellor about future work with the thinking how they can provide services. I’ve Digital Catapult and the Alan Turing Institute. We While some of its aspects are similar to other been encouraged by that. But it seems as if the ended up spending £7.2 million in this area.” research funding programmes, there is nothing technology and its application is moving faster quite like the Digital Economy Theme around than the regulatory framework. the world. John Baird says: “In 2011 we carried The need for flexibility out a review to assess the impact made by “With digital, nascent things can be rolled-out the investments we had made, with a panel very quickly. The Financial Conduct Authority, For John Baird, digital is an area where it is hard including representatives from business and say, doesn’t really know how to regulate digital to predict future developments. He says: “A few overseas researchers from the US and Ireland. currencies – this is an emerging, disruptive years ago, people didn’t talk about Big Data: They said they wished they had something technology that has come out very quickly. now it’s accepted. They didn’t talk about AI, and like the Digital Economy Programme in the Facebook, Airbnb: suddenly people are using now data is feeding AI machines. Few people States, for example, where there was plenty of their services, and the law (say, around use were talking about distributed ledger, and yet funding, but a lack of good interaction across of people’s data) has to try to catch up. The now the Government is looking into using it all the disciplines. There was lots of research in technology goes ahead because people want a to deliver services securely. The Department computer science of course, but not the degree Research for service, and because it’s convenient and helps for International Development is looking at of engagement, say, with the social sciences, or them, but the regulatory framework can only distributed ledger, for example, to help them with the legal profession. That’s what the Digital better regulation come in when we see how things are. Until the know where aid is being spent. A flexible, Economy Theme has been able to offer: this John Baird says: “In many respects policymakers technology is there, you can’t see what it will interdisciplinary programme like the Digital engagement across disciplines. I talk to all kinds are switched-on in considering these do. You can’t legislate for what doesn’t yet exist, Economy Theme is necessary to be able to of people: it’s mainly computer scientists but it’s implications. There are parliamentary groups and you don’t want legislation to stifle follow these fast-changing developments.” also engineers, mathematicians, social scientists, looking into things like AI, and digital currencies. innovation when the UK could lead the world. geographers, people from the humanities, There are select committees trying to look Research around the digital economy can help Interdisciplinarity is vital in this respect. economists, ethnographers. ahead. There are people in the Department for with this, ensuring that regulation can follow “Where we’ve managed to join up and work International Development and the Home Office, speedily when people begin using digital together, not just with other Research Councils “It is one thing to build a new piece of technology and there’s a whole department for digitising technologies in new ways.” but with Innovate UK, it has led to some – but how will people want to use it? Do people tremendous success stories. Indeed, before even want it? Henry Ford said ‘If you ask people the creation of UK Research and Innovation, what mode of transport they want, they’ll just in 2018, which formally brings together the ask for a faster horse’, so sometimes you do UK Research Councils, Innovate UK and need disruptive technology. But the socio- “The Digital Economy Research England, the Digital Economy tech angle in Digital Economy is very much Future challenges Theme was already a good example of about understanding how people will use Theme is about much Challenges remain for the Digital Economy Theme. John Baird research being joined-up across disciplines that technology, whether they find it useful says: “Over the last 10 years we’ve been ahead of the game in and across Councils.” and acceptable, and the implications of that more than just IT. terms of getting people together, anticipating issues. We’ve use. That is what has become apparent over It’s about how we as done things that have shown real value. The Digital Economy Current hot topics are issues around trust, the last few years: we have always-on mobile Theme has allowed new research ecologies and ways of identity, privacy and security. John Baird says: phones and internet connections, but what is human beings interact working to develop. If that stopped, you don’t know quite “These are long-standing themes in one of the happening with our data: is it secure? You have what you would lose. three original research Hubs – Horizon, at the to balance the up sides with the down.” with the digital world: University of Nottingham, which focuses on “UKRI will be good for breaking down barriers in the research the digital footprints and data that you leave how we live with it, landscape, but we’ve actually been doing this for the past as you trawl around the Web. This has become 10 years. We need to hold on to the lessons and experience a big issue, with the rise of Facebook and and how it affects us.” of this connected way of working. Partly this is why the tenth Google, and how they use people’s data, and anniversary is important. We need to capture some of these target adverts at them. Before many people things so that they are not forgotten: this understanding that were thinking about this, Horizon was asking people are at the heart of technology, that they’re not an questions about what happens with the data add-on.” you leave behind (the digital footprints) when using digital platforms; and of course about what businesses are tracking you. Recent stories around companies such as Cambridge Analytica and how they use people’s data when they had not explicitly given permission for it was a case in point. If you’re getting a service such as Facebook for free, you are the product. You’re giving them your data: that’s the trade-off.” Images: Andre-Francois McKenzie; Sara Kurfeß @ Unsplash

