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Digital Manufacturing, Technologies and Healthcare

We have over thirty years experience in building partnerships that translate ground

breaking research into practical solutions to deliver innovative products and processes. This has been achieved through continually developing our expertise, ensuring we have the capabilities to deliver integrated research programmes through the use of digital technologies.

We have a range of global partners that value not only our ability to devise technological solutions to commercial need, but also our advice in how to manage the introduction of that technology and how to create and sustain the right set of technological skills.

By combining our research expertise with a multi-disciplinary approach, we provide businesses with the opportunity to engage in hi-tech research and development that has an economic impact and enables companies to grow. We are creating and exploiting opportunities from a digital age to design new products, services, processes and healthcare systems; to enhance online security; to understand customer behaviour; to capture heterogeneous data; and to develop data mining and process mining capabilities for quality and productivity improvement.

We are also transferring all of this valuable knowledge and expertise to our students. We are a leading worldwide centre for technology and business management studies, with UK and overseas centres. Collaborating with business, we have developed a focused programme based on real world scenarios that enables our students to succeed in a constantly changing global environment.

Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, KB, CBE Director of WMG, University of Warwick

Foreword

About WMG 4

Working with us 5

Introduction to WMG Digital 6

Digital Manufacturing

Product Evaluation Technologies 8

Experiential Engineering 10

Hybrids 12

Vehicle Energy Facility 13

Embedded Systems 14

Automation and Robotics 15

Digital Lifecycle Management 16

Simulation and Modelling 17

Digital Technologies

Visualisation 18

Digital Media and Innovation 19

E-business 20

E-security 21

Informatics and Virtual Reality 22

Digital Healthcare

Institute of Digital Healthcare 23

SME Knowledge Exchange 24

Education 25

International Digital Laboratory 26

Useful Information

Key Contacts 27

Contents

WMG is an academic department of the University of Warwick occupying a unique position between academia and industry.

Founded by Professor Lord Bhattacharyya in 1980 in order to reinvigorate UK manufacturing, our mission is to improve the competitiveness of companies through the application of value adding innovation, new technologies and skills deployment, bringing academic rigour to industrial and organisational practice. Today there are 300 staff working across four buildings at Warwick, we have education centres in six countries and an annual programme of £100m.

Our success over the past 30 years is the result of cutting-edge research and effective knowledge transfer, working with global companies such as Airbus, Arup, AstraZeneca, BAE Systems, GlaxoSmithKline, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Network Rail, Rolls-Royce, Siemens, TATA Motors European Technical Centre, TATA Steel and TVS to name but a few. Today we work with both global companies and SMEs across many sectors including automotive, aerospace and defence, digital, energy and utilities, food and drink, government, healthcare and pharmaceutical.

The strength of our expertise spans three capability areas: digital, materials and manufacturing, and operations and business management. Through applied cutting-edge research we collaborate with companies to produce innovative products and processes. They enjoy the rewards of commercial impact and company growth that working with us gives them.

We are a leading centre for world class management studies, offering unrivalled postgraduate and professional education programmes. Collaborating with over 500 UK companies, we have developed a focused programme based on real world scenarios that enables managers and leaders to succeed in a constantly changing global environment. Our programmes attract high calibre students who want to make an impact whether in technology management or as an entrepreneur. We have seen more than 24,000 individuals studying with us and over 6,000 Master’s degrees awarded. Our new International Doctorate Centre in High Value, Low Environmental Impact Manufacturing will train the future leaders of industry.

Being awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education 2009 was a tremendous honour and highlights that our philosophy of providing academic excellence with a clear business focus is a winning formula.

About WMG

www.wmg.warwick.ac.uk04

Working with us

We have built partnerships across a wide range of business sectors including automotive, aerospace, construction, defence, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, finance and ICT.

We believe in giving our people room to explore new ideas, the freedom to experiment, to build new partnerships, and to deliver innovative solutions to challenge real world problems. This is what makes a partnership with us so productive.

Companies today operate in a rapidly changing business environment that demands higher standards of operation, business efficiency and customer service. We offer tailored solutions through our research and education programmes to those companies who want to change how they do things, bring in new techniques or extend their capabilities.

ResearchWe find companies engage with us in a variety of research projects. You may need to resolve technical issues, develop new processes, expand capability through creative thought or take part in collaborative partnerships. Research collaborations usually begin with an initial meeting to establish the issues, followed by a detailed in-depth meeting with the appropriate academic(s). A work programme, dissemination method, timing plan and potential funding strategy are agreed before work commences.

There are a large variety of options for engagement ranging from funded research programmes through to doctorate studentships.

EducationBusinesses that want to release the potential of their talented people often choose to do so through one of our Professional and Executive Programmes. Entry requirements are flexible and participation results in an accredited qualification up to a Doctorate. Participants can learn alongside their peers from other well known global companies in our open programmes, or with their colleagues in bespoke courses specifically designed for their employer's requirements.

05www.wmg.warwick.ac.uk

Our approach to digital technology research enables our partners to work with experts on the development of new processes and products, or to exploit digital opportunities to enhance online security, capture information and to understand customer behaviour.

