The University of Southampton today released a range of non-personal data online as part of its pioneering commitment to the open data revolution.

data.southampton.ac.uk which launches today (Monday 7 March) builds on the University's commitment to access by opening up a wide range of data for students to create the information they seek in the way that they want it, such as the development of iPhone apps.

Electronics and Computer Science has already played a significant role in the development of the Open Data movement through the work of Professors Nigel Shadbolt and Sir Tim Berners-Lee as Transparency and Open Data Advisers to the UK Government.

There will be over 20 datasets available on data.southampton.ac.uk with information about University buildings, National Student Survey statistics, research outputs and financial statements. Over the coming year, the University will progressively increase the bank of data available. Much of the development work for the new site has been carried out by Christopher Gutteridge and Dave Challis of the ECS Systems team, building on an initiative begun in the School some years ago by Dr Nick Gibbins.

Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts says: “It is important that universities are transparent and that they provide good quality information to prospective students making decisions about where and what to study. It’s great to see the University of Southampton making this level of data publicly available and helping students make better, more informed choices about their future.â€?

The University is making the data available under an open licence, from a single point of access and in a standard format – this gives anyone permission to use and reuse the data.

As well as students, the information can be used by anyone to create new apps and services that will be of benefit to the University, its staff, students, visitors and the city of Southampton. The University has already created apps such as an iPhone app to showcase its 2011 Undergraduate prospectus and give further details into life at the University; and Sotonbus, developed by ECS undergraduates Ash Browning and John Isger, which provides real-time information about bus services across the city. iSoton, which acts as a personal assistant for students providing timetables, lecture locations and a campus map, was developed in 2009 by ECS undergraduate student Francois-Xavier Beckers. For the past 10 years, the University of Southampton has been a pioneer in Open Access to research. In 2001 it was the first place in the world to mandate that all its academics should place their research papers online. Since 2009 Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Professor Nigel Shadbolt have been leading the data.gov.uk project, and are key members of the current government’s transparency initiative.

Professor Shadbolt says: “The UK leads the world in the opening up of government data using the very latest Web standards. Open data allows people to hold governments to account and improve public services. It is exciting to see Southampton taking a lead in the higher education sector – increased data transparency will make for better decisions all round.â€?

The University is keen to know about any apps or services developed from the data released today. Ideas can be posted at: http://data.southampton.ac.uk/feedback.

For further information contact: Joyce Lewis; tel. +44(0)23 8059 5453.

An innovative event devised for National Science and Engineering Week will involve children and their parents in solving a dramatic murder-mystery, using scientific clues in university labs.

'Blood on the Stage Door' takes place this Saturday, 12 March, at the University of Southampton as part of the University’s award-winning Science and Engineering Day.

The family-orientated event has been designed by University researcher Dr Reena Pau, an ECS graduate, in collaboration with the Nuffield Theatre. During the event, families will solve a fictitious (and ridiculous) crime, completing a case-book of clues by visiting research labs and facilities across the Highfield campus. Scientific techniques involved include x-rays, analysis of sound, UAV lights, GPS, and transport modelling.

The trail will be framed at beginning and end by actors from the Nuffield Theatre who set the scene for the crime, and then provide an analysis of the events at the end.

Each of the children taking part will be able to conduct a number of small experiments based on current University research in order to complete their casebook and report back to a staged ‘debrief’. The ‘murder mystery’ makes a unique contribution to the value of Science and Engineering Day by allowing visitors to see EPSRC-supported research labs and other University facilities not normally open to the public. The clues will be solved by the experiments. For example, the children might use the bone scanning equipment to assess where a crack is in a person’s arm or do a whole body scan to see what particular vegetable they had eaten, or use transport modelling to work out fastest getaway routes from the scene of the crime.

“People really get the value of science as a result of events like this,â€? said Dr Pau. “We have even seen children change their GCSE options because they understand the value of science demonstrated in this way. Kids really like it and we get a lot of audience participation; even the parents end up getting really involved.â€?

This is the third year that the University of Southampton has run a murder-mystery event at Science and Engineering Day. In 2009 the University was awarded ‘Best Engineering Event’ by the British Science Association for the family-oriented Science and Engineering Day, which is held on the first Saturday of National Science and Engineering Week on the Highfield campus. The ‘murder-mystery’ science trail continues to be a high-profile and extraordinarily popular component of this day, which is free and runs from 10am to 4.30pm. The murder mystery us funded by the EPSRC’s Pathways to Impact Fund.

First-year Electronics student Andrew Cowan will be taking part in the ‘Big Bang Fair’ opening tomorrow (Thursday 10 March) at London’s Excel Centre. Andrew will be exhibiting his Search and Rescue Robot, which is in the finals of three competitions that will be judged during the event: Young Engineer for Britain 2011, the National Science and Engineering Competition 2011, and the Crest Awards 2011.

