Telecom operators as well as cloud providers are constantly seeks approaches to maximise the efficiency of very high capacity networking infrastructure at lower costs, sharing infrastructure investment along with providing customised networking connectivity to meet end user needs. Virtualisation of network functions along with software defined networking technology is enabling enhanced flexibility with regards to network service provisioning. Coupled with insights gained via Artificial Intelligence will enable an intuitive network substrate that can act on knowledge. This theme seeks to research and develop knowledge defined network management techniques applied to both cloud and telecom networking infrastructure.

The very definition of the Internet is being redefined to meet the needs of an advancing society. Internet of Things is enabling various sectors to leverage Internet technologies to vastly improve productivity.

The Molecular Communications research theme is investigating communication for nano scale devices, in particular in biological environment. Nanotechnology has tremendous potential, especially in the field of medicine. Research to date has largely focused on developments of materials to improve the capabilities of nano devices. However, integrating communication capabilities to these devices will further improve the potential of nano devices. The research conducted in this theme is investigating communication between nano devices using molecular communications, where information is encoded into bio-molecules that are diffused into the environment, and decoded at the receiving end.

The number of computing devices and machines that are connected to the Internet are ever-increasing. This is being driven by the demand for more and more automation in industries, reducing costs and improving productivity. This thematic area aims to develop algorithms for systems to become autonomous and adaptive, where these algorithms can be inspired from various other disciplines (e.g. bio-inspired, social-inspired).

The maturation of the Internet of Things and Big Data technologies has produced some highly innovative services and applications. However, many scenarios are dependent on low energy consumption or low latency technologies where it is necessary to utilise processing closer to the source of the data. This thematic area devises algorithmic processes that takes advantage of available computing resources to deliver the best results in constrained environments. The technologies delivered here work at the intersection of Internet of Things, High Performance Computing and Fog Networking to produce highly novel applications for future society.

Deep Learning algorithms have dramatically transformed the field of Artificial Intelligence in recent years and is driving a new breed of conversational style interfaces to existing applications and services. In this thematic area, we focus on building cognitive intelligence algorithms to produce services capable of reasoning about their current environment.

A new paradigm shift has occurred in the field of communication systems and networks, where artificial communication systems are created from biological components. These communication systems are known as molecular communication systems. Mobile Ecosystem and Pervasive Sensing (MEPS) Lab are investigating how molecular communications can be applied for biomedical application.

Pervasive Sensing addressing advanced communication, collection, storage and analysis of big data from pervasive sensors such as wearable, implantable and ambient sensors to facilitate continuous monitoring of a person. Embedded System Communications takes into consideration wearable and implantable wireless sensor network solutions and real-time cooperation of embedded and wearable sensor networks.

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technologies are achieving mass adoption in numerous sectors including education, manufacturing and gaming. Using a HMD “Head Mounted Display”, VR creates an environment via software that immerses the user in a virtual world which suspends belief.  AR is similar but uses holograms which are overlaid on the user’s real environment and enhances or adds to what they can see via data displays or 3D models. These technologies produce new immersive human machine interaction paradigms that are not only transforming how we consume information but also the speed of how we comprehend higher level concepts.

Quantum technologies are creating a significant shift in ICT, moving away from the binary bit (1,0), to the qubit(|0>, |1>)* and the qudit** (multi-state (d) quantum system), providing exponential growth in the amount of information that can be stored and transferred. Additional quantum properties, such as entanglement and teleportation, provide the means for naturally secure and fast communications. Most research to date has been in Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) as a response to the anticipated ability of Quantum Computers to simply crack modern encryption on the fly and Quantum Coin algorithms.

The advent of nano satellites (cube-sats) using off-the-shelf components offers a cost-effective and rapid development cycle for satellite deployment. Additionally, placing satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), ~250km to 500km, introduces minimal latency, and in fact can decrease latency overall by using free space communications versus fibre optic technology. These two attributes combined creates a new environment for 6G networks and provides for high-capacity, low-latency, low-powered, secure communications channels operating near the speed of light. However, there are some challenges transmitting through the Earth’s atmosphere, namely absorption and diffraction, that impact on channel capacity.