We have a long established reputation for improving business performance through a multi-disciplinary approach, bringing together experts to deliver innovative solutions through cutting edge research. Our own expertise extends across the automation of processes, product evaluation techniques, experiential engineering, hybrid and electric vehicles, embedded systems, digital lifecycle management, e-business, digital media, cyber security and digital healthcare.

Driven by research teams that draw on a wide range of backgrounds including engineering, physics, technology, psychology, business and medical expertise, and combining both industry and academic experience, we are delivering high impact solutions. Through our customer focused approach to research we engage with your customer base, exposing them to product simulations, giving you real life subjective analysis, which is invaluable

to new product development. Being at the forefront of future social, economic and technological development provides businesses with a competitive edge.

We attract a broad portfolio of funding from the Technology Strategy Board, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and industry to enable us to carry out our groundbreaking research.

Over the years our research expertise has successfully transferred across many sectors including healthcare, automotive, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, construction, creative industries and digital media. We offer the opportunity to collaborate and benefit from knowledge, expertise and skills that provide unrivalled application- driven research with first class results.

For a comprehensive view of our research, current staff, research students, publications and projects visit our website.

Professor Paul JenningsHead of Digital Technologies and Head of Experiential Engineering

Professor Mark WilliamsDeputy Head of Digital Technologies and Head of Product Evaluation Technologies Research Group

Introduction to WMG Digital

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Dr Ralf Speth, CEO Jaguar Land Rover commented on the Vehicle Energy Facility:

This new facility further strengthens WMG's applied

research credentials and we look forward to benefitting from the work undertaken there, especially in the incredibly complex area of significantly reducing vehicle emissions. There is also real potential for further advances in knowledge coming from supplier involvement which in turn generates additional research and results.

Dr Rick Robinson, Executive Architect, IBM UK Limited:

“IBM greatly values its relationship with academic

partners such as WMG; it helps us both to stay at the leading edge of the application of technology to new domains, delivering new value. A Smarter Cities, Smarter Transportation and Smarter Healthcare conference has led to a number of exciting collaborations between IBM and WMG through which we are exploring new technologies and solutions. WMG are a great source of imagination, expertise and technology and I expect to be working with them for a long time to come.”

Case Study

Through applied research projects with UK and international companies, we have developed technologies and methods for evaluating products during the new product development process.

To enable you to deliver better products, we use both subjective, user-centred techniques, and the latest metrology technologies, focusing on the customer's perception of quality.

We use both physical measurement and customer focused trialling in lab and simulated environments to optimise Human Machine Interface (HMI) concepts and technologies.

By correlating the qualitative customer preference data with quantitative physical characteristics, we can improve user experience and help create detailed design specifications for your suppliers to work to.

With the highest resolution 3D projection system in the UK, we can develop digital design review processes and help your company integrate this into your new product development processes. This includes the application of specialist visualisation and interaction software and hardware, and the human related aspects of digital reviews such as usability and confidence in decision making.

Our strong background in the field of metrology has enabled us to utilise and develop the latest measurement technologies and processes, allowing us to create methodologies for both measurement reporting and reverse engineering applications.

Product Evaluation Technologies


ProjectDeveloping the Next Generation of HMI for Intelligent Vehicles, using a Human Centred Methodology

ObjectiveTo help develop the next generation of HMI solutions to facilitate access to the high levels of information, features and functions available in intelligent vehicles

Collaboration PartnersJaguar and Land Rover, Bentley Motors, Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC), Autodesk, HoloVis International, Nikon Metrology, Nottingham University, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre (WIMRC)

ImpactThe project used a multi-disciplinary human centred approach to capture the voice of the customer and translate it into quantifiable standards and into the product itself. We worked with our partners to develop HMI solutions at different stages of the new product development process. The research included competitor benchmarking, concept evaluation, visualisation, supplier specifications development, new model launch and post market assessments.

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This was achieved using our visualisation and metrology centre and switch haptics laboratory, facilitating customer clinics, advanced statistical methods, driver performance evaluations and 3D visualisation.

As a result of the research, cars including the Jaguar XF, Land Rover Discovery Range Rover Sport, 2010 Range Rover and TATA Indica, have seen HMI solutions implemented into their design.

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We have laser scanning, computed tomography and robotic coordinate measurement systems within our metrology facility, which can help you to optimise your quality inspection processes through the application of appropriate technologies and methodologies.

Our expertise has been used extensively in the automotive industry, but has expanded into biomedical, aerospace and a range of other engineering disciplines.

