5 research projects that could change the world

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5 research projects that could change the world

Discover some of the ideas revealed at our research showcase

What do autonomous vehicles, cochlear implants and gut microbiomes have in common? They're all central to some of the ideas that were on display at Research Conversazione 2019, an event that gives our staff and students the platform to explain their ground-breaking research.

Research Conversazione 2019

Autonomous cars might be here before you know it

The idea of driverless cars roaring down any major motorway might seem scary, but did you know there are already autonomous vehicles driving around campus? Researchers at the , including , are applying semantic segmentation to the vehicle鈥檚 camera footage, so that the car can see obstacles and gauge distances in order to drive itself safely around campus. They鈥檙e using data to build up a bank of data that can then create a map of the environment to make self-driving cars a reality.

The Internet of Things will see us connected more than ever

The Internet of Things might seem confusing, but it simply refers to the idea that all the different 鈥榯hings鈥� in our lives 鈥� cars, fridges, phones and even clothing 鈥� are connected to the internet making them 鈥榮mart鈥�. But the internet is currently not nearly quick enough to handle this on a large scale 鈥� unless we pool resources. is working on a crowdsourced model that will allow us to share each other鈥檚 devices. Key to this is a trust management framework, so that this network is safe, secure, and ready for use by anyone and everyone!

What鈥檚 inside our gut might be affecting our entire body聽

More and more, we鈥檙e hearing that our gut microbiomes are crucial to our overall wellbeing 鈥� what we eat feeds us, but it also feeds our microbiomes. and other researchers from the are researching the effect of dietary fibre 鈥� basically, carbs 鈥� on our gut microbiomes. Once we know the effect, we鈥檒l be able to create healthier foods, full of the stuff that our microbiomes need to thrive. Their research will help inform us about what鈥檚 good for our gut, meaning that we can tailor our diets to support the health of our bodies.

Cochlear implants could be optimised for even better hearing聽

Cochlear implants allow those with impairments to regain hearing 鈥� a hugely beneficial invention. But they could be better 鈥� and that鈥檚 where comes in. By looking at the Output Signal to Noise Ratio, which predicts speech intelligibility, he can calculate how well people hear with their cochlear implants and improve each individual鈥檚 hearing by tweaking the implant configurations. This would mean that every individual implant can be tailored to the recipient鈥檚 needs, drastically improving the output of the implant. As Greg puts it, the question should not be 鈥楥an I hear?鈥� but 鈥楬ow well can I hear?鈥�

We could be getting Netflix recommendations in real time聽

It鈥檚 easy to take Netflix for granted 鈥� a library of television and film, all tailored to your viewing preferences. But the recommendations Netflix provides are based on weeks-old data. research looks at key-value stores 鈥� cloud-like systems that handle huge amounts of data 鈥� and aims to make them more efficient and able to handle far more data, so your Netflix could be updated within seconds. This would also allow supermarkets to receive daily reports on how much produce is being purchased, helping to improve stock estimates and reduce food waste.

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