Our case studies showcase academic research from across the Department that has had an impact on the world or local community, and feature some of our current academics, research staff, Alumni and students.
Speeding Up the Future of AI
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is advancing at extraordinary speed. But behind every breakthrough — from facial recognition on smartphones to tools that summarise documents in seconds — lies an intensive and expensive process: training. Before an AI model can recognise an image or generate useful responses, it must be trained on vast amounts of data. For today’s largest systems, that training can take weeks or even months using highly specialised and costly hardware.
A long-term Engineering and Clinical Collaboration
Biomedical Engineering
How the Institute of Biomedical Engineering helped shape two decades of progress in Oxford’s Focused Ultrasound Programme, leading to the University of Oxford being named a Focused Ultrasound Foundation Centre of Excellence in 2023.
Rethinking Robotics: From Intelligent Machines to Intelligent Environments
Robotics
Professor Daniele De Martini's research spans robotics and artificial intelligence, focusing on perception, localisation, mapping, and decision-making for autonomous systems. In recent years, his work has taken a distinctive direction, challenging long-held assumptions about where intelligence in robotic systems should reside.
Heat Pumps cut energy use but increase peak demand
Energy
A study focusing on the real-world deployment of ground source heat pumps (GSHP) in retrofitted UK social housing apartments, has quantified the impact of domestic electrification transition on the electricity grid. The research provides data that could be useful for policymakers, as the UK progresses its net-zero roadmap, demonstrating both substantial energy savings and emerging infrastructural challenges.