CLEAR VISION

Clarity, a new research programme, is using futuristic and innovative technology to make life easier - with a lot of industry support.

A NEW RESEARCH programme is aiming to use the most complex technology to make everything much clearer.

Science Foundation Ireland's latest Centre for Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET), Clarity, is futuristic and exciting, but essentially geared towards meeting the needs of industry, technology and society as a whole.

And, far from being silent partners, many indigenous and international companies, as well as some state bodies, are getting involved right from the start with this groundbreaking programme of research.

The 90-strong team involved within the CSET will investigate the integration of sensor data from the physical world with sophisticated information processing and artificial intelligence techniques from computer science.

Having received €11.82 million from SFI, the industry contribution is a remarkable €4.64 million, and the portfolio of industry partners that Clarity is collaborating with is as diverse as it is impressive.

Through its research, the centre will collaborate with the following: IBM, Vodafone, Ericsson, Foster-Miller, ChangingWorlds, Fidelity Investments and Critical Path, as well as national agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Marine Institute and the National Museum of Ireland.

Prof Barry Smyth is director of the centre, based in its lead institution, University College Dublin (UCD).

"These partners are providing us with access to services, software and infrastructure that we normally wouldn't get access to," Smyth explains, adding that, unlike other research projects, the work of Clarity is focused on something that doesn't actually exist yet. "Clarity is focusing on the 'sensor web', which is very much brand new and completely innovative," he says.

Smyth admits that this sometimes makes it difficult to explain to people what exactly goes on within Clarity.

"You're asking people to understand a particular vision."

The sensor web essentially captures the intersection between two important research areas - adaptive sensing and information discovery.

"As new types of sensors become available, there will be a fantastic opportunity to read what's happening in the physical world. There is a whole host of companies either doing stuff in that space already but who perhaps didn't recognise where it could go, or else companies can engage with the vision we've mapped out," he explains.

Vodafone, for example, may not seem an obvious collaborator but, as Smyth explains, the ever-increasing pervasiveness of the mobile phone means that this new technology will allow them to tap into new markets.

"The mobile phone network and mobile phones as devices are a perfect platform for sensor deployment. Even an existing mobile phone contains a whole bunch of sensors," he says. Bluetooth sensors are an example, he adds.

"This is usually to connect to headsets so that we can talk when we are in the car, but in addition to that, a Bluetooth sensor can also tell you who is nearby, so it's like a social network. Mobile phone revenues aren't going to increase as networks become saturated with voice traffic, so the companies are looking for new data-based services, such as those provided by sensors."

Another area in which Smyth believes use of the sensor web could be integrated is in air quality.

"Imagine a simple pollen-detecting sensor that would measure the pollen count in a given area on a given day. If that was made available via a mobile, it could be used to build a picture of the real-time pollen count," he explains.

Weather services could provide much more accurate pollen information and hayfever sufferers could subscribe to receive updates based on their daily travels.

IBM are also closely involved with Clarity.What many people may not realise, Smyth says, is that IBM have a keen interest in the environment and have recently commenced environmental monitoring projects in the US.

"They recognise the environmental monitoring focus of Clarity as having the potential to provide new types of sensors and new analysis techniques."

Unsurprisingly, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Marine Institute are also interested in this aspect of Clarity's research and have pledged their involvement.

"This will start as a mixture of individual projects but will eventually come together in the service of a larger vision, which is large-scale, robust accurate environmental monitoring," explains Smyth.

According to Robert McCarthy, business development manager with IBM, multinationals are always seeking to aid companies and organisations investigating innovative ways to protect the quality of the environment.

"Coupled with industry adoption of open standards, this project is a superb opportunity for IBM to apply our wide experience of research," he says.

"The Clarity CSET is tapping into the Irish ecosystem to generate solutions that will not only add value to Ireland's knowledge economy through research, but also for the type of problems that are facing our generation."

As well as large multinationals, some indigenous SMEs have pledged time and money to Clarity.

ChangingWorlds is a key partner in Clarity and an Irish academic spin-off company that originated in UCD and now employs in the region of 130 people, with over 50 clients worldwide.

They work with mobile operators to produce personalised mobile internet programmes.

"ChangingWorlds is interested in how sensor technology will help service and application providers deliver more personal services," says Smyth.

Smyth explains that they are not only looking for financial investment but want the industry partners to be integrally involved in the work of Clarity.

"They are investing and sponsoring a number of PhD students, but what's really valuable to us is the fact that they are putting their own expensive staff either onsite in Clarity or allowing us to send researchers to them."

David Moran, chief executive officer of ChangingWorlds, says: "It's a very exciting area that will be very relevant for us in the long term."

ChangingWorlds already have a variety of projects underway but involvement with Clarity will allow them to expand both the volume and thoroughness of their research, explains Moran.

The origin of ChangingWorlds as a spin-off company means that they truly understand the benefits of academic industry collaboration, he adds.

"We are proof that there can be a high level of teamwork between academia and industry - and beyond the technical interaction, we are evidence that the end result of research can be successfully commercialised.

"It's worked for us in the past and we think it is going to be extremely successful in the future."