06 | Digital Economy - a decade of success Digital Economy - a decade of success | 07 Digital Economy Networked Network (DEN)

The Digital Economy Network consists of 11 EPSRC Digital for success Economy-relevant CDTs. Since April 2014, DEN has delivered more than The Digital Economy Network (DEN), a national network of 11 EPSRC-supported 60 collaborative training events for Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs), has a track record of successful research, and digital economy students. is developing a new generation of talented individuals and future industry leaders. Centre for Digital Entertainment The Digital Economy Network provides launch in 2014. In another initiative, 238 PhD University of Bath and Bournemouth training and development activities for CDT students have attended 10 highly successful University students studying within the Digital Economy, research writing retreats. and provides a way for them to interact and Cloud Computing for Big Data learn from each other. At the core of the DEN initiative is Newcastle University interaction and collaboration, and the CDTs Digital Civics Since 2014, the DEN has held over 60 have been successful in developing mutually Newcastle University collaborative training events for students. fruitful research and knowledge transfer While the focus of its activities is on students collaborations with a variety of world-leading Embedded Intelligence based within the Network, its events are open organisations – providing real-world Loughborough University and Heriot-Watt to other students working in digital economy- experience for hundreds of students. University related research. Financial Computing and Analytics John Baird, Head of the Digital Economy University College London, London The Network puts equality, diversity and Theme, says: “As we celebrate our tenth School of Economics and Imperial College inclusion at the heart of all its activities, which anniversary, it is testament to the success of London are based around a number of complementary the programme that so many CDT alumni have objectives, including Sharing Best Practice; gone on to successful careers in academia, Healthcare Innovation collaborating in Large Scale Shared Events; industry, and the third sector. As for the current University of Oxford Sustainable Impact; New Collaborative generation of students, they have taken on this HighWire Initiatives; and Community Outreach and legacy, and are making it their own.” Lancaster University Dissemination. To support these themes, the DEN has organised a host of initiatives, from To demonstrate how its CDTs are thriving in Horizon - My Life in Data hackathons and workshops to panel discussions a digital world, the Digital Economy Network The University of Nottingham and showcases, and its popular programme of has produced a brochure of case studies and Intelligent Games and Game Intelligence Digital Economy Summer Schools have been information. For a copy, enter digital-economy- University of York, Goldsmiths, attended by over 330 PhD students since their into your search engine. cdt-brochure.pdf Queen Mary University of London and University of Essex “We have been very impressed with the pedigree, expertise and interdisciplinary nature of the Web Media and Arts Technology Science academic group at Southampton, and were fortunate to have a group with an international Queen Mary University of London reputation right on our doorstep. Our collaboration is very much two-fold; we gain as much from the relationship as the CDT does, thanks to our interactive approach in terms of supervision, work Web Science Innovation placements and knowledge transfer.” Jeremy Morley, Chief Geospatial Scientist, Ordnance Survey University of Southampton

“The students from the Centre for Digital Entertainment are constantly challenging you to keep www.den.ac.uk. up with them, and you get to share their experiences as they investigate areas you would never have had time to research on your own.” Andrew Vidler, Technical Director, Ninja Theory “We have been very impressed with the Horizon CDT students, in terms of their work ethic, background knowledge, ability to quickly assimilate new project ideas, and their abilities to This picture, by Evan Morgan, from the Media develop them to make a real difference.” Brian Newby, Scientist, Unilever and Arts Technology CDT at Queen Mary University of London, shows a pianist wearing “The CDT in Cloud Computing for Big Data has helped us understand the kinds of skills we need a set of eye-tracking glasses, which provide in order to obtain value from our data, as well as providing actionable insight for us to prioritise. information about how he interacts with other We’re already investing in the Centre and hope this is the start of a long and fruitful relationship.” musicians. The research team are exploring how musicians communicate non-verbally, Richie Ramsden, Section Leader Functional Surfaces – Data Insight Team, AkzoNobel and how technology might be able to support their collaborative interactions.

