The secure transfer of information is fundamental to society and business, protecting personal privacy, financial transactions, sensitive corporate data, and government services. However, this foundation is under threat from vulnerabilities of conventional cryptography that can be exploited by the emergence of quantum computers and AI.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) can protect data transmissions with guaranteed information theoretical security, by transmissions encoded in single photons across telecom optical fibre networks. Data encrypted with QKD is intrinsically immune from attacks by quantum computers or AI.
In this project, we will expand the capabilities of QKD networks, by integration of emerging cryptographic algorithms that are resistant to quantum computers, and by integration of systems communicating with entangled photons. The Entanglement Enhanced Quantum Integrated Network that we propose will deliver flexibility to operate with familiar yet quantum resistant cryptography, state of the art QKD, and entangled protocols to interface with emerging quantum computers and the quantum internet.
Based on quantum mechanics, which is our most fundamental description of the universe, quantum computers represent a boundary for what can be computed, simulated, and modelled. Yet down at this microscopic level, physical systems are fragile, unstable, and quickly degrade to produce our familiar and predictable classical world. Building hardware that avoids this quantum information loss, and which can instead grow and protect quantum information, is a defining challenge of our age. To meet this challenge, we need to build quantum operations that can rapidly detect and correct errors, and we need to be able to connect many quantum processing units together, so that we can scale up quantum computing power.
Duality's integrated photonics technology has been designed based on these needs. We have developed proprietary wafer-scale nanofabrication techniques that allow ultrafast quantum logic gates to be densely packed into photonic quantum information processing chips. Our In/Out coupling technology allows the low loss transmission of quantum states of light, which together with the University of Bristol's quantum router, supports multi-chip networking and modular architectures to scale up quantum computing power.
In this project, Duality will design, make and commission a photonic quantum processing unit (QPU) called VELOX-QP that serves as a quantum computing testbed, and as a building block for a future networked modular architecture for fault-tolerant quantum computing. VELOX-QP will support a range of different quantum algorithms operated by industrial end users, including Systems Engineers at the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), and quantum professionals such as computer scientists at the Digital Catapult who are interested in trialing quantum error correction techniques. VELOX-QP will be manufactured at Duality's Southampton nano-fabrication site, and assembled and operated at Duality's Bristol laboratories.
This project brings together a powerful combination of skills across hardware, quantum computing and communications, industrial systems engineering and applications. Duality has deep experience of full stack design and fabrication of photonic quantum hardware; CSA Catapult has valuable expertise in hardware testing and verification; BT and the University of Bristol's High Performance Networks group bring know-how in quantum networking hardware and infrastructure.
The end use cases brought by UKAEA and Digital Catapult will help to open up quantum computing hardware to a wider user base. Ultimately, the full utility of quantum computing will be discovered by connecting it with creative minds from industry to the arts, and that broad usage is a crucial motivator for the quantum computing testbed.
New security technologies based on quantum physics require work to ensure consistency and quality of the technology. The aim of this project is to establish a methodology for the assurance of quantum systems. Assurance enables trust in the performance of the technology, and ensures that technology meets requirements. Assurance is therefore essential when technology is used in critical systems, such as within health, the financial sector, or any service that people rely on. Assurance of the reliability and security of new computing and network technologies is an established area of research and expertise, but it needs to be updated to support the new quantum technologies. This requires building understanding between the cybersecurity sector, and the technologists and quantum cryptography researchers involved in building these new solutions.
This initiative unites UK Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) vendors Toshiba Research Europe and KETS Quantum, telecom operators (BT), National Physical Laboratory (NPL) experts specialising in quantum device testing and assurance, as well as traditional cybersecurity experts. Additionally, it draws upon the system engineering proficiency from the University of Loughborough, along with the expertise in modelling and verifying quantum and hybrid systems from NodeQ, Kings College London and Quentangle. End user HSBC provides insights into the real world cybersecurity requirements of a large financial organisation. Innovative aspects include trialling the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to build confidence in the models (such as models of attack), and comparing the insights with those obtained from a traditional review of the models by an expert team. This collaborative effort aims to seamlessly integrate quantum cryptography with practical cybersecurity, establishing a robust assurance framework tailored for UK QKD systems, in alignment with modern methods of assurance.
_All telecommunications systems, which transmit data from device to device, whether through optical fibre between continents or through the air between mobile phones and radio masts, fundamentally rely on 1\. carrier synchronisation, determining the frequency used to send the data (whether that be visible, microwaves, or radio waves), and 2\. clock synchronisation, determining the data transmission rate. Consequently, both types of synchronisation are critical to modern telecommunications system performance. Additionally, clock and carrier synchronisation is key to accurate time synchronisation - essential for synchronising the UK's critical national infrastructure (CNI), including power stations in the National Grid, our railways and our mobile and broadband networks._
_Our proposal aims to address a key issue impacting the UK's CNI: our CNI is currently clock synchronised by global satellite navigation systems (GNSSs), such as GPS and Galileo. This is a major vulnerability: synchronisation provided by GNSSs may be lost due to solar storms, cyberattacks, jamming or volcanic ash obstruction. An alternative is to distribute highly accurate clocks through our existing optical fibre infrastructure. However, this brings two major research challenges: 1\. scalability: a single highly accurate clock can currently only reach up to about 1000 endpoints, 2\. optical fibre variation: distribution of clocks through optical fibre introduces inaccuracy due to variation of the fibre medium due to e.g. temperature change. There is also a major commercial challenge: how to address research challenges 1 & 2 at low cost._
_To address these challenges, we propose using coupled optical frequency combs, which each output a 'comb' of light of different frequencies, all synchronised together. In this approach, thousands of comb frequencies from a central extremely high clock accuracy but expensive comb each synchronise a downstream inexpensive optical frequency comb through \>100 km optical fibre. These downstream optical frequency combs each have thousands of comb frequencies of their own, each of which clock synchronise an endpoint, allowing synchronisation of millions of endpoints from the central highly accurate frequency comb, addressing the scalability challenge. We address the optical fibre variation challenge by exploring new digital methods of measuring and compensating for the optical fibre medium variation. We address the cost challenge by exploring the miniaturisation of ultra-fast laser-based optical frequency combs. We would demonstrate our approach in a field trial optical fibre link between an extremely accurate optical frequency comb hosted by BT and low-cost ultra-fast laser-based frequency combs hosted at UCL and developed by Menhir Photonics._
As technology advances, self-driving vehicles will begin to appear on our roads, providing environmentally-friendly shuttle services that bring a number of benefits for passengers and society at large. To function effectively, the vehicles will require uninterrupted communications to ensure they maintain full awareness of the environment around them, to support their autonomous decision-making and to ensure absolute safety for the service as they travel along the different routes.