Facilities and Equipment

A £5M Premium Vehicle Customer Interface Technologies Centre of Excellence facility which includes:

■ Climate controlled evaluation studio with controlled lighting for colour harmony assessment, and a flush mounted, twin column CNC coordinate measuring machine (CMM) with off-line programming capabilities

■ Portable optical CMM and manual measurement arm, for versatile on or off-site measurement and laser scanning

■ Up to 320kV Microfocus computed tomography (CT) x-ray scanner with approximate working volume of Ø 0.3m by 0.6m height, and Volume Graphics reconstruction software

■ Benchmark Touchstar switchgear

measurement equipment, capable of measuring force/torque vs displacement characteristics of conventional push switches and rotary controls

■ 4K resolution 3D rear projection wall (approx. 5m x 2.5m), with real-time head tracking capability

■ PC workstations running the major CAD software packages, including a full suite of Autodesk software, CT scan to FE mesh software (Simpleware) and point cloud/mesh to surface and/or solid model software (Geomagic and Rapidform)

The sound of a product or environment plays a significant role in determining whether a user’s experience is positive or not. Our aim has been to help designers and engineers optimise the subjective impression of sound.

Collaborators on sound quality projects have included Jaguar Land Rover, Brüel & Kjær, NoViSim and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire.

Through our sound quality projects, we have delivered novel target setting and prediction techniques for sound evaluations improved analysis and data presentation methods for performing

subjective evaluations using interactive simulation; methods for understanding on-road vehicle appraisals; and a new approach to the creation of positive soundscapes.

Our experience and broad knowledge base gives us a unique insight into how people’s subjective and emotional response to new products and environments can play a large part in their success. We know that these are much harder to quantify than more objective or functional qualities. To improve decision making throughout your product or environment development, we take a multi-disciplinary approach to the most effective and efficient capture, analysis and use of these varying experiences.

Our experiential expertise extends into healthcare, where we use design and psychology research methods to better understand users’ emotional reactions to the physical healthcare environment.

Our specialism is the involvement of patients and staff in the design process, and we apply participatory design processes such as co-design to empower people to drive forward design improvements. To improve design decision making by engineers, designers and architects we translate and present rich experiential data from patients and medical staff, in a form that can practically inform the design process of future healthcare environments and services.

Our expertise in automotive sound quality has inspired our research into the sound scapes of the built environment and healthcare environments.

Experiential Engineering


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Case Study Sound Quality

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■ Listening / Jury Room

■ Interactive Sound Room (16 speakers and 3 projectors) with 5.1, 7.1 or ambisonics reproduction

Full and desktop vehicle simulators

We are at the forefront of hybrid vehicle research providing guidance, technical know-how and research relating to hybrid vehicle design, development and new product introduction.

We have successfully developed a powertrain architecture simulation tool, WARPSTAR, and a cost analysis tool to allow rigorous comparison of eco-friendly and conventional vehicles.

Our research has seen us collaborate with companies in areas such as powertrain architecture, control optimisation strategies, secondary power source modelling and energy storage technologies. We are now learning how to rigorously treat real world driver behaviour during design optimisation.

Our leading edge powertrain Vehicle Energy Facility is capable of testing advanced hybrid vehicle concepts. This flexible facility provides integrated testing of hybrid powertrain components, which can facilitate your development of robust hybrid supervisory control strategies. It can be run as an integrated facility for testing of the whole powertrain or for individual component testing.

Hybrids

Case Study

ProjectSimulation of Hybrid Vehicle Architectures

ObjectiveTo provide ‘proof of concept’ work for selected hybrid vehicle architectures (component choice, layout and interconnections) in a particular application

Key PartnersJaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors European Technical Centre, Froude Hofmann, Claytex, Arup and Axon Automotive

ImpactOur simulation tools, developed jointly with our industry partners, have now been applied to real world challenges facing automotive manufacturers and suppliers, fleet users, consultants and test specialists. Over 40 companies have

now worked with us, and have received benefits including optimised powertrain design, improved supervisory control strategies and increased confidence in concept vehicle development and component sizing.


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Vehicle Energy Facility

The Vehicle Energy Facility (VEF) is a new state-of-the-art hybrid powertrain research facility providing unrivalled capabilities and flexibility for the testing and characterisation of hybrid powertrains, components and control systems.

The VEF supports research on hybrid architectures, as well as conventional and pure electric vehicle powertrains. It has been purpose-built for the whole spectrum of vehicle types from passenger cars through to heavy duty applications. It can be used by both research groups and industrial partners to perform research on all aspects of hybrid powertrain development.

Key features of the facility

■ Unique synchronised dual dynamometer architecture

■ Supports EV, HEV and conventional IC engine powertrain testing

■ Full legislative and real world/ user-defined drive cycle

■ Multiple engine fuelling options: Gasoline, Diesel, Ethanol and special Bio-fuels

■ Full gaseous and particulate exhaust emissions measurement

■ High power vehicle battery simulation and battery cycling

■ Simulation platforms for early lifecycle development and testing of virtual components and/or control strategies

■ Robot driver

Businesses wishing to find out more about the VEF and access to the facilities and expertise at the University of Warwick should contact Richard Seager via email [email protected]

The VEF is funded by Advantage West Midlands, the European Regional Development Fund and the University of Warwick as part of the Birmingham Science City initiative.