08 | Digital Economy - a decade of success Digital Economy - a decade of success | 09 The Distant New generation Heart Long-distance relationships are a prevalent cause of stress, and can generate a profound pioneers sense of longing and nostalgia. Yulia Silina, a PhD student at the Media and Arts Technology Telling the bees CDT at Queen Mary University of London, From interactive jewellery to award-winning created The Distant Heart, a computational Beekeepers and storytellers worked with researchers at Lancaster high-tech spin-outs, students across the Digital necklace (pictured), developed as a part of University’s Highwire Centre for Doctoral Training to study current research into filling the emotional void that is Economy Network are pioneering new ideas, practices in keeping bees and raise questions about the loss of created when families, friends and loved ones technologies and collaborative partnerships. traditionally-held knowledge and understanding. Here’s a taste of what they can do. move away from each other. The Telling the Bees project explored beekeeping and the traditional stories that surround it. Researchers gathered stories, co-created artefacts The system was designed for two people who and shared traditional ecological knowledge as a community resource. love and miss each other, but are separated by distance. One of them would measure Among their outreach projects, the team developed the Augmented and share his or her heartbeat through a Beesuit, which incorporates an iPhone and loudspeakers, which play dedicated Twitter account, another would audio snippets of bee lore taken from interviews with beekeepers. They wear The Distant Heart necklace just as any also worked with artisans to create the Beespoon, a spoon a twelfth the other necklace. When the necklace wireless Superstar size of a teaspoon. Liz Edwards, a PhD student on the project and now a detects the shared heartbeat, it would have Senior Research Associate at Lancaster University, describes the thinking it revealed to the wearer, giving an intimate scientists behind the project: “We wanted to demonstrate the value of honey and glimpse of the other person. the effort required for its production by drawing attention to the work of After completing her PhD in an individual bee in a hive. The spoon holds the total amount of honey The necklace has been widely exhibited at Computational Cognitive Science at that a worker bee can make during her lifetime. To produce this honey venues including the Victoria & Albert Museum the Centre for Doctoral Training in we estimated she visits 1,837 flowers.” and the Wearable Technologies Show. Financial Computing & Analytics at UCL, Paula Parpart co-founded Brainpool, yuliasilina.com an innovative start-up to provide tech companies with access to an elite network of data scientists and AI experts There’s an app to meet their data challenges. for that Brainpool manages a pool of around 120 top-level data scientists and AI Although most areas in the UK have schemes experts, both in the UK and worldwide, to provide free contraception and sexual health with experience of working for tech advice to young people, these schemes are giants such as Google and DeepMind. Interactive inspection currently fragmented, and coverage varies from region to region. An app-development platform The aim of Brainpool is to provide a Following his graduation from Lancaster University’s HighWire CDT developed as part of research at the Digital Civics specialist task force able to jet in at short in 2014, Dr John Hardy co-founded Manchester-based spin-out CDT, led by Newcastle University, is helping to notice as ‘superstar’ data scientists. These company, Hardy & Ellis Inventions Ltd, together with fellow Lancaster ensure that young people in the Newcastle upon individuals are able to solve businesses’ PhD student, Carl Ellis. Tyne area have access to a single network of free design their own apps. Anyone can begin most pressing and exciting data condom providers. by creating a campaign and gathering 150 problems, from building recommendation Formed to commercialise John’s CDT research into the development supporters who can then collaboratively design engines and incorporating the latest of tools that help people construct, deploy, and innovate with interactive The team developed the C-Card Condom Finder and customise features of the app, including its machine vision deep learning algorithms, projected displays and , the award-winning app, which allows users to find and review name, the colour scheme and the criteria for to natural language processing. Their company specialises in providing interactive projected displays and places where they can use their ‘C-Cards’, which rating locations. The app is then automatically expertise is helping companies tackle programmable physical spaces. give young people access to free condoms and generated by the platform and released on the real-world challenges such as modelling sexual health information, available from a large Google Play Store and Apple App Store. of election outcomes and designing ways Among the team’s breakthrough products, the company has developed number of participating outlets. to prevent fraud. a mixed-reality quality control station called the Digital Inspection Table Using the App Movement platform meant that (pictured) for the printing and packaging sector. Developed in partnership The app was generated through App Movement, young people were involved in the design www.brainpool.ai/ with world-leading print and packaging supplier, Bobst, the system a platform developed at the CDT, which allows process. This fits within the digital civics approach enhances print quality control and virtually removes production errors. people to collaboratively commission and of using technology to empower citizens.

