Research within the School is mostly focused within the Centre for Applied Internet Research (CAIR)...
Research within the School is mostly focused within the Centre for Applied Internet Research (CAIR).
The Centre has built up its activities considerably over the past five years. Significant outputs have been achieved over a whole range of activities, covering publications, grant winning, conference organisation, industrial engagement etc. In the past year, the Centre has benefited substantially by the appointment of a new senior lecturer with substantial research experience, and of an eminent visiting professor.
Significant achievements during the past year include the organization of a major international conference, the development of a large-scale EU-funded research project, the steady production of conference and academic journal publications, the setting up of a fully-equipped Usability Laboratory, and the establishment of a substantial new research base in wireless technologies - including radio frequency identification tagging (RFID).
In the Research Assessment Exercise 2008 the School performed extremely well with 90% of the research deemed to be at least of internationally recognized quality, with some of the research considered to be "world leading" (4*).
Overview of the Centre’s Activities
CAIR is one of the largest of the research centres within the University and has six sub-groups:
- Network Algorithms Group (NAG)
- Human-Computer Interaction Group (HCIG)
- Music Technologies Group (MTG)
- Games Research Development Team (GRDT)
- Imaging and Remote Sensing Group (IRSG)
- Wireless Systems Group (WSG)
From 2003-2008, CAIR members published over 250 papers (in journals/conferences sponsored by professional bodies and learned societies such as the BCS, IET, IEEE, ACM, etc.) and six books, hosted two international conferences and worked on projects totaling approximately £2M. CAIR is also part of the University of Plymouth CISNR Research Network, with the University of Applied Sciences, Darmstadt, Germany. Collaborative ties also exist with the Universities of Bradford and Edinburgh in the UK, Alcala de Henares and Zaragoza in Spain, Maryland and Reno in the USA and with La Sapienza University in Rome, Italy. Major recent research projects of the Centre include the following:
User-Interface Technologies for Assisted Living
With an expanding ageing population across the developed world, the requirements of the elderly and disabled are placing an ever-growing burden on governments and other bodies. The emphasis of this project is to use cutting-edge, emergent technologies to help elderly or disabled individuals lead longer independent lives, lowering the bar for hospitals to be able to release people back into their own homes to look after themselves. The work, supported in part by the European Commission’s Sixth Framework Programme "EASY LINE+" project, concentrates on kitchen appliances (white goods). Intelligent fridges, dishwashers, washing machines, cookers, etc. are being developed that will be much easier to use thanks to improved user-interfaces, remote control and a centralized intelligent ‘e-servant’ system, adapting to the user’s changing needs over time.
Multi-Band Balanced Antennas with Enhanced Stability and Performance for Mobile Handsets
The move toward worldwide wireless communication continues at remarkable pace, and the antenna element of the technology is crucial to its success. Various mobile antenna structures have found increasing attention, significant characteristics being small size and low cost. However, the characteristics also need to be optimized with respect to the antenna radiation patterns and the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) levels for compliance with international safety guidelines. A good candidate is to use balanced antennas to reduce the effect of the mobile antenna on the