The Big Bang Fair is part of the British Science Association’s contribution to National Science and Engineering Week, and will run at the Excel Centre until Saturday 12 March. Over 20,000 visitors are expected to see the show.

Andrew built his Search and Rescue Robot during his A level Systems and Control coursework at Sutton Grammar School. The large tracked vehicle for use in disaster zones has a wireless camera (with tilt, pan and zoom), and a collection of wireless sensors including gas sampling. About 20 microchips control all the sensors, radio links and functions (including lights, a siren and water cannon). Powerful enough to pull a car, the robot weighs around 80kg and is powered by two 750W motors.

‘I wanted to design and build something for my A-level Systems and Control coursework that would be challenging and complex enough to be my hobby for my two A level years,’ he says, ‘as well as building something socially useful.’ He financed the robot by negotiating sponsorship of parts with 12 different companies (whose logos appear on the sides) and used part of an Arkwright Scholarship.

Andrew is being sponsored through his ECS course on Electronic Engineering with Mobile and Secure Systems by Cobham Technical Services. He is happy with his choice of the School of Electronics and Computer Science for undergraduate work: ‘Southampton was my first choice of university, not only because of its excellent reputation for electronics, but also because when I came here for interview the department seemed so dynamic and inspiring.

‘Perhaps this is because it is based within the ECS School, rather than a more traditional engineering department. The modern facilities in the ECS were also an attraction, as was the sailing at Southampton. The course, as any Electronics student will tell you, has long hours and is hard work, but I'm greatly enjoying it.’

‘It’s a superb achievement for Andrew to have reached the finals of three competitions as well as being able to demonstrate the innovative and sophisticated work that can be carried out at A level,’ said Professor Neil White, Head of Electronics and Computer Science. ‘We wish him well in the competition! Good luck Andrew!’

This year’s Design, Automation and Test in Europe conference (DATE 11) is being chaired by Bashir M Al Hashimi, Professor of Computer Engineering in ECS-Electronics and Computer Science.

The DATE conference series is Europe’s major global event for the electronics industry. This year’s conference is being held in Grenoble, France from 14 to 18 March.

'DATE2011 is one of the most influential events in electronics design worldwide', said Professor Al-Hashimi. 'This year we expect to attract around 2500 researchers from academia and industry, as well as leading executives from across the world to offer insights into the future of the electronics industry and research.'

Professor Al-Hashimi was appointed Conference General Chair in 2009, so this event represents the culmination of two years of planning. Highlights of the Technical Program are the four keynote talks being given by outstanding leaders from industry and research, with two Special Days focusing on topics of outstanding importance: smart electronics devices of the future; and intelligent energy management of embedded computing systems.

Each of the Special Days will have a full programme of keynotes, panels, tutorials and technical presentations, reporting the latest advances and outlining key future technical challenges. The DATE 11 Technical Programme involves 230 presentations selected from nearly 900 submissions.

ECS has a strong presence in the Technical Programme with five presentations, including a best paper nomination. DATE 11 has a vibrant exhibition with over 70 companies from worldwide showcasing the latest design and verification tools for systems-on-chip, systems-on-board, and embedded systems software. The exhibition offers a dynamic overview of key technical and business issues in electronic and embedded systems through a programme of panel discussions and industrial user presentations.

'It is a great honour to chair Date 11', said Professor Al-Hashimi. 'This is an outstandingly successful conference series which brings together industry and academic research to find out about latest developments and focus on future challenges. We look forward to an excellent and inspiring week.'

Professor Bashir M Al-Hashimi is Associate Dean (Research) of the University of Southampton Faculty of Physical and Applied Sciences.

ECS student Andrew Cowan was named Young Engineer of the Year at the British Science Association's 'Big Bang Fair', held in London to mark the start of National Science and Engineering Week.

Andrew, who is in the first year of an MEng degree in Electronics with Mobile and Secure Systems at ECS-Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, received the accolade for his Search and Rescue Robot built during his A level Systems and Control coursework at Sutton Grammar School. The large tracked vehicle he designed and built is intended for use in disaster zones, and is fitted out with a wireless camera (with tilt, pan and zoom), and a collection of wireless sensors including gas sampling. About 20 microchips control all the sensors, radio links and functions (including lights, a siren and water cannon). Powerful enough to pull a car, the robot weighs around 80kg and is powered by two 750W motors.

Andrew commented: “I’m extremely honoured and proud to be awarded such a prestigious title. The standard of entries was so high which made the finals incredibly tense at times. I’m now really looking forward to representing engineering for young people and I hope my project inspires lots of other people to do the same and pursue a career in engineering.â€?

As Young Engineer of the Year Andrew will now play a role as an Ambassador for Engineering. "My key role will be to encourage young people into studying and taking up a career in engineering," he said. "I'm looking forward to being able to talk at events throughout the year to promote engineering."