10 | Digital Economy - a decade of success Digital Economy - a decade of success | 11 Seeing the person

Dementia is a growing concern world- Portrait, which Gemma developed with wide, with an estimated 35.6 million Professor Vicki Hanson, is unique in that it was designed from the perspective of care sufferers. It currently costs the UK staff. By logging into the system at the start £17 billion per year, and care homes of their shift, staff are able to learn about the are stretched further than ever before. person’s family and key life events before they entered the care home, as well as their Communication difficulties associated with preferences, hobbies or interests. In short, dementia can be particularly challenging for it allows care staff to know who the people care staff. For example, some sufferers are are, not just what illness they have. unable to hold conversations. To help open up people’s minds about dementia research In 2011 Gemma was awarded £10,000 at the – and find a way to see the person behind Telling Tales of Engagement competition, the condition – Gemma Webster devised a organised by the Digital Economy Theme, poster based on a popular bean can design to further her research on Portrait. The (opposite) while studying for her PhD at the award enabled her to develop Portrait into University of Dundee. a web-based system for use on tablet devices such as iPads, and allowed the The poster won first prize at the 2009 British system to be permanently installed and Science Festival perspective scheme in which used in care homes. Feedback from care researchers present and explore the social home staff has been very positive. implications of their work. Although 10 years old, its theme is just as relevant as ever. After completing her PhD in 2011, Dr Webster joined the dot.rural Digital Economy Gemma’s research led to the creation of Portrait, Research Hub at the University of Aberdeen an at-a-glance computer aid to help busy care as a Research Fellow. She is now a Lecturer staff in residential care environments gain an in the Information Systems Subject Group initial understanding of dementia sufferers’ at Edinburgh Napier University. lives before they entered into care.

Digital Economy - a decade of success | 13 Alexa for everyone Smart tech for disadvantaged interact with it as if it were their own, with their communities own photos, messages and calls.

A new kind of smart speaker, designed According to team member Dr Simon Robinson: specifically for use in communities where “The design concept separates what we currently people live in poverty, has been developed by think of as a mobile phone into two key parts: researchers at the CHERISH-DE (Challenging the device itself, and the content it stores. By Human Environments and Research Impact for carrying their content on a separate accessory, Peter Laflin, Bloom’s Head of Data Insight, a Sustainable and Healthy Digital Economy) users can quickly borrow any other device says: “Whisper provides clients with clear Research Centre, led by Swansea University and whenever they need to.” More bang for strategic information, in real time, about the supported through the Digital Economy Theme. effectiveness of their social media marketing, Professor Matt Jones, Head of the College of and gives them the confidence to grow, with Working with slum communities in India, Science at Swansea University and Principal a better understanding of their customers, where dwellings are usually very compact Investigator on the project, says: “To make future your buck online and solid evidence of what works. It also and where personal home Wi-Fi is rare, digital content service devices, you need to get makes advertising more targeted, and less the team organised workshops with slum out where human life is. What we are doing with Social media is becoming ever-more like spam – giving consumers more of the inhabitants to identify opportunities for our research is exactly that. From the slums of important for use in advertising, but messages they want to hear.” providing an internet-connected speaker-type India to the resource-poor communities in South until recently marketers have been device in public areas and passageways. Africa, we are taking inspiration from the glorious Since the launch of Whisper in 2012, the agency, hustle and bustle of everyday life, and driving in the dark about the effectiveness of whose clients include Adidas, SKY, Emirates, The device, similar in concept to Amazon’s forward innovations to benefit everyone.” their campaigns. Not any more. Nestlé and ITV, has more than doubled its staff Alexa home speaker, enables passers-by to numbers, and annual income has grown by more ask questions and receive answers generated Collaboration between EPSRC-supported than 50 per cent. Many of Bloom’s new jobs have by internet search engines, when such smart mathematicians at Strathclyde and Oxford gone to highly skilled mathematics graduates. speakers may be out of reach of individual universities and Bloom, a digital marketing households. agency, developed Whisper, the first data Peter Laflin says: “The partnership has analytics tool that can accurately measure transformed our business – we now lead the The team has also explored opportunities for impact and return on investment from field in this area.” mobile phone users in developing countries social media. such as South Africa to use a borrowed phone This work has been complemented by to access their own content. This innovation Whisper builds on public domain research led by further investment through an EPSRC Impact allows users who may not want to carry their Professor Des Higham and Ernesto Estrada from Acceleration Award, and with funding from own phone (for reasons of safety or security), or the University of Strathclyde, and Professor Peter Innovate UK. In 2014 Professor Higham those whose devices may have run out of power, Grindrod’s group at the University of Reading, was awarded an EPSRC Established Career to borrow another person’s device, but lets them both funded through the Digital Economy Theme. Fellowship to further develop his research.

Image: Robin Worrall

14 | Digital Economy - a decade of success Digital Economy - a decade of success | 15 Digital wildlife Researchers from the Interaction Research Studio at Goldsmiths, University of London and the Royal College of Art have developed a low- cost DIY wildlife tracking camera that anybody can make at home from everyday items and simple technology.

