A new interdisciplinary Research Hub to drive forward UK research in the Internet of Things (IoT) called PETRAS has been launched. The Hub is a consortium of nine leading universities led by UCL with Imperial College London, University of Oxford, University of Warwick, Lancaster University, University of Southampton, University of Surrey, University of Edinburgh and Cardiff University.
The Hub will draw in substantial support and leverage from over 47 partners from industry and the public sector. The project is part of IoTUK, an integrated £40 million, three-year, Government program that seeks to advance the UK’s global leadership in IoT and increase the adoption of high quality IoT technologies and services throughout businesses and the public sector.
Designed to help create and deliver real-world impact, the investment will support the Hub’s work over the next three years. The research will focus on the challenges associated with the IoT, including the various interactions, policy and governance, beliefs and behaviors between people and the IoT systems.
Funding for the Hub includes a £9.8 million grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) which will be boosted by partner contributions to approximately £23 million in total.
The PETRAS IoT Hub will focus on five themes:
- Privacy and trust (Lead Universities: Warwick, Oxford)
- Safety and security (Lead Universities: Imperial, Lancaster)
- Harnessing economic value (Lead Universities: Imperial, Oxford)
- Standards, governance and policy (Lead University: UCL)
- Adoption and acceptability (Lead Universities: Warwick, Lancaster)
Each theme has both a technical and a social science lead. The multidisciplinary nature of the PETRA IoT Hub’s work will enable research that aims to cause a step change in the way IoT systems are conceived, designed and implemented.
