Nurturing and growing the UK’s food manufacturing digital economy

Posted on: 03/09/2018

A new Internet of Food Things (IoFT) Network Plus aims to enhance the digitalisation of the UK food supply chain.

Professor Simon Pearson (SFN Champion for Sustainable Food Production) has recently been awarded a £1.14 million grant from EPSRC to lead The Internet of Food Things (IoFT) Network Plus in order to help nurture and grow the UK’s food manufacturing digital economy. The project will run from May 2018 until May 2021 and will be led by Simon at the University of Lincoln.

The Network brings together data and computer scientists, chemists, and economists to investigate how artificial intelligence, data analytics and emerging technologies can enhance the digitalisation of the UK food supply chain. The network is examining the application of the IoT in connected homes of the future, the traceability of food, and how machine learning and artificial intelligence can be utilised to extract value from the vast amounts of data available across the whole food supply chain, improving efficiency and reducing food waste. The overarching perspective of the multi-disciplinary Network is on the societal impact of all of these transformational technologies.

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They will host one main conference per year and in addition 3 facilitated workshops each year to deep dive key questions within the digital food domain. Pilot studies and detailed reviews will be commissioned to underpin horizon scanning perspectives.

The launch event on the 21st September in London will kick-start the activities of the Network by bringing the founding academic and partners together, with many others from across academia, business and various policy-making bodies including Government departments, all with a common shared awareness of the pressing challenges surrounding the food manufacturing chain and the role that new technologies can play in addressing them. You can register to attend the launch meeting here.

You can find further information about the Internet of Food Things (IoFT) Network Plus here.

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