August 13, 2014

How The European Union Is Helping Its Citizens Cope With Big Data

By Daniel Price

With 1.7 million billion bytes of data produced in the world every minute, it is increasingly clear that our brains need to deal with large and complex data sets. The aforementioned figure is the equivalent of 360,000 DVDs – a context that makes it understandable why we might need some assistance. The European Union is […]

With 1.7 million billion bytes of data produced in the world every minute, it is increasingly clear that our brains need to deal with large and complex data sets. The aforementioned figure is the equivalent of 360,000 DVDs – a context that makes it understandable why we might need some assistance.

The European Union is now funding a project – called ‘The Collective Experience of Empathic Data Systems’ (CEEDs) – which they hope will help prevent brain overload. It will work by making use of an interactive system which not only presents data the way users like it, but also changes the presentation constantly in order to prevent fatigue.

The systems works by using an ‘Experience Induction Machine’ (XIM) located in Barcelona to enable users to ‘step inside’ a dataset and participate in an immersive multi-modal environment. It means that its sensors can permanently monitor the person and tailor the system’s reaction according to gestures such as eye movements and blinking frequency, but also physical feedback such as heart rate and breathing rate.

“The system acknowledges when participants are getting fatigued or overloaded with information and it adapts accordingly”, explained Jonathan Freeman, Professor of Psychology at University of London. “It either simplifies the visualisations so as to reduce the cognitive load, thus keeping the user less stressed and more able to focus, or it will guide the person to areas of the data representation that are not as heavy in information”.

The project is already massive and boasts 16 partners in nine countries (Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and the UK). €6.5 million of EU funding has been invested and as the project grows more funding is likely.

The potential use of the technology is almost limitless – from inspection of satellite imagery and oil prospecting, to astronomy, economics and historical research. There is significant interest from places as diverse as Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the United States, with museums and shops appearing to be the businesses most likely to implement it.

In fact, CEEDs has already been used for two years at the Bergen-Belsen memorial site  in Germany and discussions are ongoing with several museums ahead of 2015’s commemorations for the seventy year anniversary of end of World War II. There is also interest from a major international airport and climate analysis firm in Africa.

“Anywhere where there’s a wealth of data that either requires a lot of time or an incredible effort, there is potential,” added Professor Freeman. “We are seeing that it’s physically impossible for people to analyse all the data in front of them, simply because of the time it takes. Any system that can speed it up and make it more efficient is of huge value”.

What other industries do you think CEEDs could be useful for? Let us know in the comments below.

By Daniel Price

Daniel Price

Daniel is a Manchester-born UK native who has abandoned cold and wet Northern Europe and currently lives on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. A former Financial Consultant, he now balances his time between writing articles for several industry-leading tech (CloudTweaks.com & MakeUseOf.com), sports, and travel sites and looking after his three dogs.

Exploring SaaS Directories: The Path to Optimal Software Selection

Exploring the Landscape of SaaS Directories SaaS directories are vital in today’s digital age, serving [...]
Read more
Steve Prentice

Episode 19: Why AWS Needs to Become Opinionated about FinOps

On today’s episode of the CloudTweaks podcast, Steve Prentice chats with Rahul Subramaniam, CEO at CloudFix [...]
Read more

Lambda Cold Starts: What They Are and How to Fix Them

What Are Lambda Cold Starts? Lambda cold starts occur when AWS Lambda has to initialize [...]
Read more

Azure Free Tier vs. AWS Free Tier: Which Provides More Value?

Cloud computing has become a cornerstone for the digital transformation of businesses. From startups to [...]
Read more
Katrina Thompson

Why Zombie APIs are Such an Important Vulnerability

Zombie APIs APIs have a lifecycle, the same as anything else. They are born, they [...]
Read more

AI at the Gate: Navigating the Future of Cybersecurity with SonicWall’s Bobby Cornwell

Navigating the Future of Cybersecurity In the face of the digital age’s advancements, AI’s role [...]
Read more

SPONSORS

Interviews and Thought Leadership

Randy

Karen Buffo, CMO of MixMode, on the Rise of AI in Safeguarding Digital Assets

Welcome to our Q&A session with Karen Buffo, CMO of MixMode, hosted by CloudTweaks. Today, we’ll explore the profound impact of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) on cybersecurity. As AI takes [...]
Read more
Andy Hilliard

Accelerance CEO Unveils the Future: AI’s Role in Software Development

In this edition of CloudTweaks, we feature an insightful discussion with Andy Hilliard, CEO of Accelerance, a pioneering force in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the software development industry. Andy [...]
Read more

Driving Growth: Srini Kalapala Discusses Verizon’s Network APIs

Welcome to our interview with Srini Kalapala, Senior VP of Technology and Product Development at Verizon. Today, we explore how [...]
Read more

Digital Solutions for Legal Matchmaking: The Role of AI in Connecting Clients with Lawyers

The Role of AI in Connecting Clients with Lawyers The legal industry is transforming significantly in today’s digital age, embracing [...]
Read more

Embracing Governance to Navigate 2024’s Tech Trends

Mastering Governance Strategies for Success The start of a new year is a fitting time for goal-setting, and IT managers [...]
Read more

SPONSOR PARTNER

Explore top-tier education with exclusive savings on online courses from MIT, Oxford, and Harvard through our e-learning sponsor. Elevate your career with world-class knowledge. Start now!
© 2024 CloudTweaks. All rights reserved.