Today, it is difficult to provide these types of connections quickly and in a way that does not disrupt others as the new connectivity is deployed and other services are added. This project will address this by creating a 'plug-and-play' roadside connectivity solution allowing many different services, including self-driving shuttles and robotic and drone-based services to operate and maintain their connections wherever they go. We will also introduce other features that connect the vehicles with other road users, including drivers, scooter users and vulnerable pedestrians and with traffic lights and other road-side signals and sensors to ensure a totally integrated travel ecosystem that places safety at its heart.
Our solution will be used as part of a live, self-driving shuttle service in Milton Keynes that will carry passengers through the city to a range of destinations. The service will be a pilot for the Milton Keynes City Autotram, which will provide environmentally-friendly self-driving shuttle connections for the most popular routes across the city.
To deliver this vision, the project brings together world leaders in communications and self-driving, including Dell, Vodafone and Ohmio, who have safely deployed their self-driving vehicles in a range of global settings. The project has the full backing of Milton Keynes City Council and the project will be led by Smart City Consultancy who have successfully delivered multiple Smart City projects over many years.
The new world-leading connectivity product we will create will be designed, developed, produced and manufactured in the UK, and we intend to market and sell this on the global stage. We are committed to investing in a strong UK-based supply chain, that will strengthen the UK's position in these global markets, drive new exports and create new, local, high-skill, high-tech, high-value jobs in new and innovative technologies, building on the UK's well-established reputation as a leader in communications and automotive markets.
BT and Stratospheric Platforms Limited have come together with a vision of using an H2 HAPS platform to provide 5G cellular coverage over a wide area from a single aircraft.
Used for both private groups, such as disaster first responders and security oriented teams over sea or land, or the general population the project will investigate advanced antenna technology capable of being packaged for use on a HAPS platform and proving the performance required to service large numbers of end users from HAPS high operational altitudes.
Optimisation and constraint satisfaction problems are ubiquitous in industry, ranging from straightforward tasks such as arranging a timetable to exceptionally challenging ones such as laying out a telecommunications network or a high-performance integrated circuit. Problems like this are associated with the need to search over exponentially many potential solutions to find the best possible solution. Finding better solutions to optimisation problems could enable outcomes as diverse as reducing shipping costs for package deliveries and increasing the capacity of cellular networks. Yet these problems remain exceptionally challenging for standard computers, despite many years of effort from theorists and practitioners.
It has been known since the 1990s that quantum computers could solve optimisation problems significantly more quickly than standard computers. For example, Grover's famous quantum search algorithm can solve optimisation problems with a runtime that scales like the square root of the runtime of classical unstructured search. However, this approach and others for solving optimisation problems are suitable only for long-term, fault-tolerant quantum computing, raising the question of whether quantum computers can be applied to optimisation problems in the near future, enabling them to unlock the associated value.
In this project we will determine the potential for near-term gate-model quantum computing to solve optimisation problems. Project partner BT will identify problems, in particular in the domain of telecoms network optimisation, that are particularly suited to being solved by quantum computers. Project partner Phasecraft will design and implement quantum algorithms for these and related problems, which will be executed and evaluated on cutting-edge quantum hardware developed by project partner Rigetti. Commercial feasibility of the results of the project will be evaluated by comparing against leading classical approaches for solving optimisation problems.
Our work will build on the results of a previous InnovateUK funded feasibility study, which explored the potential for fault-tolerant quantum computers to solve optimisation problems relevant to telecom networks in the long term, but did not implement near-term algorithms on real hardware.
We will hold an innovation workshop targeted at leading organisations for whom optimisation problems are relevant to their businesses, to determine which problems are the most promising to be addressed by quantum computing and to present the results of the project. We expect that the project will deliver a quantum solution for solving optimisation problems, demonstrated on real quantum hardware, as well as a clear roadmap for applicability to real-world problems.
ORSAM seeks to address the critical national infrastructure challenge of delivering cost effective, resilient, distributed timing within the telecommunications core and mobile access networks that we all depend on to deliver the emergency service network, data centre access and interconnect, Industrial IoT, financial transactions and nearly all other forms of data access, video streaming and communications. Fundamentally the modern communications network is critically dependent on local, and network level timing and synchronisation.
Additive Manufacturing (AM), more commonly known as "3D printing", is a key emerging technology that can provide a step-change in the quest to make optomechanical devices lighter, less sensitive to their external environment and easier/cheaper to manufacture. AM allows the rapid, cost-effective manufacture of geometrically complex parts, featuring performance-enhancing structures that would be near impossible or extremely expensive and laborious to produce via conventional methods. So far, the application of AM within opto-mechanics has been extremely limited. Developing design methods and exploiting AM techniques for applications in optomechanical devices will be key to the future of the telecommunications and quantum industries.
The current state-of-the-art in AM optical reference cavities, developed by the University of Birmingham represents a convincing proof-of-principle of the applicability of AM within the TFS sector and the potential benefits it offers, showing that an optimised, vibration insensitive cavity suitable for manufacturing via AM can be designed, simulated and constructed from Invar. Project ORSAM aims to take this further and fully exploit the benefits of AM to produce resilient and lightweight optical references for use in critical infrastructure in remote locations outside of laboratory settings. Proving the efficacy of AM for optomechanical components will open a new market within the quantum sector and extend its application into other areas such as sensing, medical imaging and analytical equipment.
