Category: Project

The Visual Information laborartory group got together for their annual Summer BBQ last week in Brandon Hill Park, and enjoyed some rare sunshine!

We are pleased to announce that Professor Dave Bull has been invited to speak at the Westminster Policy Forum, Next Steps for the Western Gateway

Westminster Social Policy Forum & Policy Forum for Wales keynote seminar: Priorities for economic development and investment in the South Wales and Western England region will be taking place on the 21 June.

This event will evaluate the most recent advancements and future strategies for the South Wales and Western England area. It presents a platform to delve into crucial topics during a period of increased policy attention leading up to the General Election. Attendees will review the progress made thus far and set out priorities for the future to accomplish the goals of the region’s cross-border partnership. These goals include drawing in more private investments into Western England and South Wales, achieving sustainable economic growth, and enhancing coordination and cooperation among local authorities within the region.

Key focuses will include economic development and investment priorities in the South Wales and Western England area. The conference will also explore ways to advance innovation in the region and determine the next steps towards positioning the area as a frontrunner in achieving net zero goals and promoting low carbon energy. The agenda will address the necessary policies and the roles of key stakeholders going forward to facilitate increased financial investments in the region.

Dave Bull, Director of MyWorld will be speaking alongside Director of GW4‘s Joanna Jenkinson, on the theme of Supporting future regional growth, and will be discussing supporting career opportunities, employment and capabilities across the region, examining plans for the UK’s first pan-national Cyber Super Cluster, building upon the region’s digital innovation strengths in AI, 5G, computing and robotics and establishing a coordinated approach and long-term funding for skills development | strengthening
collaboration within the third sector.

The University of Bristol’s Visual Information Laboratory, part of Bristol Vision Institute is a member of a consortium led by BT Sport that has won the IBC 2022 Innovation Award in the Content Everywhere category. The consortium beat outstanding shortlisted entries from PGA TOUR and SKY Sports. The work resulted from the innovate UK 5G Edge-XR project which can viewed on YouTube. 

In collaboration with local start-up, Condense Reality, who have developed a volumetric video capture rig, which captures the 3D essence of people in real time and facilitates digital transportation to a different location, the project enables users to watch a holographic view of the live action, replaying the footage via a game engine from any angle in the comfort of their home.

The experience relies on the speed and low latency of 5G connectivity combined with edge of network computing, to move some of processor load associated with volumetric rendering away from the devices,  enabling experiences that have never been seen before.

The University of Bristol’s work in the project, associated with advanced video compression and rendering of volumetric content, led by Andrew Calway, David Bull, Aaron Zhang and Angeliki Katsenou is now being further developed through the MyWorld programme, collaboratively with BT and Condense Reality.

Further information

Condense; Salsa Sound; THE GRID FACTORY; University of Bristol; DANCE EAST

About the Project

Natural History filmmaking presents many challenges. For example, filming in low light or using modalities such as infra-red can result in noisy, low-resolution images, or can suffer from poor contrast range and colours. Also, the camera sensor is normally operating with high ISO levels and hence has wide aperture and extremely shallow depth of field.

This project will enable production workflow to push the boundaries of what is possible in terms of new image acquisition and processing methods for telling stories of the natural world. The project will look at image-based approaches to understanding and explaining the natural world, for example by combining multiple imaging modalities such as visible and infra-red. It will investigate means of autofocus for low light content using spectral, spatial, or other image processing methods to control the focus action. Machine learning methods to estimate focus from blur after training will also be explored.

Launched in April 2021, MyWorld is a brand-new five-year programme, the flagship for the UK’s creative technology sector, and is part of a UK-wide exploration into devolved research and development funding (UKRI video). Led by the University of Bristol, MyWorld will position the South West as an international trailblazer in screen-based media. This £46m programme will bring together 30 partners from Bristol and Bath’s creative technologies sector and world-leading academic institutions, to create a unique cross-sector consortium. MyWorld will forge dynamic collaborations to progress technological innovation, deliver creative excellence, establish, and operate state of the art facilities, offer skills training and drive inward investment, raising the region’s profile on the global stage. 

URL for further information: http://www.myworld-creates.com/ 

Candidate Requirements

Applicants must hold/achieve a minimum of a master’s degree (or international equivalent) in a relevant discipline. Applicants without a master’s qualification may be considered on an exceptional basis, provided they hold a first-class undergraduate degree. Please note, acceptance will also depend on evidence of readiness to pursue a research degree. 

If English is not your first language, you need to meet this profile level:

Profile E

Further information about English language requirements and profile levels.

Basic skills and knowledge required

Essential: Excellent analytical skills and experimental acumen.

Desirable: A background understanding in one or more of the following:

• Image processing
• Artificial intelligence/Machine learning/Deep learning
• Computational Imaging / Computational Photography

Application Process

• All candidates should submit a full CV and covering letter to myworldrecruitment@myworld-creates.com (FAO: Professor David R. Bull).
• Formal applications for PhD are not essential at this stage, but can be submitted via the University of Bristol homepage (clearly marked as MyWorld funded):  https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/
• A Selection Panel will be established to review all applications and to conduct interviews of short-listed candidates.
• This post remains open until filled.

For questions about eligibility and the application process please contact SCEEM Postgraduate Research Admissions sceem-pgr-admissions@bristol.ac.uk

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Funding Notes

Stipend at the UKRI minimum stipend level (£16,062 p.a. in 2022/23) will also cover tuition fees at the UK student rate. Funding is subject to eligibility status and confirmation of award.
To be treated as a home student, candidates must meet one of these criteria:

• be a UK/EU national (meeting residency requirements)
• have settled status
• have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements)
• have indefinite leave to remain or enter.