In redeveloping the EngD VEIV centre, we will be focussing on three themes in the area: - Vision & Imaging, covering the areas of computer-based interpretation of images. For example, object tracking in real-time video, or face detection and surface appearance capture. UCL now has a broad expertise in medical imaging (see description of CMIC), and also in tracking and interpretation of images (e.g. expertise of Julier and Prince who are on the management team). Previously we have supported several EngD projects in this area: e.g. Philips (structure from MRI), Sortex (object detection), Bodymetrics (body measurement from scanning data), where the innovation has been in higher-levels of interpretation of imaging data and derivation of measurements automatically. Two other projects highlight the rapidly developing imaging technology, with high-density sensors and high dynamic range imagery (e.g. BBC and Framestore). We have outline support from several companies for continuing in this area. - Media & Interfaces, covering real-time graphics and interactive interfaces. For example, the use of spatially immersive interfaces, or computer games technology. We have a growing relationship with a number of key games companies (EA, Sony, Eidos, Rebellion), where their concern or interest lies in the management of large sets of assets for complex games software. There is interest in tools for developing imagery (r.g. Arthropics, Geomerics). We also have interest in the online 3D social spaces from IBM and BT. A relatively recent development that we plan to exploit is the combination of real-time tracking, real-time graphics and ubiquitous sensing to create augmented reality systems. Interest has been expressed in this area from Selex and BAe. There is also a growing use of these technologies in the digital heritage area, which we have expertise in and want to expand. - Visualisation & Design, covering the generation and visualisation of computer models in support of decision-making processes. For example, the use of visualisation of geographic models, or generative modelling for architectural design. Great advances have been made in this area recently, with the popularity of online GIS tools such as Google Earth tied in to web services and the acceptance of the role of IT in complex design processes. We would highlight the areas of parameterised geometry (e.g. with Fosters and the ComplexMatters spin-out), studying pedestrian movements (with Buro Happold, Node Architects), visualisation of GIS data (e.g. ThinkLondon, Arup Geotechnical), and medical visualisation.These themes will be supported by broadening the engagement with other centres around UCL, including: the UCL Interaction Centre, the Centre for Medical Image Computing, the Chorley Institute and the Centre for Computational Science.The main value of the centre is that visual engineering requires cross-disciplinary training. This is possible with a normal PhD, but within the centre model inter-disciplinary training can embed the students' focussed research into a larger context. The centre model provides a programme structure and forums to ensure that opportunities and mechanisms for cross-disciplinary working are available. The centre also provides an essential role in providing some core training; though by its nature the programme must incorporate modules of teaching from a wide variety of departments that would otherwise be difficult to justify.

Computational Creativity is the study of how to build software which takes on some of the creative responsibility in arts and science projects. We are at a stage where software can generate pictures, melodies, jokes and poems, can invent new words and discover new and interesting mathematical theorems, and regularly helps scientists to make important discoveries. This kind software can be used autonomously, or in collaboration with creative people. It is also used in cognitive modelling projects, to shed light on aspects of human and animal creativity. In the last decade, Computational Creativity has come of age, as evidenced by special issues of publications such as the Minds and Machines journal and the AI magazine, and the first International Joint Conference on Computational Creativity, which replaced 10 years of successful workshops at major AI conferences. The proposed Leadership Fellow, Simon Colton, is a recognised expert in Computational Creativity, and has been working in the field since 1996. He is unique in having been involved in successful applications of creative software to four different domains, namely mathematical invention, video game design, graphic design and the visual arts. His mathematical theory formation software, HR, has produced theorems and concepts published in the mathematical literature; his visual art software, The Painting Fool, has produced pictures that have been exhibited and attracted much public attention; and research being done in the Computational Creativity group that he leads at Imperial College is helping video games companies to design the next generation of adaptive, personalised games. A number of authors, such as Boden, Wiggins and Ritchie, have introduced formalisms which help us to be more precise about the creativity of software. However, there is no agreed upon theory which can describe the behaviour of software with sufficient acuity, coverage and formality that enables accurate comparison of implementations. In short, we have no generic way of saying that software B is more creative than software A. This has held back our field, because with no concrete and formal measures of the creativity of the software we build, it has been hard to put forward falsifiable scientific hypotheses that one approach is more creative than another, hence it has been difficult to progress, and to show progress. With this Fellowship, we propose to change this situation, by developing Computational Creativity Theory (CCT). This will comprise a series of models, each of which contains some conceptual definitions and some calculations involving those definitions which can be used to compare and contrast the creativity of software. The foundational models will make more precise the notion of a creative act and the impact they can have, and the more acute models will cover aspects of creative behaviour including intentionality, interpretation, imagination, appreciation and affect. To model computer creativity sufficiently well, we generalise past the merely generative and past usual AI notions of value, into new areas where software is expected to invent its own aesthetic and utilitarian measures, and frame its creations by describing its motivations, intentions, methods and innovations and by putting its work into historical and cultural contexts. The proposed programme of research has the development of CCT at its heart. This is informed by a series of practical projects involving applications to creative language, music, visual arts, mathematics and games, and covering modes of creativity including realtime generation, assistive technologies and creative collaborations. By building and disseminating CCT, we will help to bring Computational Creativity research into a new era, where formal notions of creativity underpin software systems which really enrich our cultural lives.