Our vision for the future of UK infrastructure encompasses fleets of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) powered by renewable energy to deliver more efficient applications and processes in high cost areas such as search and rescue and highway maintenance, whilst reducing the economic impact currently caused by interruptions such as road closures. Additionally, using UAS in such operations can significantly reduce their carbon footprint. This vision will be delivered by 2025 at scale.
The InDePTH project will investigate the use of autonomous drones to deliver this vision. The aircraft will be used to regularly survey wide infrastructure estates, including ports and highways, to create digital models and obtain detailed insight of these dynamic environments. InDePTH will utilise onboard sensing, data and image processing equipment to autonomous drones, currently available as drone-in-a-box (DIAB) solutions.
Current DIAB offerings include mission-tailored sensing equipment and minimal human input and supervision but lack end-to-end and real-time data analytics integration. DIAB solutions today require lengthy manual data offloading after missions, making real-time analytics impossible. Another constraint of current DIAB solutions is that data offloading is typically not fully integrated with analytics software, requiring the use of cloud-based data lakes.
The project aims at fast-tracking data transport while providing enhanced AI analytics near real-time. InDePTH will augment the drone data analytics using state-of-the-art machine learning (ML) algorithms developed by RoboK, creating optimised image processing aiming at modelling environments to a 3D digital twin. BT will provide secure and fast data transport equipment by exploring the use of fast and reliable 5G and fibre links to transmit DIAB data with low latency.
Three demonstrators will be developed to support critical use cases for Associated British Ports (ABP) and Kier Highways. Port and highway environments change rapidly due to constant movement of people ,vehicles and goods. For ports, two key use cases are identified: InDePTH will investigate the use of UAS to improve inventory management for ABP ports, focusing on vehicle inventory; furthermore, ABP will use drones in their off-shore surveillance and maritime operations in the second project demonstrator. Thirdly, in the highways area, InDePTH will look at deploying UAS to continuously assess the ground surface quality of highways, for Kier.
Our vision for the future of UK infrastructure encompasses fleets of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) powered by renewable energy to deliver more efficient applications and processes in high cost areas such as search and rescue and highway maintenance, whilst reducing the economic impact currently caused by interruptions such as road closures. Additionally, using UAS in such operations can significantly reduce their carbon footprint. This vision will be delivered by 2025 at scale.
The InDePTH project will investigate the use of autonomous drones to deliver this vision. The aircraft will be used to regularly survey wide infrastructure estates, including ports and highways, to create digital models and obtain detailed insight of these dynamic environments. InDePTH will utilise onboard sensing, data and image processing equipment to autonomous drones, currently available as drone-in-a-box (DIAB) solutions.
Current DIAB offerings include mission-tailored sensing equipment and minimal human input and supervision but lack end-to-end and real-time data analytics integration. DIAB solutions today require lengthy manual data offloading after missions, making real-time analytics impossible. Another constraint of current DIAB solutions is that data offloading is typically not fully integrated with analytics software, requiring the use of cloud-based data lakes.
The project aims at fast-tracking data transport while providing enhanced AI analytics near real-time. InDePTH will augment the drone data analytics using state-of-the-art machine learning (ML) algorithms developed by RoboK, creating optimised image processing aiming at modelling environments to a 3D digital twin. BT will provide secure and fast data transport equipment by exploring the use of fast and reliable 5G and fibre links to transmit DIAB data with low latency.
Three demonstrators will be developed to support critical use cases for Associated British Ports (ABP) and Kier Highways. Port and highway environments change rapidly due to constant movement of people ,vehicles and goods. For ports, two key use cases are identified: InDePTH will investigate the use of UAS to improve inventory management for ABP ports, focusing on vehicle inventory; furthermore, ABP will use drones in their off-shore surveillance and maritime operations in the second project demonstrator. Thirdly, in the highways area, InDePTH will look at deploying UAS to continuously assess the ground surface quality of highways, for Kier.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) facilitates the secure sharing of encryption keys using quantum technology. These keys can encrypt data for transmission over conventional fibre links across any distance, but QKD itself is limited over fibre to around 150km with current technology. Beyond this, 'trusted nodes' are required, but at major risk of creating security vulnerabilities. A number of dark fibre QKD networks are being built, including in the UK, but all are subject to this constraint. QKD through free space is less sensitive to distance. Thus, satellites provide the means for distributing keys across very large distances between end users spread across countries or continents - they are a facilitator of global QKD networks. Satellite components in QKD networks are being planned or researched in a number of countries. A consortium led by Arqit aims to establish the world's first commercial QKD satellite constellation. The first satellite is being built under contract with the European Space Agency, with further satellite already being developed.
This project aims to overcome important barriers to the adoption of QKD based infrastructure and services by government customers that will need accreditation. We will establish sector specific demonstrators of the service prior to satellite launch to support live end to end demonstrations, enabling customer integration to accelerate adoption; develop QKD optimised detectors to enhance performance of optical ground receivers whilst reducing cost; address operational security by performing practical side channel attacks on key elements of the system; and develop satellite specific QKD standards, supported by generating portable test equipment to support interoperability testing with other satellite QKD systems.
Data centres, and the networks and systems that surround them are the future work horse of digitised economies. The data processing that they provide is a well-known driver for economic growth, providing cutting edge storage and computing systems that increasingly underpin all aspects of business and society.
These data centres are huge system of systems, comprising thousands of components coming from a diverse, global supply chain. To account for the ever growing amount and complexity of data that needs to be processed these systems are becoming more complex and have started to incorporate novel chip sets within heterogeneous architectures to provide more efficient training of machine learning problems.
Quantum technologies, has long been described as the solution to the world's most challenging data problems. Quantum computing has the ability to significantly enhance our ability to process optimisation, machine learning and sorting problems which are beyond the reach of today's computers, and quantum communications provides the answer to ever-increasing challenges of security.
However, to date, very little activity has taken place to understand from a systems perspective how quantum technologies can integrate with existing data centres. Quantum computers and communications systems are often described in isolation, more or less at-odds with the direction of the industry for the last 50 years.
This misses the possibility for very significant near term value to be created with quantum/classical hybrid systems.
