Our research themes
The Department of Computer Science has a dynamic research culture with an international reputation. Our research is focused on these five themes:
Cybersecurity
The Loughborough Cyber Institute (LCI) is a research and education group that aims to address a wide range of issues related to the security and prosperity of society.
Our research spans the cyber–physical environment, encompassing everything from sensing and computational analysis to physical effects in the real world, along with the associated socio-technical elements. Additionally, we focus on the human aspects of cyber security, including insider threats, digital identity, and engagement.
Our team combines significant breadth and depth of practitioner experience with academic rigour. We work in small, focused teams that blend the right mix of skills and expertise from engineers, intelligence analysts, and former military specialists.
This unique combination allows us to tackle complex problems faced by government, industry, and defence, and ensures that our theoretical research has practical, real-world applications.
The LCI maintains a wide international network of collaborators and has a strong track record of funding from academic sources (such as EPSRC, ESRC, LMS, and the Royal Society) government (including DSTL, MoD), as well as international funders. Our team is also actively involved in the academic community, organising and chairing international conferences to expand our connections and increase visibility in the field.
Theoretical Computer Science
Research within the theme covers a variety of established and emerging fields in Theoretical Computer Science (TCS). These range from classical formal languages and automata theory to database theory, from combinatorics on words to cryptography and coding theory, from mathematical logic to game and graph theory.
Often, topics are addressed with an additional emphasis on algorithms, complexity and decidability. Some applications include scheduling and load balancing, verification and software analysis, networking and distributed computing, and AI.
The group has a wide international network of collaborators and has a good track record in funding from EPSRC, LMS, Royal Society as well as international funders like DFG.
The TCS research theme has also been expanding in recent years and forging new connections while also increasing visibility by chairing and organising international conferences such as WORDS, DLT, and DCFS.
Vision, AI, Autonomous and Human Centred Systems
This theme focuses on advancing core and cutting-edge systems at the frontiers of computer vision, AI and autonomous, human centred systems, with publications in the most prestigious journals and venues.
Our research has been successfully applied to a variety of real-world situations, which include: multi-agent systems, service robots, agricultural robots, driverless vehicles, UAVs, underwater robots, human motion analysis, medical imaging, security and surveillance, sports, environment monitoring, ambient assisted living, risk and safety assessment, commodity trading, and manufacturing.
We collaborate extensively with industry to ensure the relevance of its research and have an excellent track record of attracting funding from EPSRC, Newton Fund, Innovate UK, EU, Home Office, NHS and UK industry.
Networks and System
The Networks and System (NetSys) research theme has hosted research projects funded by the EPSRC, Innovate UK, DSTL, RAF, Rolls Royce, BAE Systems and other funding agencies and industries, securing over £5 million in funding in the last five years.
Research includes: the underlying mathematical theory to practical creation and operation of secure networked systems, with specific focus on issues related to Internet and control; AI for networks and systems; digital infrastructure resilience; cyber security; SDN (software defined networking); vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANET); network performance modelling and measurement; and performance evaluation with Quality of Service (QoS) constraints.
The Loughborough Cyber Institute (LCI) is a research and education group focused on cyber-related issues that affect the security and prosperity of society.
We have significant breadth and depth in practitioner experience, working in small teams for all our activities, combining the right mix of practitioner and academic skills and experience.
This mix of academic rigour and practitioner experience allows the theory to reach the real world in a manner that is immediately usable. Our practitioners include engineers, intelligence analysts and former military specialists, allowing us to tackle some of the most complex problems facing government, industry and defence.
Focusing on the cyber–physical environment, our research covers all aspects of technology from sensing through computational analysis to physical effects in the real world and all the associated socio-technical elements in between.
AI in Education
The AI in Education theme explores theoretical and practical aspects of AI in education, including machine learning, natural language processing, AI-generated content, and intelligent tutoring systems.
We aim to foster innovation in education through AI technologies. By developing workshops both within and outside the University, we seek to enlighten educators and students about the advancements in AI and their potential applications in educational contexts. Our activities underscore the importance of ethical considerations, safety, and the responsible use of AI in education.
We actively engage in collaborations with industry and academic partners to ensure our research and projects remain relevant and impactful. Our initiatives are designed to demonstrate practical use cases of AI in education, ranging from AI-generated videos that address unconscious bias and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) issues, to AI-powered tools for student assessment and feedback.