Our Research
Food safety and security is of crucial importance, as global supply chains and economic conditions change. Digital and extended connected capability support the evidencing of food security pathways, and data sensing and modelling systems allow for forecasting and the development of approaches to risk management inside the food and farming value chain.
Research Projects
The Digital Sandwich - Digitised Food Supply Chain, fusing IoT, Blockchain and AI data layers
By fusing multiple industrial digital technologies (IDT's), we will develop a national, open demonstrator of a digital supply chain, using sandwich manufacturing as the use case. This demonstrator will step-change manufacturing productivity.
Project Lead: Professor Simon Pearson
Funder: UK Research and Innovation – Innovate UK
Developing data trusts for the food supply chain
Research to deliver a strategic roadmap and Proof-of-Value for the creation of viable Data Trusts in the Food and Drink Sector. Data Trusts would enable more efficient and effective data sharing amongst actors within the UK food supply chain.
Project Lead: Professor Simon Pearson
Funder: Food Standards Agency
The Internet of Food Things
A project to create a sustainable network and ecosystem of academic and industrial colleagues with an interest in the development and application of digital technologies within and along the food supply chain.
Project Lead: Professor Simon Pearson
Funder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
TRUSTED BYTES: Trusted, Decentralised, Digital Supply Chains for the Food Industry
A project to develop a "whole industry" solution to optimise supply-chain management in the £6.9bn UK fresh produce sector aiming to create a digital supply-chain ecosystem that fully exploits the digital commons to drive productivity and supply-chain resilience.
Project Lead: Professor Simon Pearson
Funder: UK Research and Innovation – Innovate UK
Co-Farm.AI: Intelligent Coordination for the Farm Workforce
This project tackles the ongoing agrifood labour crisis. The opportunity is to develop a dynamic, intelligent planning and coordination system for workforce optimisation and position a spin-out to be first to market with human-robot solution.
Project Lead: Professor Elizabeth Sklar
Funder: UK Research and Innovation – Research England Connecting Capability Fund - CERES