The project was featured on BBC 2’s Springwatch TV programme, with presenter Chris Packham describing the camera as “fantastic”.

The devices, which cost less than £30, were developed by the Digital Economy Theme- supported My Naturewatch project, to help people capture pictures of wildlife in their gardens, as well as helping to track birds.

The cameras use to sense motion and capture images of wildlife, much like the sophisticated camera traps used by conservationists and filmmakers.

People can view the images and control the camera from the comfort of their homes by connecting to a Wi-Fi network set up by the same technology as contactless payment the cameras. or transport cards. If enough people make our freaders, which are much less expensive than The project is led by Goldsmiths’ Professor Bill commercial ones, we could build a nationwide Gaver. He says: “The basic version of the camera network providing unprecedented information takes only about an hour or so to make and is about a bird’s movements.” very ‘tech-light’. There’s also an infrared version that takes night-time pictures, which is only a Above: Visitors to gardens little more challenging to make.” such as foxes can be snapped with the The team have also developed a radio-frequency My Naturewatch device. identification-reading bird feeder (‘freader’) that From far left: Simple plastic household items can be used can track birds fitted with special RFID rings. to provide a weatherproof housing for the device; Professor Bill Gaver (right) Professor Gaver says: “Ornithologists are really demonstrates the camera to excited about the freader. Normal bird rings Springwatch presenter Chris Packham; birdwatchers will require that birds are recaptured to be read, but find the device particularly RFID rings can be read automatically – they use useful.

16 | Digital Economy - a decade of success Digital Economy - a decade of success | 17 Leave no trace

Stories at the dentist With Digital Economy Theme support, researchers have developed an iPad-based speech app which helps children and adults with learning and/or communication disabilities prepare for a visit to the dentist – People who are at risk of domestic technology does is erase these electronic violence may face a dilemma: sources footprints, allowing people to seek help in which can be a particularly stressful time for them. safety, without fear of reprisal.” of help are available online, but The Stories at the Dentist communication Capability Scotland. Patients with a variety they may be at risk if an abusive or One of the clever things about the app is that system helps patients with a learning of impairments, and community dental staff controlling partner were to find out it works selectively, wiping clean some of the and/or communication disability to know across Tayside, were involved in the design that they had been searching for them. user’s digital footprints while leaving other what to expect when visiting the dentist and evaluation of the app. electronic trails intact: a completely clean and to be more involved in the decision- Now a team at Newcastle University, with browsing history could raise suspicions with making process concerning their care and The project, led by Professor Annalu Digital Economy Theme support, have a controlling or abusive partner. treatment options. Waller and Rolf Black, from the University developed a suite of technologies that can of Dundee, resulted in an interactive protect people in abusive relationships from The team went on to work with police and “The app is already transforming patients’ exhibition at the National Museum of being tracked online, including an app which domestic abuse support agencies to trial the experiences in the dental setting, and Scotland, funded by the Digital Economy selectively wipes clean their browsing history. new technologies in support centres across reduces their anxiety,” says Gillian Elliott, Theme, through which visitors could learn the North East. from the NHS Community Dental Service. what it means to use assistive technology Lead researcher Dr Budi Arief, says: “Any when accessing a computer for speech online access leaves behind an electronic The research was part of the Social Inclusion The system is the result of a collaboration output and communication. trail. For most of us this is a useful record, through the Digital Economy (SiDE) Hub which between computing scientists, dentists and but for someone living in fear of abuse the aimed to tackle social exclusion by making it health scientists from the universities of very systems that are set up to help them easier for people to access the life-changing Dundee and St Andrews, NHS Tayside and can actually be used against them. What our benefits offered by digital technologies.

Images: Jarmoluk; Jon Tyson

18 | Digital Economy - a decade of success Digital Economy - a decade of success | 19 Telling tales Digital Economy Theme-funded technology has been used in a mobile phone app scheme that allows Oxfam customers to find out the stories behind its second-hand goods.

The project, which emerged from an EPSRC ‘Sandpit’ residential interactive workshop, was led by Professor Chris Speed from the University of Edinburgh, with the team focusing on bringing the Internet of Things out of the lab and on to the high street.

The Shelflife phone app linked stories and pictures provided by donors to QR-coded tags attached to the goods. Customers in the shops could then scan the tags using the app to find out about an individual item’s past. This made it possible to investigate how attaching memories to objects could enhance shopping experiences in Oxfam.