Case Study

Embedded Systems

We have a strong track record in delivering tools and techniques to design and validate the robustness of products. Our expertise and knowledge of complex systems, particularly embedded electronic systems, enables us to ensure the increasing complexity of your product does not undermine its robustness and reliability.

With the trend towards software control and networking within complex electrical and electronic systems, our expertise extends to a deep knowledge of automotive electronics, networking technologies, diagnostics, system modelling, advanced multi-domain physical modelling, advanced validation techniques and intelligent transportation systems.

You will benefit from our goal orientated approach which can bring your business benefits such as new validation processes that will improve the quality of your products, new simulation methods allowing faster product introduction and new training programmes designed to achieve immediate practical improvements.


■ Range of modelling and simulations toolsets including Matlab Simulink, Stateflow, Dymola and CarMaker

■ Two Lab Cars (complete vehicles electrical/electronic systems)

■ Hardware In Loop (HIL) automated test equipment – DSpace (Midsize/Autobox), add2, IPG X-Pack4

■ Network analysers (CAN, MOST, LIN, Flexray)

■ Rapid Prototype Controllers (dSpace, add2, PiShurlok, Prodrive, Movimento)

■ Diagnostic equipment

■ Battery test equipment

ProjectEvolutionary Validation of Complex Systems - Robustness Testing Against Low Voltage Transients

ObjectiveTo research and develop new test methods and techniques to detect anomalous and unintended behaviour in automotive electrical systems during low voltage transients

Collaboration PartnersJaguar Land Rover and add2 Ltd

ImpactJLR have been able to develop and release a new test specification titled "Immunity to Low Voltage Transients CI 265". The new regime will help ensure that faults are detected during the product development and testing phases of projects. This requirement is mandated for all suppliers of electronics systems to Jaguar and Land Rover and has already been implemented on all new Jaguar and Land Rover programmes including the new Jaguar XF and XJ and Range Rover models.

The development by WMG of proof of concept test equipment has led to add2 Ltd exploiting the research output in the form of a commercialised hardware and software solution to support the new test regime.

Add2 has also attracted much interest from other international OEMs and tier 1 suppliers, leading to new sales and customer base growth as well as interest from other industry sectors which have identified similar challenges.

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Case Study

Automation and Robotics

We have a proven track record of simplifying complex processes, developing an understanding of how they can be applied to zero defect manufacturing operations, to provide efficiencies in your production. By understanding how processes can go wrong and what can be controlled to prevent this, we can advise you on the most appropriate process for your business.

Our approach provides you with independent advice on the appropriateness of automation for your business. By applying academic rigour to a manufacturing problem we can develop a full understanding of your processes and allow optimised control. Our expertise in automated systems allows the production of proof of concept demonstrators, which can then be re-engineered into production solutions.

We have worked with many global companies in the automotive, pharmaceutical, aerospace and horticulture sectors. Our research is also taking robotics outside the factory and we are applying mobile robotics expertise to many diverse applications.


■ Comau 6-axis jointed robot with remote fibre (Ytterbium) laser welding

■ Comau 6-axis jointed robot with resistance spot welding gun

■ ABB 6-axis jointed robot with cold metal transfer (CMT) welding gun

■ “Giraffe” remote tele-operated mobile conferencing device for virtual presence applications

■ Prototype mobile (aerial and ground) search robots

ProjectSilicon Hose Overwrapping Process Automation

ObjectiveTo automate the production of high quality silicon hoses for high performance engines

Collaboration PartnerSFS Performance

ImpactThis is the first fully automated system now installed at SFS. The company has seen product quality improved which is giving an aesthetically better product. The production time for overwrapping has been reduced by a factor of eight. The cost of production has been reduced and manpower re-deployed to allow increased production. The lead time from order to delivery has also been reduced.

Having an automated system has strategically moved the company away from its competitors by becoming a high tech player that can respond rapidly to customer orders and produce higher quality products at a similar price.

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Our research focuses on the development of the closed-loop lifecycle framework. We deliver a strong emphasis on modelling, analysis and improvement of industrial and healthcare system quality and productivity by integrating data mining and process mining approaches.

Many sectors have benefited from our research including automotive, consumer goods, healthcare, aerospace and shipbuilding.

Through our knowledge and expertise in closed-loop lifecycle for industrial production systems, we can integrate product and manufacturing system

design information (CAD/CAM) with statistical analysis of heterogeneous data from all lifecycle phases. We can support you in the early introduction and ramp-up of new processes. Our philosophy is to fundamentally change the current trial-and-error approach to a systematic math-based system, incorporating station configuration, optimisation and control, as well as root cause analysis of six-sigma faults in manufacturing and No-Fault-Found failures in service.

Our novel dimensional management methodology, Stream-of-Variation (SOVA), is a widely applicable simulation system. You can use this to model, analyse, predict and optimise dimensional performance of multi-stage manufacturing processes that require accurate part alignment to improve production and product quality. This has been used by several automotive manufacturers worldwide, including General Motors and Chrysler.

We have developed a unique root cause analysis approach for the No-Fault-Found phenomena, which can help you to eliminate product service failures such as warranty failure and recalls.