For the first time ever, this project seeks look at quantum technologies through the lens of the existing industry. It brings together experts in classical data centres and networking, quantum computing and quantum communications and will develop a blueprint for a quantum/classical hybrid data centre and a quantum internet.
Highly accurate atomic clocks have a broad and expanding range of vital applications and are used in many aspects of our daily lives. One well-known example is the GPS navigation system which depends on sub-microsecond accurate timing to provide both position and timing information. This information is used in communications systems, telecoms, finance and infrastructure applications, as well as a host of other less obvious places. However, satellite-based systems are vulnerable to external influence and attack. Consequently, many of these dependencies are now exposed, and action is required to make systems that depend on satellite-derived timing information more independent and robust.
Timing systems based on trapped ions can deliver significantly improved accuracy over currently available commercial systems. Clocks based on trapped ions will enable both backup and stand-alone systems to be built. Currently, these systems, which give accuracies of 10^-18, similar to an error of one second in the age of the universe, have only been demonstrated in research labs. Furthermore, due to their complexity, power consumption and environmental requirements, these systems are far from portable as well as being too expensive for widespread deployment.
The University of Sussex has developed a portable optical atomic reference based on trapped calcium ions probed by a "clock" laser pre-stabilised to a compact optical cavity and, in conjunction with an optical micro-comb, can turn the output of the system into a useable signal. Together these systems function as an atomic clock with the accuracy required to support future communications and infrastructure systems.
This project aims to improve and industrialise the current calcium ion clock design, reducing the size and weight of the system and ruggedise it by increasing subsystem integration. This will make it a much more useable product for many systems and should open up a new market for advanced timing devices with a wide range of applications.
A portable optical atomic clock system will be developed, and its integration in various applications explored with the combined efforts of the consortium, which comprises of:
* TMD Technologies, a leading company in quantum technology development, vacuum electronics and ruggedised electronics for defence applications;
* Covesion, experts in nonlinear optics and optical system development;
* Chronos Technology, a leader in timing and synchronisation equipment; and the University of Sussex,
* Leonardo, a leading system integrator;
* BT, a communications services provider focusing on high-speed optical networking technology;
* QinetiQ, a science and engineering company operating in the defence sector.
Precision timing is key to all aspects of modern infrastructure, from the national grid, to telecommunications, to financial trading, through to global, national, and individual navigation systems. In the case of telecommunications, a suitable timing network for synchronisation is crucial.
Optical atomic clocks, frequently referred to as "quantum clocks", can provide timing with unprecedented accuracy and stability with improvements of several orders of magnitude when compared to any currently available commercial clock. In order to harness the extreme accuracy and stability for timing and communication infrastructure, the output signal needs to be converted as loss-less as possible into signals commonly used in telecommunication networks.
To address this challenge, in IQ-CLIK, we investigate the performance of a clock-to-network interface in conjunction with a state-of-the art transportable optical atomic clock and a telecom fibre link of several kilometres of length. Additional modelling of sub-nanosecond quantum clock-assisted time dissemination will allows us to understand the scalability and costs involved in integrating such technology into national timing and communication infrastructure.
As 5G has approached the limit for network timing with current technology, a new approach is needed to meet future network applications. Hence, our project IQ-CLIK will help guiding the way to using optical atomic clocks in communication networks to provide improved network timing precision. Not only does our study explore the feasibility of quantum-supported network timing for beyond-5G networks in the long term, but it also provides the short to medium term benefits of precision timing links for a resilient critical national infrastructure. This way, the UK's immunity to the loss of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) due to unfavourable space weather or large-scale man-made interferences could be dramatically boosted.
TimeKeeper (TK) is a proposed overlay system for time synchronization that delivers nanosecond-scale precision. TK is designed to be secure, scalable, affordable & robust.
TK will deliver the time signal from a synchronized grandmaster clock (such as the atomic clocks provided by NPL) and distribute it across the entire UK using wired, fiberoptics and cellular infrastructure, and then finally extend it to the last mile via a wireless mesh network, using as little as a dedicated 1MHz bandwidth channel.
TK may use satellites to extend coverage to remote areas but is independent of GNSS and will be a viable time source in the event of localized GPS jamming, spoofing, or other larger outages. TK will work both indoors and outdoors in all GNSS-denied service areas and even in tunnels.
TK dovetails with existing investments in fiber, cable and 4G and 5G deployments. TK builds upon emerging open standards such as OpenRAN for cellular access points used in equipment made by Parallel Wireless UK and others.
TK has three components:
1) Authoritative Time Source (e.g., NPL atomic clock).
2) Wide Area Time Distribution Network (TDN). TDN may be wired using IEEE 1588 or white rabbit) that terminates in a cellular base station or cable modem or WiFi access point. The TK TDN may also use new wireless mechanisms to distribute the time signal over large areas.
3) XSN or Extensible Sync Network is a new portable and lightweight wireless mesh network that has sub-nanosecond time sync accuracy by using our HSN technology. XSN will extend the availability of precise time to the last mile and areas that do not have cellular coverage or GNSS-signals.
TK could be further leveraged to provide full Position, Navigation and Tracking (PNT) services to support mobility applications for UEs, IoT, cars and drones.
To help scale up the TK network, we imagine the XSN mesh devices are deployed in every emergency vehicle. For Example in an emergency scenario, as more vehicles arrive, the localized time signal coverage is improved geometrically using the self-organizing XSN mesh network.
XCelerate partners' goal is to take UTM systems out into the real world, by providing a repeatable framework that towns, cities and wider can follow in order to open up portions of the skies and enable suitable safe BVLOS operations, including highly automated (no-pilot-in-the-loop) scenarios.
Project XCelerate will be enabled by a network of existing and new technologies underpinned by Altitude Angel's proven GuardianUTM OS, incorporating existing air traffic management and communications systems and augmented by new technology, such as 5G, cyber secure Drone Remote ID as well as Drone Detection and Surveillance/Counter capability with the most advanced aviation infrastructure in Europe.