During a trial period of the technology in Tales of Things and Electronic Memory), a and help prevent them heading for the landfill.” digital designers, cryptographers, business 10 shops in the Manchester area, Oxfam collaboration between five British universities: and international development experts to experienced a 53 per cent increase in sales. University College London, the University of Oxfam’s Sarah Farquhar, Head of Retail Brand, design a Blockchain for Oxfam, through The project was supported by celebrities Edinburgh/Edinburgh College of Art, Brunel says: “We found that items with an interesting which they are exploring the circulation and such as Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox, University, the University of Dundee and the story behind them are instantly more appealing re-circulation of valuable items within its who contributed a dress she wore at Nelson University of Salford. to our customers. This commitment to business model. Mandela’s birthday party. The dress linked to sustainability is an important part of what a video of Lennox describing its use. Professor Speed says: “Shelflife was all about Oxfam shops bring to the high street.” Project partners include the universities of transforming shops from places of consumption Edinburgh, Northumbria and Lancaster; The concept behind Oxfam Shelflife emerged into places of stories and reflection – allowing Among current EPSRC-funded initiatives, Zero Waste Scotland, Volunteer Scotland from the Tales of Things initiative (TOTeM: people to ‘write’ their stories on to products Professor Speed and his team are working with and WHALE Arts.

20 | Digital Economy - a decade of success Digital Economy - a decade of success | 21 HAT trick Researchers have developed a revolutionary web browser that lets people lead smarter lives. The ground- breaking hyperdata browser known as the HAT (Hub-of-all-Things) makes it simpler for us all to access and use online data about ourselves.

The HAT collates people’s personal data held on the internet, such as on social media sites, as well as on their own smartphones, and allows them to control, combine and share it in whatever way they wish. The aim is to ensure that people’s data benefits them, and not just the businesses and organisations that collect it.

The HAT micro-server, which enables customers to benefit from decentralised personal data storage, processing and AI, emerged from a involved in the transfer of personal data between project that was supported through the Digital individuals and organisations. Economy Theme, and that aimed to exploit the data that is available from a new generation of Professor Ng says: “People who have a HAT are sensors and devices, to develop new economic HAT owners. They own the rights to the data True grit models. The project was developed by Professor in the HAT microserver , and control Irene Ng, from the University of Warwick. the microservices. We want to get thousands of With Digital Economy Theme support, researchers at people all over the world to try out the HAT and the University of Birmingham have developed smart HAT led to the development of the HAT experience for themselves how it can help them temperature sensors that could save councils millions Foundation, an open-source platform which, make better decisions, save them time and save Professor Ng says, is the first to fully resolve them money, by exchanging their personal data of pounds in road-gritting costs. the technical, legal and commercial barriers in a privacy-preserving manner.” Fitted to roadside infrastructure, such as He says: “Generally, a local authority may have lampposts, the low-cost devices – known as just two or three weather stations, which means Wintersense sensors – are connected to the the decisions they make are based more on internet, and collect and transmit a non-stop forecasts than actual information. But because stream of data on road-surface temperatures. our sensors are so inexpensive, local authorities Local authorities, highways agencies and could afford to deploy scores or even hundreds Data into words other organisations can use this information of them and make localised decisions about to target precisely where gritting is needed – the need to grit on a route-by-route basis. With help from the Digital Economy Theme, Professor Ehud Reiter and Dr Yaji Sripada, from the and where it isn’t. That’s extremely useful in view of the fact University of Aberdeen, have pioneered Natural Language Generation (NLG), an advanced form that there can be a 10°C to 15°C difference in Each of the hand-sized sensors costs around road temperatures across a county on a given of Artificial Intelligence that analyses and converts raw data into written or spoken words. £200, compared with the £10,000 or so needed to winter’s night.” maintain a weather forecasting station like those Based on advanced computational linguistics and analytics, that local authorities currently rely on to help In an average winter, the UK typically uses ‘translation’ takes place in near-real time, and involves them make decisions on when and where to grit. two millions tonnes of salt. Professor finding patterns in large volumes of complex data, and then Chapman believes the new technology could expressing that information in the form of natural-sounding Developed by meteorologists at the university, enable savings of between 20 per cent and 50 language. Applications range from automated weather reports in conjunction with Amey plc, the sensors per cent. “That would be equivalent to over to fraud detection. have been successfully trialled in Birmingham £100 million per year in salt taken across and London. the country as a whole.” With long-term funding from EPSRC, Reiter and Sripada’s research led to the 2009 formation of spin-out company, Data2Text Limited. The project was led by Professor Lee Chapman The project received a major boost when it In 2013, valued at £130 million, the company was acquired by from the University of Birmingham’s School of won a national award at the Highways UK Arria NLG. Professors Reiter and Sripada retain close links with Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. 2017 Intelligent Infrastructure Challenge. Arria, both as founding shareholders and chief scientists.

