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Research at UWE Bristol in new media and games has engaged business and policy communities. The resulting knowledge exchange has underpinned the AHRC Creative Economy Hub REACT (Research and Enterprise for Arts and Creative Technologies) which has stimulated £200k value of new business for SMEs in its first year of operation. The research has enabled start-ups, micro businesses and SMEs in the digital economy to use our critical and creative methods to improve their products and services. It has also made a significant contribution to the development of policy on games for young people.
This case study documents the initial impacts of a site-specific theatre project: Fortnight that was conceived and developed by Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) contemporary artist Peter Petralia between 2010 and 2012. The project exemplifies research that seeks to explore engagement with place, locality and community using pervasive digital technologies, and utilises these methods to enhance the creative potential of individuals and organizations. Fortnight's impact is social, cultural and economic as documented by the 800 participants and producers involved in the project so far. Fortnight has also generated impact within the creative industries through the innovative application of its use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. To date Fortnight has been curated and hosted in Lancaster and Bristol (2011), Manchester (2012) and Oxford (2013).
Gage's research in interactive architecture since the 1990s has influenced the working methods of a sizeable community of SME architectural and environmental design practices, mainly in London, and in some cases significantly extended the scope of their services. The research has established and strengthened innovative exchange between academia, professions and creative industries and led to the creation of a number of new specialist and award-winning design companies with international profiles. One of these developed intellectual property sold in 2011 for over $15m, while another won a RIBA National Award for design excellence in collaboration with Bartlett staff.
Research conducted by the UCL SCEMFA research group into materialising the digital has had many and varied impacts, including the creation of new forms of artistic expression, and the production of new cultural resources. The research has also had demonstrable impacts on cultural heritage, both through the acquisition of its outputs into important national collections and through contributions to policy relating to the preservation of digital artefacts. Wider societal and cultural contributions have been delivered through work in the public realm, and commercial benefits have accrued through collaboration with Liberty.
Gibson's research-led practice has directly influenced the development of motion-tracking technology used to generate new audio-visual performances. Performances using this innovative art form have taken place in China, Canada and Singapore. They offer audiences a new and enhanced interactive participation experience and help to increase awareness of audio-visual interaction technology and its possibilities. The performances of Gibson's most recent motion- based project Virtual VJ have introduced artists, academics and technologists to innovative interactive art forms and have led to technological developments with associated commercial benefits.
The switch of the nation's televisions to receive digital signals is widely acknowledged as the biggest government-enforced change in British life since 1971's decimalisation. Jonathan Freeman's research on the human factors of digital switchover is recognised as an essential source of information to government, industry, and consumer groups (including charities such as RNIB) and therefore as a key foundation in the success of the switchover. In particular, his research influenced the design of easy-to-use TV equipment, and communications about switchover to different types of viewer, improving the experiences of millions of TV viewers in the UK and beyond.
Since 1998, Leeds Met researchers have worked closely with national arts charity Axis which operates the UK database of contemporary artists. Research focused on how artists can make best use of online platforms to present and sell their work and develop their practice. The collaboration made Axis a digital leader in the arts and helped secure its continued funding in an otherwise volatile arts funding sector, benefitting more than 2,800 UK SMEs (artists and curators). It also resulted in the spin-out of a commercial company that provided Axis with extra income of more than £150,000.
Alliance researchers have devised and applied technologies that bridge the gap between the real and virtual worlds, linking digital data to physical entities. The ability to embed personal stories in objects and places has impacted on the way National Museums Scotland sources and displays collections, while Oxfam has used the research to bring added value to donated goods, leading to an increase in store sales of 53% over a week-long period. Mobile Visual Search technology has been taken-up by global brands and advertising agencies, including Nike, Disney, Vodafone, Nokia, Tesco, P&G, King & Partners, Mocom and Ogilvy, leading one industry expert to describe it as "the new model of marketing mobility". The work has led to a patent, the receipt of several awards, and influenced the formation of a spin-off company, Mobile Acuity (with revenue of over £0.5M to date), which has secured a major investment of over £1M, including from international corporation, [text removed for publication], to invest in the US and East Asia.
This case study describes the impact of research undertaken by Falmouth's Autonomatic Research Group on developments in the UK Craft and Designer-Maker sector. This sector consists of individual or small groups of creative practitioners producing high value individual and bespoke products in studio/workshop environments using ceramic, glass, metals, textile and mixed media. This sector has been slow to benefit from the digital economy for reasons including cost, perceptions of relevance, accessibility and training. Autonomatic has worked to highlight digital technologies relevance to small scale and bespoke manufacturing, increase accessibility, and provide opportunities for businesses' and communities' creative development.
The research led by Professor Sita Popat with Scott Palmer enabled digital arts small-medium enterprise (SME) KMA Ltd to develop ground-breaking visual/kinetic ideas and permanently shift their creative product (and hence their income stream) from web design and popular music show projection to theatre and the cultural industries. Subsequent collaborative research and development workshops catalysed the design of a progressive digital projection for an international theatre company's production, influencing how audiences around the world received the work's political message.