Enterprise
Research and Technology Transfer
We believe that research and innovation is the key to development. With LJMU you can:
- harness new technology and facilities
- enhance the potential of new products
- gain a flexible approach to dealing with fluctuations in demand for research
The School currently has four Professors and supports over 50 PhD students working on a range of topics in the fields of Computing and Mathematical Sciences. As you can expect, with so many projects being completed each and every year, the School is in the very enviable position of being able to offer advanced technology solutions to public and private organisations seeking to capitalise on this technology.
The School has six research groups:
- Applied Artificial Intelligence
- Distributed Multimedia Systems and Security
- Distributed Software Engineering
- Information Systems
- Mathematics Education
- Neural Computation and Statistics
Academic staff are active in one or more of these groups.
Case Study: Unilever Corporate Research
The aim of this project was to develop a tool that could reach rural Indian consumers and optimise behaviour change by automatically learning and utilising the optimal mapping between consumers profiles and brand offerings.
As a result, iShakti was developed - a novel digital platform was designed to reach consumers in an adaptive two-way dialogue to build customer involvement and boost brand awareness. It is accessed via booths, installed in villages and operated by local entrepreneurs and provides information on key issues such as health, hygiene, legal matters, education, employment, agriculture, beauty and entertainment.
Central to the success of iShakti is the facility for personalised dialogue. Drawing on key concepts from the psychology of behaviour change and adaptive learning algorithms, the system continuously monitors click-stream data to infer the individual’s needs, habits and attitudes and to intelligently responds with tailored solutions – the system learns and remembers, empowering the user to become more independent in making critical decisions from healthcare to agricultural practices.
The main benefits to Unilever are brand awareness, promotional take-up, greater brand loyalty and consumer lock-ins.
This project was shortlisted for the prestigious 2006 Stockholm Challenge award.
Facilities
We also operate two research laboratories dedicated to research and technology transfer. These labs include research facilities for Information and Communications Security and Networked Appliances. We constantly update these facilities to ensure that we stay at the forefront of technological developments.
The School holds research funding from a number of national and international bodies including the DTI, EU and EPSRC to name a few. Our researchers and academic staff regularly publish articles and papers at national and international events and peer-reviewed international journals so you can be confident of the quality of our research. The School was given a 3a research rating in the 2002 Research Assessment Exercise which places it in the category of institutions whose research is of national quality and strategic importance.
We regularly host international conferences in these fields, examples include PGNet, GDTW and ACSF.
Examples of some of our recent research projects include:
- Decision support systems for medical informatics
- Intelligent networked vehicles
- In-vehicle telematics systems
- Network intrusion detection
- Novel payment schemes for peer-to-peer file sharing
- Semantic service discovery
- Wireless interoperability
Technology transfer is a key part of the School’s strategy for widening links with local and national industry. We would be happy to discuss how any of our current projects may be able to assist your Company now or in the future.
Commercial Successes
As part of our on-going research in digital forensics, the School developed an innovative solution called Forsigs. Forsigs uses a unique, patented signature analysis in the investigation of raw data for evidence of malicious or illegal images, resident or deleted on devices.
This innovative solution has evolved from partnership with leading academic researchers, law enforcement agencies and the commercial sector to meet the needs of today’s digital forensics investigations. Easily integrated into existing digital forensics investigatory architecture, Forsigs provides comprehensive, fast and accurate automated analysis of computerised data while protecting practitioners from the physiological burden of dealing with such material.
Forsigs has been successfully trialled with Merseyside Police High Tech Crime Unit.
Contact
For more information or to arrange a no-obligation discussion, contact either Professor Madjid Merabti on 0151 231 2284 or Professor Qi Shi on 0151 231 2489 or alternatively you can e-mail us.
