Our aim
The SSAICS research centre sits within the School of Digital, Technologies and Arts, but works closely with other research centres across the University. The Centre’s themes are cross-cutting research domains; therefore, we are working closely with other research centres/groups within the University, fostering interdisciplinary research. Our vision is to carry out world-leading theoretical and applied research within the centre’s defined themes, and with our expertise we will work with partners and foster international collaboration and knowledge exchange. The main research themes for the centre are smart systems, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
Smart systems
The purpose of smart systems is to embed technology into the way the world already functions. This general definition underpins many emerging concepts and applications including smart homes, smart cities, smart grid and smart agriculture, to mention but a few. Under the umbrella of a smart world, these concepts present many opportunities for a sustainable world and, at the same time, they come with considerable challenges, especially with the emerging technology of the Internet of Things (IoT), where billions of devices are expected to be connected.
Research by SSAICS in Smart Systems focuses on new models and architectures for various applications and addresses emerging challenges. SSAICS covers expertise in relevant areas including smart cities, IoT, communications, networks, cloud/edge computing, WSN, robotics, blockchain and even games technologies.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
AI is expected to underpin almost all future technology developments in various domains and for various purposes. Particularly, AI is an integral part of any smart systems deployment, for enhanced automation and decision making. With the available computation resources, we can now achieve a lot more with AI and machine learning; whether it is for improved surveillance systems, or predictive analytics for health or climate data, AI has already shown promising results but more theoretical and applied research is still needed to unlock its full potential. SSAICS members have relevant expertise in machine learning, computational intelligence, data analytics, statistical methods and optimisation applied to various application domains, including health, smart cities, security, engineering and video analytics, to mention but a few.
Cybersecurity
The increased adoption of smart systems and digital technologies, in general, presents everlasting security challenges. We are becoming so dependent on technology that security breaches are proved to have detrimental effects on individuals as well as organisations. In the case of smart systems, imagine the effects compromising the security of a smart home or a smart hospital can have on people and services! SSAICS research takes a holistic approach to cybersecurity, considering tools, processes and people. The centre researches a wide spectrum of cybersecurity from the human factor in cyber safety through anomaly and intrusion detection to biologically inspired and AI based solutions for secure and resilient systems in different environments, including cloud/edge networks, smartphones and IoT.
Research excellence
The SSAICS research centre promotes research excellence in some important emerging technologies and supports business partners and other stakeholders in implementing cutting edge solutions to solve real world problems. Smart systems, AI and cybersecurity are interconnected areas and together provide a holistic approach to build next generation technologies. In addition, the centre organises and hosts regular activities to promote our research and opportunities for knowledge exchange collaboration, including seminars, workshops and conferences, where we can engage with relevant stakeholders and develop synergies for joint projects. The SSAICS research centre is always on the look out for motivated PhD candidates to join and be part of our research team, who can help them excel in their PhD studies and research career.
If you are an organisation looking for our expertise to solve your problem or to develop joint projects, or you are a passionate researcher looking for PhD opportunities and want to know more, please do not hesitate to contact the centre’s director Prof. Elhadj Benkhelifa at e.benkhelifa@staffs.ac.uk.