Birmingham homes set to benefit from WMG smart technology project
HOUSEHOLDS in Birmingham are to be the first to pilot new technology being developed by WMG at the University of Warwick aimed at creating the next generation of ‘Smart’ homes.
WMG has secured funding from the Research Councils UK (RCUK) Digital Economy Theme to partner with Birmingham City Council to create the HARRIET (HAT Resource Integration and Enabling Tool) project.
This will equip homes with technology and software to create a HAT (Hub-of-all-Things), which aims to assist people to better understand how to make ‘smart’ money-saving decisions on their household management.
The connectivity of the scheme means they can share their data with other consumers to help everyone reduce their bills.
The 18-month £485,000 project will work with volunteer households and individuals in Birmingham to collect, analyse and store data on daily product and service consumption by a modern household.
WMG said that currently, there was very little understanding among researchers as well as industry about how consumers interact with the data they generate within their households.
This research project will study interactions between actual households and their self-generated data and this information will be fed back to individuals and households through the HARRIET system to assist consumers with their decision-making.
Cllr James McKay, Birmingham’s cabinet member for a Green, Safe and Smart City said: “Birmingham provides a unique ‘living lab” in the development of smart cities and we want people from across Birmingham to be the first to benefit from these ‘intelligent tools’ to help people become ever smarter consumers and citizens.”
THE HARRIET and HAT projects are part of the raft of research being conducted by WMG’s Service Systems group, led by Professor Irene Ng.
Prof Ng said: “The HARRIET and HAT projects are based on the understanding that personal data can be a valuable asset for consumers to use and trade with product and service providers in exchange for better-customised products and services or even financial savings or rewards.
“Product and service providers will also be able to create more customised products and services that will be highly attractive to consumers. The creation of a market for personal data is crucial for the future growth of the digital economy, and for job and wealth creation both in the UK and globally.”