In healthcare systems engineering, we offer effective solutions for next generation system quality and productivity improvement. Our Pathway Variation Analysis (PVA) methodologies and technologies model, analyse, monitor and conduct root cause analysis for whole system improvements that directly benefit patient care, while simultaneously improving service quality and system productivity. Our interdisciplinary approaches integrate service system modelling, decision-making and industrial engineering (operations research/ simulations).

Digital Lifecycle Management


Case Study

ProjectHealthcare Pathway Variation Analysis (PVA) for Integrated Stroke Care Services

ObjectiveTo develop next generation analytics for evidence-based stroke care services by reducing acute stroke patients diverting from the stroke pathway

Collaboration PartnersGE Healthcare, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, EPSRC and RCUK

ImpactThe project has led the hospital to meet the UK Department of Health stroke programme target for the first time since it was mandated in 2008.

Implementation of PVA methodology led to redesign and optimisation of clinical decision-making sequences and priorities for the rapid detection of strokes in Emergency Departments. This improved decision-making process was integrated with bed capacity

optimisation which led to increasing hyper-acute stroke unit capacity by 50% and merging it with the stroke ward to manage variations in patient flow.

The results of the PVA methodologies have led to several journal papers and patents and have wider applications for the effective management of care for patients with long-term conditions and improvements for healthcare service delivery systems.

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Our experience is in the analysis and re-engineering of manufacturing/service systems and of engineering processes, developing computer models to capture and study their behaviour.

With our research and development programmes and our expertise in a range of modelling tools and techniques, we can help you to analyse your processes and provide innovative solutions to improve their efficiency.

Through complexity analysis we can help you to study operational complexity arising from high levels of product variety. We can also explore ways to control costs while meeting market expectation for customised products. We have developed a complexity cost analysis model for the evaluation of alternative strategies.

Our research on analysis and characterisation of cosmetic surface defects in automotive body panels can assist you during product development in the prediction of their occurrence and investigating ways of eliminating/ minimising them in manufacture.

We can help you to simulate and analyse material and information flow in your organisation to improve the design of your manufacturing/service system for efficiency and responsiveness. We can also help you with the analysis of your digital manufacturing requirements.

We have worked with a large number of sectors including automotive, construction and health. Learning across different sectors is an important theme in our work, transferring innovative ideas from one industry to another.


Case Study

Simulation and Modelling

Project Complexity Management

ObjectiveTo optimise profit for key features within the total product offer of an automotive vehicle, while meeting market expectation for personal choice from a premium brand manufacturer

Collaboration PartnerJaguar Land Rover

ImpactThe project used the analysis tools, techniques and framework we have developed. The complexity cost analysis model provided the basis for evaluation of alternative strategies. We undertook, in conjunction with a JLR vehicle programme team, an analysis of their product portfolio and examined alternative strategies.

Project impacts included a new strategy for the variety of wheels and tyres; decreasing the process costs for headliner but giving the customer more choice;

rationalising the specification of mirrors across the entire product range; and rationalising the number of variants coming into one plant to enable late configuration.

A structured process of investigating sales patterns, pricing, supply chain capabilities, implementation costs and competitor benchmarking, combined with detailed analysis as appropriate, has led to potentially significant savings of over £25m per annum.

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Visualisation


Case Study

ProjectHigh Dynamic Range (HDR) Imaging for Medical Applications

ObjectiveTo develop compression techniques to capture and display real world lighting

Collaboration PartnersgoHDR Ltd and Heartlands Hospital Medical Media unit

ImpactThe hospital were able to film thoracic surgery with all the detail from the dark body cavity to the bright reflections on the metallic medical instruments captured and displayed with no over or under exposed areas in the footage.

The techniques developed will enable hospitals to record medical procedures in full detail for future training purposes.

In addition, the ability to capture and display real-world lighting is likely to have major implications for a range of other imaging applications, for example the ability to see more clearly a football when it is kicked from the shadow of the stadium into sunshine.

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Our research uses novel techniques to deliver high-fidelity, multi-sensory real virtuality to provide a high degree of confidence in hypothesis testing within digital environments for industry and consumer markets.

Through our expertise we can assist you in exploring the technical challenges in computing real virtuality such as the capture, storing, transmitting and delivery of real world sensory data, including lighting, audio, smell, feel and even taste.

By understanding how the human senses interact we are able to substantially reduce the amount of computation required to deliver complex virtual environments in a highly authentic manner.

The improved computational performance will allow you to rapidly develop, test, and indeed experience, products in virtual environments with a high degree of accuracy.

To date our research has spanned a number of sectors including healthcare, building design, cultural heritage and serious gaming.

Case Study

Our core expertise is in the design of new digital media services from vision, to strategy, to roll out. Digital media is both the platform and content, both narrative media production and social media as well as the growing area of open data and data visualisation.

With digital media innovation expertise from the BBC, Independent TV sectors and a network of futurologists, innovators and company partnerships, we can explore applications and digital services so that you can take advantage of future social, economic, technological and policy development.

