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Information and Communication Technologies

The sheer volume of data being created and used in the current business and industrial environments means that technologies that collect, generate, transmit, store, process, annotate, interpret and present data and information will become increasingly vital.  Meanwhile advances in sensing systems and electronics will rely on developments in such areas as novel materials and nanoelectronics, though their successful exploitation will also involve issues of security, reliability, trust and human-computer interfaces.  In turn developments in these areas will support advances in higher-end application areas such as design, simulation and modelling, collaboration technologies, tools and services, and embedded systems. 

In terms of industrial and academic capability to carry out this R&D, the UK is well-placed.  As well as providing an EU base for many non -EU multinationals, the UK has major players active in every aspect of ICT, including ARM, Autonomy, BT, Misys, Searchspace, Vodafone and many SMEs with specific innovative ICT technologies.  Furthermore, almost every HEI is active in ICT R&D; those playing a major role include Bristol, Cambridge (CMI) Imperial (telecare), Kin’s College (biometrics), Leeds (security), Oxford (imaging) Queen’s and Southampton (knowledge technologies).

Activity to Date

Knowledge Transfer Networks:
GRID computing

These instances exclude projects approved in other competitions where ICT is a key underpinning element in many of the projects eg Sensors (15 projects, £7m) and Imaging (£6.3m, 17 projects) in April and November 2004, respectively.

Successful Collaborative R&D Projects:

April 2004 - Inter-Enterprise Computing

November 2004 - Pervasive computing, Design Simulation and Modelling