The Bristol Wearable Computing Initiative is a collaborator in the Equator project described in the Press Release below:-

Joint EPSRC/MRC Press Release (see also http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/EPSRCWEB/MAIN/NEWS/01/01.HTM )

PN04:00 05 April 2000

Have you ever despaired at the growing volume of information pouring in through your e-mail, or been frustrated at having to sit in front of that grey box on your desk? Then help may soon be at hand. Five new Interdisciplinary Research Collaborations (IRCs) are being established, with funding of over £40 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC). All five centres intend to carry out research that will mean we can all benefit from rapid advances in information technology- whether in hospitals, in businesses or in our own homes.

Four of the new IRCs, funded in full by EPSRC, will tackle issues such as embedding computers into everyday objects and environments; improving knowledge management to prevent information overload; developing ultra fast communications using optical technology; and improving the safety, security and reliability of complex systems that involve computers, people and organisations.

The fifth, led by Professor Mike Brady at the University of Oxford, and jointly funded by EPSRC and MRC, will examine how to transform medical images and data into useable clinical information.

The new IRCs will bring together respected researchers from different scientific and technical backgrounds to undertake major, six-year, IT-based research programmes in collaboration with industry. Twenty universities and around 45 companies are involved in the new IRCs.

Notes for Editors

1. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) are two of the United Kingdom’s seven government-funded research councils. Their joint aims are to encourage and support high-quality research and training to meet national needs in terms of quality of life and economic competitiveness, with EPSRC having specific responsibility for engineering and the physical sciences, and MRC for health.
   
2. The new IRCs and their directors are:

• Advanced knowledge management
  Professor Nigel Shadbolt, University of Southampton Tel: 023 8059 2388
• Dependability of computer-based systems
  Professor Cliff Jones, University of Newcastle, Tel: 0191 222 8183
• Equator – Technological innovation in physical and digital life
  Professor Tom Rodden, University of Lancaster, Tel: 01524 593823
• Ultra fast photonics for data communications above terabit speeds
  Professor Wilson Sibbett, University of St Andrews, Tel: 01334 463100
• From medical images and signals to clinical information
  Professor Mike Brady, University of Oxford, Tel: 01865 273158

3. The successful IRCs were selected through a competitive peer review process following a call for proposals issued by EPSRC in April 1999. 100 outline proposals were submitted, and the successful centres were selected from a shortlist of 12 proposals.

Nigel Birch, Associate Programme Manager, Technology, EPSRC on 01793-444030; Email: nigel.birch@epsrc.ac.uk
Rosalind Darby, Communication Manager, EPSRC on 01793 444313; Email: rosalind.darby@epsrc.ac.uk