Computational Creativity is the study of how to build software which takes on some of the creative responsibility in arts and science projects. We are at a stage where software can generate pictures, melodies, jokes and poems, can invent new words and discover new and interesting mathematical theorems, and regularly helps scientists to make important discoveries. This kind software can be used autonomously, or in collaboration with creative people. It is also used in cognitive modelling projects, to shed light on aspects of human and animal creativity. In the last decade, Computational Creativity has come of age, as evidenced by special issues of publications such as the Minds and Machines journal and the AI magazine, and the first International Joint Conference on Computational Creativity, which replaced 10 years of successful workshops at major AI conferences. The proposed Leadership Fellow, Simon Colton, is a recognised expert in Computational Creativity, and has been working in the field since 1996. He is unique in having been involved in successful applications of creative software to four different domains, namely mathematical invention, video game design, graphic design and the visual arts. His mathematical theory formation software, HR, has produced theorems and concepts published in the mathematical literature; his visual art software, The Painting Fool, has produced pictures that have been exhibited and attracted much public attention; and research being done in the Computational Creativity group that he leads at Imperial College is helping video games companies to design the next generation of adaptive, personalised games. A number of authors, such as Boden, Wiggins and Ritchie, have introduced formalisms which help us to be more precise about the creativity of software. However, there is no agreed upon theory which can describe the behaviour of software with sufficient acuity, coverage and formality that enables accurate comparison of implementations. In short, we have no generic way of saying that software B is more creative than software A. This has held back our field, because with no concrete and formal measures of the creativity of the software we build, it has been hard to put forward falsifiable scientific hypotheses that one approach is more creative than another, hence it has been difficult to progress, and to show progress. With this Fellowship, we propose to change this situation, by developing Computational Creativity Theory (CCT). This will comprise a series of models, each of which contains some conceptual definitions and some calculations involving those definitions which can be used to compare and contrast the creativity of software. The foundational models will make more precise the notion of a creative act and the impact they can have, and the more acute models will cover aspects of creative behaviour including intentionality, interpretation, imagination, appreciation and affect. To model computer creativity sufficiently well, we generalise past the merely generative and past usual AI notions of value, into new areas where software is expected to invent its own aesthetic and utilitarian measures, and frame its creations by describing its motivations, intentions, methods and innovations and by putting its work into historical and cultural contexts. The proposed programme of research has the development of CCT at its heart. This is informed by a series of practical projects involving applications to creative language, music, visual arts, mathematics and games, and covering modes of creativity including realtime generation, assistive technologies and creative collaborations. By building and disseminating CCT, we will help to bring Computational Creativity research into a new era, where formal notions of creativity underpin software systems which really enrich our cultural lives.

