In order to leverage existing UK investments and enable a challenge-focused multidisciplinary community to work together, the Constructing a Digital Environment programme, which will run through until 2023, has the following key objectives.
Sensor Networks
To enable the unprecedented construction and access of integrated networks of (long term, high frequency) real-time and near real-time sensors across the natural environment from terrestrial (including freshwater and subsurface) to atmospheric and marine.
Data Infrastructure
To develop new infrastructure to provide dedicated conditioning, storage and access to the many different data streams which will enable delivery of data that can be readily combined, interpreted and reused by research, policy and business.
Big Data Technology
To manage, manipulate, automate and interrogate big data utilising technology- enabled approaches to intervene intelligently in complex, multi-factor issues (helping government and businesses respond to the needs of local communities and individuals).
Modelling and Visualisation
To model and visualise the natural environment at high resolution spatially and at a higher frequency (both for the short and long term) (4 dimensional).
Digital Environment Key Elements
Acquisition Of Data
The ability to acquire unprecedented amounts of environmental data – utilising technologies such as remote sensing, Internet of Things, citizen science and data mining.
Storage And Processing Of Big Data
The ability to store and process big data through the unprecedented and elastic/on demand resources offered by cloud computing (cf. the age of exascale computing).
Data Science and AI
The ability to make sense of this big data through breakthroughs in data science and Artificial Intelligence (AI), and an associated generation of new analytical techniques.
Visualisation, Decision-Support
The ability to visualise, present and interact with this data and its subsequent analyses to support communication to different stakeholder groups, and hence support decision-making.