22 | Digital Economy - a decade of success Digital Economy - a decade of success | 23 Fair’s fair online A consortium of Digital Economy Theme- With particular focus on online fairness and supported researchers led by Professors young people, the team held a series of Derek McCauley and Tom Rodden, from workshops where ‘youth juries’ of 13-17 year- old ‘digital natives’ had the opportunity to the Horizon Digital Economy Hub at The make their voices heard on the subject. Results University of Nottingham, have tackled from these show that many young people one of most pressing challenges of the experience a lack of trust toward the digital internet age – fairness online. world – and want greater checks and balances.

Involving researchers from the universities of For example, while most young people are Nottingham, Oxford and Edinburgh, the UnBias happy to share personal details like shoe size (Emancipating Users Against Algorithmic Biases and music preferences, many were not happy for a Trusted Digital Economy) project team to share information they felt should be kept focused their research around personalised private, such as their home address, school, algorithms – such as those used by search and information related to their health. Some engines to tailor our results and make product felt that the type of information collected recommendations for us. about them was creepy.

Co-Investigator, Marina Jirotka, Professor The outcomes of the team’s work with children of Human-Centred Computing at the informed their submission of evidence to a University of Oxford, who holds an EPSRC Parliamentary Inquiry on the impact of social Established Career Fellowship funded by the media and screen-use on young people’s Digital Economy Theme, says: “The UnBias health in 2018. project recognises that the prevalence of algorithms online is an ethical issue of As well as providing policy recommendations, societal concern. We asked key questions the team have developed educational materials such as: How can we be sure that algorithms and a ‘Fairness Toolkit’ to promote public civic are operating in our best interests? Are dialogue about how algorithms shape online algorithms ever ‘neutral’? How can we judge experiences and how issues of online unfairness the trustworthiness and fairness of systems might be addressed. Lord Tim Clement-Jones, that heavily rely on algorithms?” co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence, has described the As part of a diverse programme of research, the toolkit as “inspirational”. team combined approaches from the social and computer sciences and engaged with a The team are disseminating the toolkit to wide range of stakeholders including industry schools, public libraries and other UK venues, professionals, policymakers, educators, and are developing a training programme NGOs and online users. They also carried out to equip teachers, youth workers and public activities including workshops and hackathons librarians with the skills to use it to boost to support user understanding about online media and data literacy. environments, raise awareness among online providers about the concerns and rights of Professor Rodden, until recently EPSRC’s Deputy internet users, and generate debate about the CEO, left EPSRC in 2019 to join the Department of ‘fair’ operation of algorithms in modern life. Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Image: Nicole Honeywill 24 | Digital Economy - a decade of success Digital Economy - a decade of success | 25 Interactive paper

A multidisciplinary team from the University of Surrey, led by Professor David Frohlich, have developed a new generation of interactive paper materials that open up a new world of hybrid digital communications.

Two technologies – involving electronics embedded in paper and image recognition – are being developed to connect paper to digital information. These can be used to identify which page is being read, and then trigger digital content to appear on a nearby smartphone or other device.

The Digital Economy Theme-supported team, working with colleagues from the Open University, came together with Bradt Travel Guides to produce the first commercial product arising from the project: Slow Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly, hailed as the Keep on moving world’s first AI-powered travel guide. A team from the Centre for the Analysis of Motion, To access the book’s digital content the team The ultimate aim is to develop ground- Entertainment Research & Applications (CAMERA) have developed a unique free app that allows breaking paper materials that trigger audio at the University of Bath has joined forces with people with devices to discover a or video files to play on your phone, tablet world-renowned animation company Aardman world of digital content within the pages of or TV at relevant points when you are reading to create motion-tracking technologies for the book. Once the app identifies which page a book. You could listen to the call of a bird you are reading, it lets your fingers do the while reading about the species, or watch Aardman’s first interactive , 11-11: browsing and choose the interactive content artisans at work while learning about Memories Retold, which is set during World War I. you would like to play. regional crafts. The Aardman team spent nearly two weeks in the CAMERA The app uses the latest advances in Artificial Professor Caroline Scarles, from Surrey’s Studio, which is funded in part through the Digital Economy Intelligence, developed by Professor Miroslaw School of Hospitality and Tourism Theme, to animate most of the major characters in 11:11. For Bober and his team at Surrey’s Centre for Management, a co-investigator on the each shoot, the CAMERA team attached 50 optical markers Vision, Speech and Signal Processing, to project, says: “This is an exciting next to the performer’s motion capture suit. The cameras then recognise and classify real-world objects and step in shaping the future of books, paper tracked the position of those markers in space to create a locations, instantly, and even under changing and technology in the travel industry; it skeleton that was used to animate a digital avatar. viewing angles and obstructions. provides travellers with access to interactive information without having to put their In addition to the entertainment industry, CAMERA, The extra digital content has been created by book down.” which is funded by the Digital Economy and Healthcare Kirsty Fergusson, author of the guidebook, Technologies Themes, has developed a strong portfolio of and design researcher Emily Corrigan- Professor Frohlich says: “This project provides motion tracking technologies for a range of applications, Kavanagh, from Surrey’s Department of a great user case for how this marriage including training and athlete performance aids and Music and Media, in a new kind of authorship between physical and digital media could assistive technologies. Most recently it was funded by process which will offer readers a more greatly improve people’s experience and Innovate UK to develop an app that enables arthritis enriching and immersive experience. knowledge of the world around them.” patients to monitor their symptoms on a smartphone.

