Computing for the Future of the Planet

A gift from Google will help Computing for the Future of the Planet.

Computing has had an enormous impact on the way we live and work, and a natural extension is to harness its power to solve problems facing the planet, whether it’s energy consumption, pollution, congestion or sustainable living.

Professor Andy Hopper

In the first-ever round of Google Focused Research Awards, Professor Andy Hopper, Head of the Computer Laboratory, has been awarded funding towards Computing for the Future of the Planet, a research programme that has set its sights on what computing can do for the environment.

Explaining the ethos behind the research he leads, Professor Hopper said: ‘Computing has had an enormous impact on the way we live and work, and a natural extension is to harness its power to solve problems facing the planet, whether it’s energy consumption, pollution, congestion or sustainable living. Over the past five years, we have developed a strong interdisciplinary vision of a computer-based framework that will improve the way we live, and have been building and testing the deep-engineering technology needed to achieve it.’

Computing for the Future of the Planet has several goals: an optimal digital infrastructure, sensing and optimising with a global world model, reliably predicting and reacting to our environment, and digital alternatives to physical activities.

One research area under investigation is a personal energy meter that would enable individuals to calculate their energy use in real-time. Pulling information together from a variety of sources, the meter would calculate not only the energy being used directly by the user but also the shared energy use of, for example, the buildings they work in, public transport and even national overheads like healthcare.

Google has awarded a total of $5.7 million to 13 projects through their recent Research Awards scheme, with Cambridge being the only institution outside the USA to win funding. ‘Refreshingly, the gift from Google places no restrictions on the funded research,’ said Professor Hopper. ‘The nature of the award is simply to stimulate and accelerate the development of new ideas and practical solutions in these innovative areas.’

For more information, please contact Professor Andy Hopper (ah12@cam.ac.uk).


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