Through Future Flight, BT will leverage their market leading communications experience, network, and infrastructure to enable drones to have greater connectivity and lower latency for quicker transfer of high precision data. The use of 4G/5G as primary or backup infrastructure will ensure drones remain connected for greater situational awareness, positional accuracy, and collision avoidance. This is a key enabler to unlock drones to fly BVLOS operations.
To ensure location and position of drones is available at all times and to increase reliability, Project XCelerate will establish secondary systems including; Satellite (Galileo), 4G/5G networks as backup.
In presenting the Arrow Drone Zone (ADZ) , we will establish a repeatable pattern for safe automated BVLOS operations, with automated drones facilitated by an independent surveillance and tracking system (including surveillance by humans in-the-loop) for low level aircraft along with separation and deconfliction services via the UTM system to assure safe operation in a manner that is achievable now and fully scalable in line with the industry growth rate.
The ADZ points the way, going from concept to routine operations, by providing the physical and digital infrastructure necessary, coupled with complete concept of operations, to create 'automated drone zones' that are fully connected into aviation management systems and paradigms.
By bringing together BT's strength in connectivity and national assets (i.e. reliable, secure, high bandwidth, low-latency radio and fixed connectivity; digital and physical infrastructure), with leading partners including; Altitude Angels' experience in UTM and ADZ frameworks, combined with leading drone service providers HeroTech8 and Skyports, public acceptance researchers from Myriad - a collaborative team of recognised academic experts, cyber security provider Angoka and end user experts SkyBound Rescuer (Emergency Response) and Dronestream (NHS), we are powerfully placed to realise the world's first live commercial UTM. XCelerate will establish certainty to the regulator, public, and the drone industry on the scalability and safety of routine BVLOS flights.
Piccolo will offer foundational technology breakthroughs for the long-term evolution of mobile networks, including 5G and beyond, enabling those networks and their operators as well as new market entrants to support newly emerging applications and services -- and thus also foster broad innovation. As key technology, Piccolo will introduce an unprecedented blending of networking, computing and data storage capabilities in a uniform in-network computing architecture. This platform will allow flexible, easy, and impromptu instantiation of applications across network nodes, close to the user, by combining lambda functions using lightweight and secure virtualisation techniques. The instant and ephemeral nature of the Piccolo approach will nicely complement (and be able to interact with) the presently standardised mobile edge computing and its service creation model.
Piccolo will drive its development from two demanding use cases related to privacy-preserving data processing: 1) in the automotive domain for blending in-car and edge computing for data processing and control loops; and 2) in the area of Internet of Things for IoT vision processing and associated AI.
Piccolo will develop new solutions for in-network computing that remove known and emerging deficiencies of edge/fog computing. Our vision is that every node includes processing, storage and networking capabilities in an integral architecture. The technical focus is twofold: (1) Compute platforms for network and 3rd party functions addressing fast, lightweight, secure virtualisation and data plane isolation ; (2) Distributed systems to ensure the network is scalable, resilient and secure, and supporting the joint optimisation of compute, network, and storage resources.
Our objective is to create an Internet principle of "transparent in-network computing" that complements today's "transparent networking" and so enables a fresh dimension for permissionless innovation and growth.
Piccolo will deliver new technical concepts, architecture and mechanisms, underpinned by an understanding of the use cases for in-network computing. Those will be realised in (open) software systems, extensively evaluated in several use cases, and disseminated via software, (pre-)standardisation efforts, and, ultimately, enhanced products of the partners.
The fifth-generation of mobile network (5G) aims at transforming the role of wireless technology in society through providing ubiquitous connectivity and many other improvements. In the initial phase of 5G, coverage will only be available in certain areas in a number of large cities worldwide. Increasing the 5G footprint requires additional investments from the operators to deploy new antennas, add spectrum, and upgrade their existing infrastructure. Telcos hence need to look for efficiency and monetization opportunities, beyond simply providing connectivity. 5G through its inherent attributes is anticipated to create the potential for a host of new services, use-cases, business and revenue models. To achieve full monetization, 5G networks must embed new emerging technologies including edge caching, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) -- with the goal of generating actionable insights and maximizing key performance indicators (KPIs). Creating strong partnerships between telcos, vertical industries, and public agencies is the way forward to realise this.
AIMM is a collaborative research and development project involving BT, the largest fixed and mobile operator in the country, Vilicom, an SME specialising in wireless connectivity solutions, and leading research institutions in University of Bristol and Loughborough University. The objective of AIMM is to enhance the performance of mobile radio networks through utilization of AI techniques. Data regarding the distribution, radio channel conditions and service requirements of users will be accessed from the network. AI techniques will be employed to improve performance with existing antenna structures and radio network architectures by enabling better radio access network (RAN) management and optimisation. The value of new items of data that could be collected from both existing architectures and new techniques will also be assessed. The network data sets will also enable AI to unlock the true potential of large-scale antenna arrays (known as massive MIMO), deployed at a central location or distributed over an area, as an important commercial solution for 5G RAN and beyond. At all times, close attention will be paid to the appropriate use and sharing of data between network functions.
AIMM therefore addresses two aspects of AI for the 5G RAN and beyond: (1) using AI to optimise the performance of the air-interface and enable the practicable implementation of advanced antenna structures and (2) using AI to manage and optimise network parameters at the system level. AIMM intends to ensure that UK leads the innovation of the next phases of 5G telecoms networks and services.
Our vision for future soft fruit farming encompasses fleets of electric robotic and autonomous systems powered by renewable energy that pick, transport, pack fruit whilst gathering data to maximise yield, reduce waste and environmental impacts. Additionally, these technologies underpin industry sustainability by reducing sector reliance on low skilled labour, whilst upskilling the existing workforce. This vision can be delivered by 2025\. However, it's critical the underpinning technologies are demonstrated at scale. This secures a significant KE platform to empower transformation across UK and global supply chains.
