CHEDDAR: Communications Hub For Empowering Distributed ClouD Computing Applications And Research

从我们的移动电话，到大型数据中心，再到我们汽车、医院和电网中的数千个传感器，现代计算的影响是不可否认的。支撑所有这些系统的粘合剂是通信网络。就像我们的铁路和公路如何连接我们居住的地方并支撑一个国家的繁荣一样，我们的通信基础设施也是如此，但随着我们生活在一个日益数字化的时代，也许更是如此。我们目前正处于改变我们设计和使用通信网络方式的两个主要驱动力的交汇点：(1)快速革命带来了新的计算类型连续体(例如，从基于硅的边缘计算到云计算，再到量子、神经形态、分子计算等)--提供了前所未有的速度、并行性和微型化；以及(2)社会和行业中越来越多地使用自治，这正在改变我们对网络的期望以及我们表达网络服务能力的方式。简而言之，传统通信系统现在落后于充分释放新兴云计算和分布式计算潜力所需的水平。不仅如此，如果没有那些研究通信网络的基本部分、信号处理、频谱利用和网络互操作性的人和那些研究下一代自治和计算的人的共同思考，我们根本无法建立灵活的、适合用途的通信基础设施来迎头赶上。切达：支持分布式云计算应用程序和研究的通信中心就在于通信基础设施和服务于我们许多社区的基础设施之间的接口。Cheddar不仅汇集了通信领域的专家，还包括量子、神经符号人工智能、自治等领域的专家，他们在从农场到空间再到智慧城市的应用领域工作过，他们了解安全和隐私，切达的目标是建立一个社区，提供研究方面的阶段性变化，并在新机会出现时灵活应对。切达还旨在对这项研究采取一种不同的和包容性的方法，其中包括在整个英国社区参与和对话的明确机会，以及在研究人员发展方面提供技术和软技能，包括包容性和负责任的研究。该中心特别关注安全/隐私以及可持续性和弹性，旨在加快全国范围内互联计算研究的创新进程，并使英国成为全球灯塔。这是必要的，因为英国已经证明了其在人工智能、自主等主题上处于世界领先地位的能力，但许多EPSRC和UKRI资助的进展将释放其在经济上的潜力-它需要新的通信接口来连接它们并释放这些好处，同时缓解出现的新风险。我们的目标是通过与其他两个中心、博士培训中心和创新知识中心、研究所、政府和标准机构等的连接，开发实现新的通信网络设计和创新的途径，并确定联合能力和设施共享的机制，并交叉促进互联计算能力的共同设计。

From our mobile phones, to large datacentres to the thousands of sensors in our cars, hospitals, and electrical grids, there is no denying the influence that modern computing has. The glue that underpins all these systems is the communications networks. Much like how our railways and roads connect where we live and underpin the prosperity of a country so too do our communications infrastructure, but perhaps even more so as we live in an increasingly digital age. We are currently at the intersection of two major drivers for changing the way we design and use communication networks: (1) rapid revolutions bring about a new continuum of computing types (e.g., ranging from silicon-based edge to cloud compute, to quantum, neuromorphic, molecular computing, etc.) - offering unprecedented speed, parallelism, and miniaturization; and (2) increased use of autonomy across society and industry which is changing our expectations of a network and the way we articulate the ability of our networks to serve us. In short, traditional communication systems are now a step behind where they need to be to fully unleash the potential of emerging cloud and distributed computing. Not only that, without the joint up thinking between those who research the fundamental parts of a communications network; the signal processing, spectrum utilisation and network interoperability people etc. and those who research the next generation autonomy and computation, we are simply not able to build agile fit-for-purpose communications infrastructures to catch up.The CHEDDAR: Communications Hub for Empowering Distributed clouD computing Applications and Research lies on this interface between communications fundamentals and an infrastructure that serves our many communities. Bringing together a spectrum of experts not only in communications but across quantum, neuro-symbolic AI, autonomy etc who have worked in application areas from Farms to Space via Smart Cities, and who understand security and privacy, CHEDDAR aims to build a community that will provide the step change in research and be agile to address new opportunities as they arise. CHEDDAR also aims to take a different and inclusive approach to this research which includes clear opportunities for community engagement and dialogue across the UK, and in researcher development providing both technical and soft-skills round inclusivity and responsible research. With a particular focus on security/privacy and sustainability and resilience this Hub aims to accelerate the national scale innovation process in connected computing research and make UK a lighthouse globally. This is necessary as the UK has demonstrated its ability to be world leading in topics such as AI, Autonomy etc., but many EPSRC and UKRI funded advances are set to unleash their £Bn's of potential on the economy - it requires new communication interfaces to connect them and unleash these benefits, whilst mitigating the new risks that emerge. We aim to develop the pathways to enabling new communication network design and innovation, through connections with the other 2 hubs, with centres of doctoral training and innovation knowledge centres, institutes, government and standards bodies etc. and identify mechanisms for joint capability and facility sharing and cross-fertilize the co-design of connected computing capabilities.