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE, one of the judges of the National Science & Engineering Competition, said: "I’m delighted to award Andrew the UK Young Engineer of the Year. The judges were truly overwhelmed by his project and it’s wonderful to witness such enthusiasm and dedication for engineering and technology.

"It’s left me hugely excited about the future of engineering in the UK, with passionate young scientists such as Andrew at the helm.â€?

Professor Neil White, Head of ECS-Electronics and Computer Science, commented: "This is an outstanding achievement by Andrew and exemplifies the sophisticated and innovative work that can be carried out at A level.

"We are very proud of Andrew's success and will of course be keen to support not only his future work in ECS but also his ambassadorial work in encouraging more young people to study engineering at university."

Andrew is pictured here (centre), with (l-r) Kate Bellingham (engineer and television presenter), Professor Brian Cox (particle physicist and television presenter), Hannah Eastwood (Young Scientist of the Year award-winner), and Professor John Beddington (Government Chief Scientific Adviser).

A new service developed by a researcher at the University of Southampton which makes it possible for users to maintain multiple online accounts using a scan of their fingerprint as a password, has been recognized by a recent major conference award.

The new service, FingerID, has been developed by Sara Alotaibi, of ECS-Electronics and Computer Science at the University. Sara won Best Paper Presentation Award for her work at a recent IEEE World CIS (Congress on Internet Security) Conference 2011 in London, as recorded on WorldCIS’s Website: http://www.worldcis.org/Programme.html

“FingerID provides users with the facility to maintain multiple web accounts from a single source just using a fingerprint, and eliminates their concerns about having to remember multiple usernames and passwords,â€? said Ms Alotaibi.

In order to develop FingerID, Ms Alotaibi evaluated existing and proposed systems geared towards replacing the conventional form of authentication using a username and password on the Web, and found that not much work had been done in this field. She went on to evaluate these systems against criteria such as security, accessibility and usability, as a result of which she generated a concept which could fundamentally alter the entire authentication mechanism, replacing memorised passwords with fingerprint data. This laid the foundation for FingerID - a service to maintain multiple web accounts with the user's fingerprint.

She also ran an online survey to assess the need for this service among users. She received responses from 191 participants and found that almost half of those who took part (44.75 per cent) had more than 14 accounts on the Web and that just over 30 per cent did not like to share their personal information online.

The FingerID system is programmed to request the user’s fingerprint scan for registration purposes. Following registration, the user can then gain access to multiple web accounts under one service. The registration process of the user will only take place once, and later scans will be used to verify the user to provide access to web accounts. The FingerID system is composed of two main parts: web site and software (browser).

Ms Alotaibi will go on to develop her approach further in her PhD (supervised by Dr David Argles and Dr Mike Wald in ECS) when she will look at using other aspects of authentication such as palm prints and face gestures.

An extended version of Ms Alotaibi’s paper will be published in the International Journal of Intelligent Computing Research (IJICR), Volume 2, Issue 1, ISSN: 2042 4655 (Online), http://www.infonomics-society.org/IJICR/

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Sarah Alotaibi is working in the Learning Societies Lab at ECS-Electronics and Computer Science. If you are interested in PhD opportunities in this group, see our Postgraduate information pages.

For further information on this story contact Joyce Lewis; tel.+44(0)23 8059 5453.

Brothers Ollie and Cameron from Woolston were just two of the young visitors who took part in technology events organized by ECS-Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton's Science and Engineering Family Day held at the Highfield Campus last Saturday (12 March).

Along with their parents (also pictured here) Ollie and Cameron were 'detectives' in the 'Blood on the Stage Door' murder mystery event, devised and organized by ECS graduate Dr Reena Pau. Held in conjunction with the Nuffield Theatre, the event focuses on a dramatic (and ridiculous) murder, which is then solved by the participants, who use the results of different technological challenges in which they take part. Ollie and Cameron were especially good at managing traffic flows in the ECS undergraduate computer lab. This activity was organized by PhD student James Snowdon, building on his research on the computational modelling of traffic flows. Other clues in the event involved nutrition, sound, GPS, and pathology.

The inspiration for the event came from Reena’s work in schools as well as her passion for getting girls enthusiastic about science and technology. While interviewing schoolchildren for her PhD project she found that many didn’t understand how technology can be used in the real world. This suggested to her that merging theatre and technology would provide a narrative showing the real-world context in which technology can be used.

‘The narrative is really funny,’ said Reena, ‘but has the serious purpose of drawing the children into the story. As they work their way round the different technologies, they can understand their power in real-world settings and hopefully be excited by their potential.’

In another part of the University Dr Denis Nicole of ECS, with the help of a number of ECS students, organized the Technology Zone in the Activity Area, covering a range of activities such as robotics, augmented reality, computer games, energy transmission, and electronics. Thousands of people attended the event.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Professor of Computer Science in ECS-Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, is today taking part in a UK Government summit on net neutrality.

