The Nottingham hub focuses on ‘always on, always with you’ technology. Horizon is developing new ways to use the electronic ‘footprints’ we leave behind whenever we use mobile, internet and other digital technologies, and new ways to utilise digital technologies to help business and stimulate economic growth. The hub will promote creative industries such as internet and mobile phone gaming as well as online smart marketing tools for retailers. The centre will also help reduce carbon levels by developing communication tools to encourage sustainable transport use such as greater car sharing — by combining global positioning systems (GPS), social networking sites and mobile digital technologies.
Horizon brings together researchers with backgrounds in psychology, sociology, technology and business to build in an understanding of people and society from the outset, to understand the extent to which people are happy for their behaviour to be monitored, and to ensure that we all benefit from these advances.
The world that’s emerging is one where sensing technologies will be more pervasive in the places we live and work, and where computing technologies are more mobile and embedded in infrastructure around us and things we use. Horizon is one of three national research centres or ‘hubs’ funded by the Research Councils UK Digital Economy Research Programme.