Our research will provide you with a number of wider social benefits that internet based technologies give to engage with your customers. Our expertise, in collaboration with other research areas, spans all sectors including design, education, health, IT, manufacturing, and media.

We can assist in the creation of demonstrators and prototypes as well as provide development support, user experience analysis, hands-on training, an understanding of product and market opportunities enabled by the convergence of the web, mobile and broadcast technologies, and the interactivity this enables.


Digital Media and Innovation

ProjectNHS Local

Objective To win, produce and deliver a new internet and mobile-based public digital health service for the West Midlands

Collaboration PartnersWarwick Medical School, Maverick Digital, Brightcove, Digital Public, Illumina and Essential Research

Impact At the procurement stage our contribution was critical to the success of the bid and we form part of the overall delivery team of the service as a whole. But we also deliver bespoke user experience research as a work-stream and the service delivery is based on iterative development and design. This means that research underpins each new development and stage of the service as new understanding is fed into the iterative design (or phases of rollout).

The first period of user experience research has yielded insights that are now being incorporated into the second phase of the project in a redesign. The impact of our field of research could not be more significant to this phase of the project. Our research delivers understanding of internet and mobile consumer behaviour when it comes to health needs, as well as the needs of the staff when it comes to embedding this form of service into the cultures of media production and NHS commissioning and delivery.


E-business is not just about buying and selling, it is also about changing your business/industry, through better customer research, relationship building, product development, access to new markets, engaging customers and staff, and about finding and exploiting new opportunities. The e-business channel is usually the lowest cost channel for businesses to engage, design and deliver.

Our international experience with World Bank agencies, the Commonwealth and individual countries across e-business enables us to advise on the best use of the technology and the tools available to make a real difference to creating your business success. Current research on e-business models, e-marketplaces, smart supply chains, cloud applications for SMEs, designing and creating ontology to build smarter systems, can help you build a lower cost, smarter business.

Via our collaborative B2B marketplace cloud, used by over 10,000 businesses, we can help you to promote what you do, to find new opportunities, find new reliable partners to help you address the opportunities and to then undertake that work.

Our expertise will assist you in considering how collaborative supply networks and technology can be used to enable your company to change its approach to business.

Our collaborative research with IBM on methods and techniques to find and grab information, structure and semantically analyse it, and present it in engaging ways, is of emerging importance in the drive for smarter regions, cities, supply chains and businesses.

E-business


Case Study

ProjectWest Midlands Collaborative Commerce Marketplace (WMCCM)

ObjectiveTo improve the survival and growth prospects of Engineering SMEs in the West Midlands

Collaboration PartnersGovernment Office for the West Midlands, Scientia and 300 Engineering SMEs

ImpactBased on the real needs of SMEs a new type of IT architecture was designed, tested and implemented. Companies are using the application to promote their capabilities, seek new opportunities and partners, work within online collaboration spaces and monitor the delivery of their product or service.

The project has over 10,000 registered company members and to date has supported over 100 new start-up

businesses. WMCCM members win on average £4 billion of work per year. Over 30 other agencies use the system to help deliver their services.

The World Bank agency InfoDev who advise countries on business development, use WMCCM as a case study in their training material for Business Incubator managers. It is the only purely Virtual Business Incubator in the world.

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Our strong background in e-security gives us a unique insight into delivering solutions for securing the digital environments of tomorrow.

We are focused on high impact results that are uncompromising in both technical standards and relevance to the challenges your company faces, and which provide significant benefits in the short, medium and long term.

By understanding your needs we can assess the gaps in capability and the key drivers, which will require development in order to deliver security solutions. We consider the effective management of existing systems to deliver real cost benefits to your company, the threats and vulnerabilities you face and any resulting exposure to risk, and the innovation of new technologies and methodologies where significant gaps exist.

Whether you are looking for blue-sky research or applied research and development, we can assist in delivering innovative solutions to your e-security challenges.

Due to the nature of our research, activities can be carried out in the strictest confidence and we would seek to draw up disclosure policies as appropriate.

E-security


Cybersecurity increasingly pervades every part of global business and modern society. All organisations with digital assets require the presence of people who can see the breadth of the security challenge and the possible solutions. WMG’s e-security research group has developed a new MSc course for students wishing to develop a career as a cybersecurity professional or to take a leading technical or managerial role in an

organisation critically dependent upon data and information communication technology.

The new course aims to provide an advanced understanding of managing cybersecurity within the organisation. Students learn the techniques and technologies used in enterprise security architectures and cover key areas of information risk management and

network defence, as well as learning the broad skills of management and leadership.

Our cybersecurity students also have the opportunity to pursue projects in collaboration with industry and which engage with the group’s research.

Case Study MSc in Cybersecurity and Management

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Our aim was to develop and investigate effectiveness of Virtual Reality Based Virtual Product Evaluation.

Collaboration partners have included EU FP6 funded I*PROMS NoE, University of Newcastle and Technical University of Clausthal (Germany).