The creative industries are crucial to UK social and cultural life and one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors of the economy. Games and media are key pillars for growth in the creative industries, with UK turnovers of £3.5bn and £12.9bn respectively. Research in digital creativity has started to be well supported by governmental funds. To achieve full impact from these investments, translational and audience-facing research activities are needed to turn ideas into commercial practice and societal good. We propose a "Digital Creativity" Hub for such next-step research, which will produce impact from a huge amount of research activity in direct collaboration with a large group of highly engaged stakeholders, delivering impact in the Digital Economy challenge areas of Sustainable Society, Communities and Culture and New Economic Models. York is the perfect location for the DC Hub, with a fast-growing Digital Creativity industry (which grew 18.4% from 2011 to 2012), and 4800 creative digital companies within a 40-mile radius of the city. The DC Hub will be housed in the Ron Cooke Hub, alongside the IGGI centre for doctoral training, world-class researchers, and numerous small hi-tech companies. The DC Hub brings: - A wealth of research outcomes from Digital Economy projects funded by £90m of grants, £40m of which was managed directly by the investigators named in the proposal. The majority of these projects are interdisciplinary collaborations which involved co-creation of research questions and approaches with creative industry partners, and all of them produced results which are ripe for translational impact. - Substantial cash and in-kind support amounting to pledges of £9m from 80 partner organisations. These include key organisations in the Digital Economy, such as the KTN, Creative England and the BBC, major companies such as BT, Sony and IBM, and a large number of SMEs working in games and interactive media. The host Universities have also pledged £3.3m in matched funding, with the University of York agreeing to hire four "transitional" research fellows on permanent contracts from the outset leading to academic positions as a Professor, a Reader and two Lecturers. - Strong overlap with current projects run by the investigators which have complementary goals. These include the NEMOG project to study new economic models and opportunities for games, the Intelligent Games and Game Intelligence (IGGI) centre for doctoral training, with 55+ PhDs, and the Falmouth ERA Chair project, which will contribute an extra 5 five-year research fellowships to the DC Hub, leveraging £2m of EC funding for translational research in digital games technologies. - A diverse and highly active base of 16 investigators and 4 named PDRAs across four universities, who have much experience of working together on funded research projects delivering high-impact results. The links between these investigators are many and varied, and interdisciplinarity is ensured by a group of investigators working across Computer Science, Theatre Film and TV, Electronics, Art, Audio Production, Sociology, Education, Psychology, and Business. - Huge potential for step-change impact in the creative industries, with particular emphasis on video game technologies, interactive media, and the convergence of games and media for science and society. Projects in these areas will be supported by and feed into basic research in underpinning themes of data analytics, business models, human-computer interaction and social science. The projects will range over impact themes comprising impact projects which will be specified throughout the life of the Hub in close collaboration with our industry partners, who will help shape the research, thus increasing the potential for major impact. - A management team, with substantial experience of working together on large projects for research and impact in collaboration with the digital creative industries.

Computational Creativity is the study of how to build software which takes on some of the creative responsibility in arts and science projects. We are at a stage where software can generate pictures, melodies, jokes and poems, can invent new words and discover new and interesting mathematical theorems, and regularly helps scientists to make important discoveries. This kind software can be used autonomously, or in collaboration with creative people. It is also used in cognitive modelling projects, to shed light on aspects of human and animal creativity. In the last decade, Computational Creativity has come of age, as evidenced by special issues of publications such as the Minds and Machines journal and the AI magazine, and the first International Joint Conference on Computational Creativity, which replaced 10 years of successful workshops at major AI conferences. The proposed Leadership Fellow, Simon Colton, is a recognised expert in Computational Creativity, and has been working in the field since 1996. He is unique in having been involved in successful applications of creative software to four different domains, namely mathematical invention, video game design, graphic design and the visual arts. His mathematical theory formation software, HR, has produced theorems and concepts published in the mathematical literature; his visual art software, The Painting Fool, has produced pictures that have been exhibited and attracted much public attention; and research being done in the Computational Creativity group that he leads at Imperial College is helping video games companies to design the next generation of adaptive, personalised games. A number of authors, such as Boden, Wiggins and Ritchie, have introduced formalisms which help us to be more precise about the creativity of software. However, there is no agreed upon theory which can describe the behaviour of software with sufficient acuity, coverage and formality that enables accurate comparison of implementations. In short, we have no generic way of saying that software B is more creative than software A. This has held back our field, because with no concrete and formal measures of the creativity of the software we build, it has been hard to put forward falsifiable scientific hypotheses that one approach is more creative than another, hence it has been difficult to progress, and to show progress. With this Fellowship, we propose to change this situation, by developing Computational Creativity Theory (CCT). This will comprise a series of models, each of which contains some conceptual definitions and some calculations involving those definitions which can be used to compare and contrast the creativity of software. The foundational models will make more precise the notion of a creative act and the impact they can have, and the more acute models will cover aspects of creative behaviour including intentionality, interpretation, imagination, appreciation and affect. To model computer creativity sufficiently well, we generalise past the merely generative and past usual AI notions of value, into new areas where software is expected to invent its own aesthetic and utilitarian measures, and frame its creations by describing its motivations, intentions, methods and innovations and by putting its work into historical and cultural contexts. The proposed programme of research has the development of CCT at its heart. This is informed by a series of practical projects involving applications to creative language, music, visual arts, mathematics and games, and covering modes of creativity including realtime generation, assistive technologies and creative collaborations. By building and disseminating CCT, we will help to bring Computational Creativity research into a new era, where formal notions of creativity underpin software systems which really enrich our cultural lives.