Our project synthesises and demonstrates the outputs of multiple Innovate UK, Saga Robotics, University of Lincoln, Berry Garden Growers, H2020, UKRI-BBSRC, EPSRC and Research England funded research and innovation projects. It will be the largest known global demonstration of robotic and autonomous (RAS) technologies that fuse multiple application technologies (8) across a single farming system. These will drive resource (carbon, pesticide, water, waste) and labour (fruit picking, handling and logistics) productivity whilst underpinning the transition of one of UK's most vibrant agri food sectors (soft fruit) towards a carbon zero future. Robots will be deployed to optimise physical farm processes, in particular to transport and pick fruit, pack fruit , treat crops to reduce critical pests and diseases (UVC to eliminate powdery mildew / insect pests) and optimise spray use. In addition, they will control the virtual farm by collecting data to monitor crop and fruit growth. Data will be analysed using AI and machine learning technologies, pre-developed at Lincoln, to forecast fruit supply and optimise farm productivity. New insights will be gained in the application of robotic systems across large commercial farming systems, in particular fleet control, charging and logistics operations, optimisation of data processing resources (edge / cloud) and the telecommunications infra- structure required to dispatch large volumes of data. Target deliverables:
1\. Elimination of fossil fuel across all farm logistic operations.
2\. 90% reduction in fungicide use (by UVC) and intrinsic carbon cost.
3\. 30% reduction in packhouse labour,40% reduction in farm labour (plus intrinsic carbon costs associated with people movement etc).
4\. 15% increase in farm productivity (yield per m2) and intrinsic carbon gain.
5\. 20% reduction fruit waste, through accurate forecasting.
AirQKD establishes a UK ecosystem, from single-photon components to networked quantum systems, to protect short to mid-range communication in free space. In particular we carry out pilot demonstrations of the enabling infrastructure for quantum-secure 5G and autonomous and connected vehicles.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) facilitates the secure sharing of encryption keys using quantum technology. These keys can encrypt data for transmission over conventional fibre links across any distance, but QKD itself is limited over fibre to around 150km. Beyond this, 'trusted nodes' are required, but at major risk of creating security vulnerabilities. A number of fibre QKD networks are being built, including in the UK, but all are subject to this constraint. QKD through free space is less sensitive to distance. Thus, satellites provide the means for distributing keys across very large distances between end users spread across countries or continents - they are a facilitator of global QKD networks. Satellite components in QKD networks are being planned or researched in a number of countries. A consortium led by Arqit aims to establish the world's first commercial QKD satellite constellation. The first satellite is being build under contract with the European Space Agency, with a quantum payload being manufactured by European partners. There is an opportunity for the UK quantum technology industry to leapfrog other countries by creating a capability to manufacture the next generation of space QKD payloads here in the UK. The "Quantum Payload Factory" project will work with organisations across the UK to progress the state of the art of promising quantum communications technologies, understand their potential to enhance the performance of Arqit's global QKD system, validate their capabilities and technology readiness, engineer them to become "space ready" and develop an enhanced performance payload design that brings these new UK technologies into the second generation of Arqit satellites.
CAVs and the infrastructure within which they operate form a highly complex super-system. In addition to operating reliably and safely, this system must be resilient in the face of cyber threats.
International automotive cybersecurity standards (ISO/SAE 21434) and regulations (UNECE) are under development, which will specify requirements for cybersecurity throughout the vehicle lifecycle. However, while methods for cybersecurity engineering during development are maturing, rigorous methods to enable CAVs to be resilient in operation are at a much lower level of maturity.
There is significant risk of catastrophic failure moving from CAV demonstrations to mass deployment if new methods are not developed to detect, understand and react to emerging threats.
ResiCAV will respond to this challenge, building on the partners' preliminary groundwork to inform new operational requirements for resilience, assess their feasibility and identify further work to develop and operationalise them.
ResiCAV will:
explore the feasibility of the draft AESIN/UK Auto Council Cyber Resilience (CyRes) methodology by taking tools and techniques applied to static analysis of systems and applying them dynamically for real time monitoring/response and numerising and measuring the detect, monitor, act process so resilience will meet legal requirements expected of CAV systems;
develop requirements for a cybersecurity operations centre and end-to-end monitoring/response processes and extending the application of AI and data visualisation techniques. These will be aligned with emerging requirements in international standards and will be specified to supplement elements of the new operating methodology as they mature;
create specifications for new cybersecurity test facilities, including links, extensions and upgrades to existing UK CAV testbeds to support the development, verification and operationalisation of CyRes;
specify requirements for a Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence and distributed ecosystem to leverage UK capabilities in CyRes and validate and deliver the operations methodology. This will build on work already supported by Innovate UK and will include recommendations for the adaptation of assurance and certification schemes such as 5StarS and UNECE regulations to operational CyRes.
ResiCAV combines cross-sector expertise from automotive, cybersecurity, network operations, high performance computing, electronics hardware, and AI providing a solid intellectual foundation to address the technical and economic feasibility of achieving globally significant CyRes for CAVs throughout their operational lifetime.
i-TRACE innovates through the use of an ML and blockchain-based cybersecurity approach using enhanced gateways for IoT. It will tackle the challenge of securing constrained devices highly prevalent in IoT particularly in distributed and dispersed networks (utilities, transport, smart city etc). While reducing power use and enabling 'fit and forget' deployment these devices then lack the capacity to use typical security techniques such as signature-based approaches.
i-TRACE will implement an approach that introduces a device authentication/authorization mechanism. The gateway router will be able to regularly determine the identity of the devices and detect tampered devices. If a hacker introduces a malware/virus which might potentially corrupt the data which the sensor is sending to the GW router, it would be able to detect the device has been compromised. The data sent from the device will also be secured by using fairly lightweight encryption algorithm. The data will then make its way to the cloud server and be signed with a blockchain and stored in the secure data lake along with the provenance metadata. The end user will be able to read and detect the authenticity of the data whenever it needs by crosschecking the messages with the blockchain to obtain the ground truth. Since blockchain is immutable and tamper-proof, it is secure in principle and cannot be altered. This data will also be analysed by a ML system to run state-of-the-art threat analysis algorithms. This will identify & prioritise anomalies/outliers for action by security analysts.
i-TRACE will demonstrate its approach in a high social impact sector: the water industry. London is in the top 10 cities in the world most at risk of running out of freshwater. Our current use is 150 litres per person per day; to be sustainable, we need to reduce this to 118 litres. A third of this saving needs to come from more efficient use -- reducing consumption -- but while reducing the cost of water for households. i-TRACE will demonstrate its approach to enable a secure yet low-cost, long-life approach to smart water meters. This in turn will enable approaches to household behaviour change.