Virtual Product Evaluation allows product developers to test the virtual functional prototypes with potential end users in a very cost effective manner. This allows understanding of users’ interactions, perception, behaviour and emotions towards the prototype, thus leading to an enhanced chance of product acceptance. No physical manufacturing is required for the virtual functional prototypes, hence

savings in raw materials and resources required in processing the product prototype. Typically, several physical prototypes would be distributed to various potential users for evaluation; all the costs for this are savings with the virtual functional prototypes.

Case Study Virtual Reality Based Virtual Product Evaluation

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Our focus is on augmenting and extending everyday learning and work activities with interactive technologies that move ‘beyond the desktop’. We can assist you in designing enhanced user experiences through appropriating and assembling a diverse range of technologies including haptic interfaces, handheld and pervasive computing.

We use the design and integration of digital representations that are presented via technology to support social and cognitive activities in ways that extend current capabilities.

Through our specialist expertise in informatics we can develop powerful computational resources to enable sophisticated modelling, visualisation and the storage of large volumes of data. This can assist in developing efficient processes, or to understand how disease might affect populations. By developing and using techniques to extract information, knowledge and wisdom from raw data we can help you to make informed decisions.

We can develop methods for you to visualise and interact with complex data sets in various forms ranging from visual only to multimodal and multisensory. This can be done through generating 3D data sets as well interacting with haptics (sense of touch).

Informatics and Virtual Reality


The Enabling Health, Independence and Wellbeing for Psychiatric Patients through Personalised Ambient Monitoring (PAM) project was to allow patients to select off-the-shelf technology that will monitor their behaviour patterns.

Collaboration partners included EPSRC, University of Southampton, University of Nottingham and University of Stirling.

PAM allows patients to select off-the-shelf technology that will monitor their ‘activity signatures’; measurements of behavioural patterns which indicate people’s mental health state. PAM uses a set of multiple discreet sensors in a person’s home, coupled to a computer system programmed to detect changes in activity signatures. These can then be used to issue automatic alerts to the patient, their family or their doctor, to avert debilitating episodes.

Through the PAM pre-prototype, we can deliver an evaluation of ambient monitoring in a mental healthcare context. This also supports an improved health, independence and wellbeing status for our patient group, and can be extended to a wider patient group within the context of independent living. In addition, we hope to achieve an improved concordance with medication and a better understanding of the drug(s) in use.

Case Study Personalised Ambient Monitoring

Digital H

ealthcare

Our approach to digital healthcare builds on our expertise in the design, development and evaluation of healthcare technology, e-health based services, informatics and virtual reality. Our research directly exploits technological advances for the healthcare sector.

We have invested in a five year, £4m programme with NHS West Midlands and Warwick Medical School which aims to improve people’s health and wellbeing through the development, evaluation and use of innovative digital technologies, and services based on them.

We will be working with all providers in the healthcare sector to incubate or carry out research and development that will enable healthcare practitioners to make a real difference to people's lives.

We can assist in the development of technological innovations such as biomedical signal and pattern processing techniques for use in advancing healthcare and promoting wellbeing. Our extensive knowledge of neural engineering enables us to analyse the electromagnetic activity of the human brain and to undertake research and development into Brain-Computer Interfacing technology.

Our expertise in the use and evaluation of digital technologies to promote self care provides you with an opportunity to explore the use of these innovative technologies and approaches.

Our strong background in healthcare informatics and healthcare virtual reality enables us to understand and extend the theory of data capture, extraction of information and its transformation into useful knowledge. Our current research focus is on innovative applications of ICT for healthcare improvements through business process re-engineering and re-design of healthcare processes and services. Projects include e-health uptake issues, remote patient monitoring, virtual breast, virtual surgery and home-based computer assisted rehabilitation environment for patients.

Institute of Digital Healthcare


SME Knowledge Exchange

go.warwick.ac.uk/wmgdigital

Our dedicated SME Knowledge Exchange programme is designed to enable innovation in your small business and bring user focused products to market. We offer expertise in a wide range of digital technologies to bring you competitive advantage whatever your sector.

The Knowledge Exchange team comprises experts in digital manufacturing, digital healthcare and web technologies.

Our knowledge is backed by the world renowned research teams who work within WMG Digital. If you are a small business located in the West Midlands, to help your business innovate in this digital world, you can use our knowledge transfer services to explore emerging technologies and access our wealth of expertise.

Our demonstrator workshops and master classes will help you identify opportunities for new products and processes within your organisation. You can also access new skills through our MSc students, who can undertake a project with your company.

There is the opportunity to form a partnership with our academics via programmes such as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships to improve competitiveness and performance.

We can also get you directly involved in our research by helping you identify grant funding streams, develop proposals and enable collaborative research and development projects.

