Our Computer Science Department is one of the top ranked in the UK and we are at the forefront of next generation innovation. Our research projects are having a world-changing impact.
Our research is paving the way on new technological development that allows cars to be driven autonomously on public roads.
Professor Toby Breckon’s research team is primarily focused on the use of automated image understanding techniques and addresses two key algorithmic tasks relating to how vehicles perceive the road environment upon which they are driving – “Where am I?” (known as the task of localisation) and “What is around me?” (known as the task of scene understanding).
Using stereo vision, a technique that uses a pair of cameras to measure object distances similarly to our own pair of eyes, the vehicle can estimate the distances of objects around it in both in an urban and rural setting.
Additionally, using recent advances in convolutional neural networks, his team have been able to enable the vehicle to both detect objects in the near vicinity such as pedestrians and other vehicles for obstacle avoidance, whilst also recognising varying terrain types for off-road driving.
Our research on automatic and algorithmic prohibited item detection, using a range of computer vision techniques on both 2D X-ray and 3D Computed Tomography (CT) imagery, has directly informed UK and US governments on aviation security policy.
Our work now directly contributes to the security of over 500 million annual passenger journeys across five continents and the technology is now available at an ever-increasing number of major international airports.
We contribute Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) expertise and experience to the EU H2020 project ARETE.
The project aims to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive Augmented Reality (AR) content toolkit to be deployed in a range of context, including language learning, STEM education, and positive behaviour intervention and support.
Beneficiaries of the AR toolkit include not only school students and teachers, who can learn and teach effectively and enjoyably, but also researchers and practitioners in academia and industry, who can help enhance the innovative capacity of AR.
Our Department of Computer Science is growing, with ambitious plans for the future and an inclusive, vibrant and international community at its heart. Ranked as a UK Top 10 Department (Complete University Guide 2023), our students develop knowledge and gain essential and transferable skills through high quality teaching, delivered by a passionate team of leading academics.
Feeling inspired? Visit our Computer Science webpages to learn more about our postgraduate and undergraduate programmes.
/prod01/prodbucket01/media/durham-university/departments-/computer-science/Image-15---Twizzy-Car-Durham-City.jpg)