26 | Digital Economy - a decade of success Digital Economy - a decade of success | 27 Telling its own story Every guitar tells a story, from the tonewoods that form it, to the craft of its making, to the players who own it, to the places it visits and the songs that are played on it.

A team from the Horizon Digital Economy Centre at the University of Nottingham, led by Professor Steve Benford, have developed an extraordinary guitar that captures and tells its own life history, through the use of unique technology.

Professor Benford, whose work was funded in part by an EPSRC DREAM Fellowship, says: “Our guitar is called Carolan in honour of the legendary composer Turlough O’Carolan, the last of the great blind Irish harpers, and an itinerant musician who roamed Ireland at the turn of the eighteenth century, composing and playing beautiful Celtic tunes. Like its namesake, Carolan is a roving bard; a performer who passes from place to place, learning tunes, songs and stories as it goes, and sharing them with the people it encounters along the way.”

The team have brought this storytelling to life through the use of remarkable technology that hides digital codes within the decorative patterns that adorn the instrument. The codes act somewhat like QR codes, in that you can point a phone or tablet at them in order to read the digital information they contain. Unlike QR codes, however, they are aesthetically beautiful, and form a natural part of the instrument’s decoration.

Scanning the different patterns on the Carolan guitar takes you to different information, such as the history of how it was made, details of who has played it and videos of their performances, and also the instrument’s user guide and full technical specification. This new technology enables the guitar to share a growing ‘digital footprint’ throughout its lifetime, but in a way that resonates both with the aesthetic of an acoustic guitar and the craft of traditional guitar making.

To make such a guitar is a challenging project, and called for the collective abilities of a uniquely-skilled team including a luthier (someone who makes stringed instruments), a graphic designer and computer scientists. The carolanguitar.com website features a wealth of stories about the guitar, its provenance and its performances.

28 | Digital Economy - a decade of success Digital Economy - a decade of success | 29 Notwithstanding the technical expertise required to create the printer, its real significance is in Fancy a the potential future use of the technology. According to Dr Hao, “What makes this technology special is that users are able to chocolate design and make their own products. In the long term it could be developed to help consumers custom-design many products from different materials – from jewellery to household goods. teapot? Eventually we may see many mass-produced products being replaced by unique designs A team of researchers at the University created by the customer. We also envisage of Exeter, led by Dr Liang Hao and consumers owning their own 3D printers.” Professor Irene Ng, have unveiled the The research has led to the formation of a world’s first chocolate 3D printer, using spin-out company, Choc Edge Ltd, which know-how that could revolutionise the has recorded international sales of its Choc retail industry. A YouTube video of the Creator V2 printer, as featured on US and UK printer has received over 750,000 hits. television, most recently Channel 4’s Gadget Man presented by Stephen Fry. Using ground-breaking digital technology, developed with the help of the Digital By combining developments in engineering with Economy Theme, the printer allows you the commercial potential of the digital economy, to create your own designs on a computer this research could open up new markets – and reproduce them physically in three- creating new jobs and, in the case of chocolate dimensional form – in chocolate. printing, creating sweet business opportunities.

30 | Digital Economy - a decade of success The Digital Economy Theme is responsible for investing public money to support research in the UK to rapidly realise the transformational impact of digital technologies on community life, cultural experiences, future society and the economy.

Digital Economy Theme UK Research and Innovation Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon, Wiltshire SN2 1FL

Published March 2019

Written & designed by Whole New Chapter Ltd.

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Cover image: Glenn Carstens-Peters