Case Study

ProjectSeventh Framework Programme (FP7)examining the Application of Robotic Laser Welding

ObjectiveCreating competitive advantage for EnginSoft by driving and supporting innovation

Collaboration PartnersEnginSoft (a Computer Aided Engineering and Virtual Prototyping company based at the University of Warwick Science Park), Computer and Automation Research Institute (Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Politecnico di Milano, University of Patras

(Greece), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland), University of Molise (Italy), Jaguar Land Rover, Stadco, Comau, Precitec and Quotec Ltd

ImpactInitially EnginSoft engaged with the SME programme through a workshop held in the International Digital Laboratory and went on to collaborate with WMG as part of a European FP7 research project. Working closely with WMG’s Professor Darek Ceglarek, EnginSoft and partners will examine the use of robotic laser welding (RLW) in a wide range of industries and products. EnginSoft has secured €250,000 through the project to develop

design of experiment (DOE) algorithms, using its CAE software to realise an RLW fixture and is designing RLW Process Navigator software.

In addition to collaborating on the FP7 project, EnginSoft has made use of the International Digital Laboratory’s conference facilities to host their own workshops. Through the SME programme, EnginSoft has also been able to access placement schemes and go on to recruit graduates and safeguard jobs within the organisation. To date, assistance from the SME programme has brought in over £500,000 of sales to EnginSoft.


Education


We are proud to offer education programmes that range from taught Master's degrees through to doctoral research degrees, providing an understanding of the bigger picture with industry and business to introduce new thinking. By participating in our programmes you will become a change agent giving value to your business and raising the bar for management of UKand global companies.

Professional and Executive ProgrammesOur part-time programmes can really make a difference between middle management and inspirational leadership in technology based organisations. They are founded on industrial and business relevance, having been developed in close collaboration with partner companies and are taught by lecturers who have significant industry experience. The ability to select from a large pool of modules, to start a course at any time of the year and to take breaks in the education path to suit career moves, all add to the high level of flexibility that we offer. The networking opportunity that is brought into the classroom is also another major benefit.

Research DegreesWe offer the opportunity to combine doctoral-level education with industrial relevance. We are globally renowned for our success in combining both innovative technology and business needs to develop programmes that benefit both the individual and company. Challenging accepted norms and inspiring innovation provides the opportunity to find solutions to real world problems and apply them to give a competitive edge.

We offer two types of degree; International Doctorate and the traditional PhD. The former is of equivalent status to a PhD but with a wider, more practical focus that combines research and industrial experience. You will apply skills gained to current issues in your workplace enabling you and your business to gain the confidence and tools to out-perform current best practice and maintain your competitive edge.

Our new International Doctorate has an overall emphasis on high value, low environmental impact research. In addition the Research student develops both managerial and entrepreneurial skills through a number of taught modules and group working in the UK and overseas.

The PhD concentrates on creating new knowledge, set within an industrial context. You will benefit from working with supervisors who hold research interests in a large range of interdisciplinary subjects offered within WMG.

This is the first digital research centre of its kind providing an accessible centre of innovation and excellence in digital technologies to serve the business, industrial, healthcare and educational needs of the West Midlands region and beyond.

A multi-disciplinary research centre, it combines our digital expertise with that in underpinning sciences including medicine, computer science and mathematics. It uses the latest technology to create a platform for new collaborations to solve real world problems and to provide knowledge transfer, education and training.

The specification for the building was exacting and in designing the four storey structure, adaptability was a key requirement.

Facilities include research labs, visualisation and demonstration rooms, meeting rooms, open-plan offices, presentation rooms and an auditorium with state-of-the-art audio visual systems.

We have won a BREEAM Excellent rating for the high environmental standards contained in the building including its natural ventilation system, sedum roof, extensive use of natural light and natural landscaping coupled with a considerate approach to construction.

The Laboratory is situated next to our headquarters at the International Manufacturing Centre.

International Digital Laboratory


Useful Information


Key Contacts

Digital ManufacturingProduct Evaluation TechnologiesProfessor Mark [email protected]

Experiential Engineering / Hybrids/ Embedded SystemsProfessor Paul [email protected]

Automation and RoboticsDr Emma [email protected]

Digital Lifecycle ManagementProfessor Darek [email protected]

Simulation and ModellingProfessor Rajat [email protected]

Digital TechnologiesVisualisationProfessor Alan [email protected]

Digital MediaProfessor Lucy [email protected]

E-businessDr Jay [email protected]

E-securityProfessor Paul [email protected]

Institute of Digital HealthcareeHealth InnovationProfessor Jeremy [email protected]

Healthcare TechnologyProfessor Christopher [email protected]

Healthcare Systems EngineeringProfessor Darek [email protected]

Informatics and Virtual RealityProfessor Vinesh [email protected]

Neuroimaging StatisticsDr Thomas [email protected]

SME Knowledge ExchangeKnowledge Exchange TeamDr Mark [email protected]

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Excellent transport and road links ■ 1 hour to London by train ■ Nearest airport – Birmingham International – 20 minutes■ Nearest train station – Coventry

Getting in touchgo.warwick.ac.uk/[email protected]+44 (0)247 652 2397

WMG International Digital LaboratoryUniversity of WarwickCoventry CV4 7ALUnited Kingdom

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The information contained in this brochure was correct at the time of going to print. For updates and latest information, please check our website.

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