The i-TRACE Partnership includes relevant cross sector expertise to enable successful innovation delivery. Partners include: Cisco International Limited | Northumbrian Water Limited | BT plc | Senseon Tech Ltd | University of Warwick (Warwick Manufacturing Group).
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a well understood application of quantum technology and there are several metropolitan fibre networks already established for QKD services. However, key distribution is limited by absorption inside optical fibres which mean that transmissions over distances greater than about 150 km are impractical. Free space communications, though, does not suffer the same degree of attenuation and single photon communication with satellites orbiting the Earth at several hundred kilometres has been demonstrated. Satellites then, provide an ideal vehicle for distributing quantum key information across very large distances between end users spread across countries or continents. However, in order to benefit from the advances in satellite technology, a network of Optical Ground Receivers (OGRs) are required to receive and detect the photons carrying the key information. The UK, as a major player in the development of advanced optical & photonic technologies, is well positioned to address this future market for OGR. This project works with users to specify OGR requirements and prototypes and tests a QKD receiver, whilst designing and making plans for scaled manufacture in the UK.
Much of the cryptography we rely on everyday is based on the difficulty of certain mathematical operations, such as finding the prime factors of a very large integer. However, recent advances in quantum computing means that these difficult math problems might soon be solved efficiently, with a potentially serious impact upon our security and digital economy. This project will develop technologies for "quantum-safe" communications, which are not threatened by a quantum computer. It will combine efficient implementations of new quantum-resistant algorithms and techniques from quantum cryptography, which are immune to all advances in computing, including quantum computing. The project will build prototypes, test their security and demonstrate their benefits to end users.
CubeSats (< 10 kg nanosatellites, with dimensions 10-40 cm) offer an accepted cost-effective and rapidly deployed opportunity to provide both proof-of-concept to a wider market and for technology raising. They are also now part of the final service delivery in some markets disrupting the status quo; for example, in Earth Observation where CubeSats support the delivery of monthly < 5 m resolution imagery of global landmass. This feasibility study seeks to determine the extent to which the momentum and agility of the CubeSat marketplace and the progress made in overall performance can be applied and aligned to capitalise on the emergence of space-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). QKD offers a highly secure method for encryption key distribution critical to modern data systems security from financial transactions through the internet to military communications. In looking across technology demonstration through to service delivery opportunities for CubeSats, key concerns over mission assurance and quality of service achieveable will need to be addressed. As such, the work will bring together business needs and capabilities across stakeholders from telecoms providers, investors, mission architects and quantum technologists.
The quantum theory elaborated in the 20th century revolutionised the way we describe the world at the atomic scale. It told us that phenomena and measurements made on single particles can be completely unpredictable. Recently it has been realised that these effects could be very useful for generating the random numbers and secret keys that are needed in the cryptographic applications that protect IT systems and networks. This project is developing chip-based technologies for generating random numbers and keys and integrating them into demonstrator systems for secure communications. As these devices can be manufactured cheaply in large numbers, it will allow us to take these innovative new quantum technologies out of the lab and into everyday life.
This project will investigate the technical and business feasibility of exploiting quantum algorithms for optimised planning tasks, in close collaboration with key industry and academic partners. It aims to prove the technical feasibility of enhancing existing artificial intelligence (AI) planning techniques with quantum algorithms, either as fully quantum or hybrid solutions, combining both quantum and conventional computing methods. We will perform experiments to establish benchmarks for enhancing AI planning techniques with early quantum annealing algorithms, and then determine how they might be further enhanced with other universal quantum computing or 'circuit-model' approaches. In addition, this project will perform a market assessment for quantum-enhanced optimised planning solutions and determine the business feasibility of commercialising them for several markets, including telecoms network optimisation, distribution logistics and operational planning. This will help to stimulate wider interest with potential end-users and quantum computing vendors to develop optimisation tools for specific markets, and deliver potential major productivity gains for transport, logistics, energy and finance.
The goal of agricultural and farm management is to drive profitability and maintain welfare standards, particularly in relation to the Ruminant Livestock sector where three key variables determine optimisation- Production Yield, Cost and Risk Avoidance. This is particularly relevant for Young-stock where of the 2.5million calves born annually, 8% are born dead/die in 24hrs and a further 15% die in rearing, from diarrhoea and/or respiratory disease for young-stock leading to £80 M losses for the UK cattle industry.
YWare will provide an IoT (Internet of things)-based data collection solution, specifically developed for Young-Stock for accurate Animal Health and Welfare assessments to reduce and eliminate the cause of the current losses.
This proposal considers testing, evaluating and enhancing the performance of 5G Vehicle to Infrastructure communications in a vehicular environment and in particular in a motorway-speed scenario. 5G mmWave communications will be explored for high data rate delivery and a feasibility study to evaluate the technology for mobility will be performed. Using Road Side Units (RSUs) spaced regularly along the motorway or road, data rates in the order of gigabits per second are anticipated. To overcome the high path loss at mmWave frequencies, adaptive beamforming will be used to focus signals to and from the vehicle. The project will perform real world radio channel measurements leading to data trials using a suitable demonstration system.
Finding Infrastructure with Non-Destructive Imaging Technologies (FINDIT) is a collaborative project between RSK, Geomatrix, BT and the University of Birmingham (UoB) and will develop non-destructive geophysical methods to detect factors critical to the maintenance and development of subsurface infrastructure including telecoms, water and gas supply pipes. These factors include blockages, space limitations in ground congested with multiple services, and damage caused by ground collapse. Currently, geophysical sensors are used to detect the location of buried infrastructure, but no reliable method exists to detect these other critical aspects. FINDIT will address these challenges by using existing technologies in a novel way and developing new data processing approaches. If successful, this will provide the necessary tools to assess the condition of buried pipes and ducts and evaluate the capacity to install new buried infrastructure. This in turn will help maintain our buried assets, utilise any spare capacity and lead to more proactive asset management. Overall, this will reduce unplanned utility streetworks and support more cost effective maintenance, and make the roll-out of new buried infrasturcture critical to UK economic growth quicker and cheaper.