Net neutrality is the important principle that there should be no favouritism for connecting to certain sites online. Sir Tim, inventor of the World Wide Web, has been a strong supporter of net neutrality, online privacy and the value of freely open data since he first founded the Web, and is now working through his World Wide Web Foundation to increase the number of people worldwide who are able to access the Web.

Speaking last October to the Nokia World Conference in London, Sir Tim commented: “We assume that when we look up a web address and the domain name to get that page that you can get any page because that's how it's always been … but a lot of companies would love to limit that. If they're trying to sell you movies streamed online, they'd like to slow down your access to other people's movies, so you'd come back to them. If they sell you telephone services, they'd love to block voice-over-internet connections, or just slow it down so you decide it's not a very good technology and go and use theirs instead."

Today’s summit is being chaired by Government Culture Minister Ed Vaizey, and will include representatives from BT, Sky and Virgin Media, along with other leading internet service providers. The companies will outline their vision of an industry code of practice for the management of internet traffic. According to BBC Technology Editor Rory Cellan-Jones, the summit could be crucial in shaping the way the internet develops in the UK over the coming decade. ___

Sir Tim Berners-Lee is a Founder Director of the Web Science Trust. To find out about PhD opportunities in Web Science see the opportunities in our Doctoral Training Centre for Web Science: http://webscience.ecs.soton.ac.uk/dtc/.

Members of the Electronic Systems Design group in ECS-Electronics and Computer Science made a substantial contribute to the prestigious DATE11 event held last week in Grenoble.

Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi was General Chair of this year's DATE conference, which was the most successful of the series so far. 'Our attendance numbers at the DATE exhibition were up by more than 40 per on last year," said Professor Al-Hashimi, "demonstrating the importance and relevance of the event to our community. We believe it is one of the best examples of industry and research in partnership, with great significance for the micro and nanoelectronics industry and for embedded systems manufacture."

In addition to Professor Al-Hashimi, six other members of the ESD group attended the event and are pictured here (l-r) Dr Tom Kazmierski, Professor Al-Hashimi, Jatin Mistry, Dr Alex Weddell, Professor David Flynn, Dr Leran Wang and Dr Geoff Merrett. They presented five papers in total and demonstrated results from the EPSRC-funded project "Next Generation Energy-Harvesting Electronics: A Holistic Approach". Dr Kazmierski was elected to the Council of next year's event.

For information about PhD opportunities in the Electronic Systems Design Group see our PhD information pages.

A working robot controlled by a slime mould, and designed and built in ECS-Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, will play a starring role in a major BBC4/Discovery Channel feature to be aired in the autumn.

A production team from BBC Scotland spent a whole day in ECS this week, filming with Dr Klaus-Peter Zauner and Dr Soichiro Tsuda, who developed the robot. Its central innovation is that it features a biochip which encapsulates a plasmodial cell of the slime mould Physarum polycephalum which is used to control the robot’s movements. An electronic interface enables the slim mould cell to be connected to a computer in order to monitor local mechanical oscillations in the cell and it also provides stimulation for the slime mould with light signals, causing the movement of the robot.

Dr Tsuda told the programme presenter, Dr George McGavin, that his inspiration for the robot had come from Dr Who’s Daleks! ‘It’s amazing that something that lives on dead trees can be used to control a machine,’ said Dr McGavin.

Physarum polycephalum has been used by Dr Zauner in research projects which have included both research students and undergraduates in ECS over a number of years: Gareth Jones, now a PhD student in ECS, developed the drive system of the robot in his Part III project and Paul Macey developed the electronic interface to the slime mould cell in his Part III project.

Klaus-Peter commented “There was a time when people in hot-air balloons looked at pigeons and realised that there is a radically different solution to the problem of flight. Now we marvel at nature's molecular computers which tell us that there are radically different solutions to the problem of information processing.

‘To harvest the potential of molecular computing, however, we need a generation of engineers with a broad concept of computation - I am therefore particularly pleased that the most important component of this robot was developed by an undergraduate, Paul Macey.â€?

Soichiro Tsuda will be returning to Japan in June to work in Professor Tetsuya Yomo's Symbiotic Network Design Laboratory.

Physarum is a popular model-organism in unconventional computing. It processes information from its environment in a distributed fashion that is not yet well understood.

The BBC/Discovery televisision feature has the working title ‘Afterlife’. It will examine many different aspects of decomposition and decay, including the complexity of organisms that are associated with decomposition, as well as exploring our attitudes to bacteria and the breakdown of bio-systems.

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For more information on this news story contact Joyce Lewis; tel. +44(0)23 8059 5453

If you are interested in PhD research in this area, you can find out more information on our Postgraduate Admissions pages.