CityVerve is based around the large-scale deployment of technologies, where everyday objects can be
connected to a network in order to share data. This approach will demonstrate and evidence the benefits to
citizens’ through environmental improvements, economic opportunities, and the more efficient and effective
delivery of services such as transport, healthcare and energy. It will provide the ability to create new services
and operating models through the interoperability between transport, healthcare and energy systems. The
geographical focus of CityVerve will be Greater Manchester; a city region which has been at the forefront of the
city devolution agenda, in particular health and social care provision, leading the way in designing new ways of
delivering services and providing the blueprint for other cities in the UK and beyond. CityVerve will build on
these opportunities to provide a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform healthcare and other city
services around the needs of people, not only is this is an urgent priority for Greater Manchester, but a
challenge faced by many global cities.
This project will combine data sources based on Oxford City and its social and economic development requirements. The team comprises BT as lead partner, to provide advanced data analytics and visual software tool capabilities. The academic research partner is the world-leading Oxford Internet Institute, who will lead on new graph and network visualisation analysis. The end user is Oxford City Council, who have expressed a keen interest in the project outputs; as the city faces a number of very challenging constraints in the coming decade. Driven by economic growth, population increase, housing demand, and serious transport issues. The city must also balance intense demands from tourism, and social provision for its large student population. The project will aim to integrate a number of social, economic and transport related data streams in real-time to provide the city with a revolutionary viewpoint and perspective into its emerging challenges. This new capability will facilitate city planning, resource management, social-economic development, and reduced pollution/congestion from improved transport operations.
SIMPLIFAI - (pronounced simplify) - The project aims to address the challenges surrounding the complex interaction between environmental, social and economic aspects of urban transport movements. It will do this using advanced computing techniques to simplify the interaction between transport managers and users of transport networks. The study will build on state of the art transportation management systems and cutting edge research to produce a new form of transportation management to meet the urban transport challenges of the mid 21st Century.
The project is a business led collaborative research project with industry partners BT, Infohub and KAM Futures, with technical / academic expertise from The University of Huddersfield. The challenge owner is Transport for Greater Manchester. The project combines environmental data sets with the data collected by the local authority to increase the resilience, quality of life and economic performance of the urban area using new ways of reasoning with and combining data.
Small Business Research Initiative
Awaiting Public Project Summary
The BT MARS proposal seeks to create a cognitive AI platform that will read unstructured live data from multiple sources and automatically construct a smart inferencing model. This tool will then enable visualisation of the dynamics of the model and support complex ‘what-if’ scenario modelling processes. This is a challenging and high-level AI problem for any real-world system that has a realistic number of inputs and possible system states. BT and Bristol University will work collaboratively to deliver this radical new AI capability with application to enhance a broad range of UK industries. The resulting tools will help resolve complex and challenging issues around the identification of risks and performance issues in large-scale networked systems. The target application domains will be in Cyber Security and Supply Chain Logisitics.
The Internet of Things will enable the Transport and Logistics sector to become increasingly smart; Both in the way infrastructure is planned and managed and how individual users use relevant information in real-time; optimising their decision making. The data assets of the sector are complex and growing with many data consumers and data providers. These include both machine and people generated sources e.g. sensors, social media etc. The challenge is to create an environment where data providers have incentives to share data and application and service providers have access to it.
This project is focussed on analysing the commercial, technological and legal requirements for an environment where smart transport applications and business process improvement can be generated by exploiting a critical mass of diverse, real-time and historical data. The project will explore how to create an end-to-end value chain with a particular focus on identifying how to get started and determining which components are replicable in other sectors
The aim of this project is to build and test a wireless testbed network on the Isle of Bute, with a view to assessing the feasibility of using TV White Space spectrum as a means of providing broadband and associated services to rural communities.
The project involves six collaborating partners: Steepest Ascent Ltd (the Lead Participant), BT, BBC, Berg Design, Netpropagate, and the University of Strathclyde.
The first stage of the project is the installation of network infrastructure, comprising White Space radio links to individual trialist premises and a high-capacity microwave backhaul link to the mainland. Subsequent stages will involve technical testing and user experience surveys.
The project duration is 18 months (1st April 2011 - 30th September 2012).
BT are currently engaged in a £3M research programme termed Saturn, (Self-organising Adaptive Technology underlying Resilient Networks), led by BT, in collaboration with the UK Technology Strategy Board (TSB). The partners include Northrop Grumman Plc, Imperial College and Oxford University. The project was originally designed to look at advanced techniques for early detection & visualisation of cyber threats to the UK Critical national Infrastructure (CNI). However, in the past year the scope of the applications targeted for the platform have significantly increased.
Saturn has delivered significant breakthroughs in the areas of data gathering, integration, data fusion, and visualisation. It is based on novel Artificial Intelligence guided search and adaptive visualisation techniques, and technologies. Saturn’s abilities include multiple data inputs and data type processing, plus the ability to use advanced semantic data matching techniques. It is being developed to help analyse and visualise cyber attacks in our client’s networks and ICT systems.
It has also recently been applied to visualise and identify clusters of activity around cable thefts from BT sites, and to accelerate the response to this problem.
Contact Dr Robert Ghanea-Hercock for further details.
This project brings together end-users from several industrial sectors, IT service providers, enterprise software and hardware vendors and key e-Science researchers to overcome current limitations in IEC (Grid) infrastructure by building on the latest research. We will enable the two key elements of successful IEC-enabled virtual organisations: dynamic collaboration to achieve shared business goals, and dynamic provision and exploitation of services in a shared infrastructure with decentralised, autonomic management and commercial-grade security. The project will demonstrate this through well-chosen application scenarios from the finance and manufacturing sectors, covering the entire value chain including ICT providers, application vendors and end-users. The results will be widely disseminated to provide role models and best practice in exploiting IEC technology for business benefits.