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

从我们的移动的手机，到大型数据中心，再到汽车、医院和电网中的数千个传感器，现代计算的影响力是不可否认的。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因素的交叉点：（1）快速革命带来了新的计算类型连续体（例如，从基于硅的边缘到云计算，再到量子、神经形态、分子计算等）- 提供前所未有的速度，并行性和小型化;（2）在整个社会和行业中越来越多地使用自主权，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，传统的通信系统现在落后于充分释放新兴云和分布式计算潜力的需要。不仅如此，如果没有那些研究通信网络基础部分的人（信号处理、频谱利用和网络互操作性人员等）与研究下一代自主性和计算的人之间的联合思维，我们根本无法构建敏捷的适用通信基础设施来迎头赶上。支持分布式云计算应用和研究的通信中心位于通信基础和服务于我们许多社区的基础设施之间的接口上。CHEDDAR汇集了一系列专家，不仅在通信领域，而且在量子，神经符号AI，自治等领域，他们曾在从农场到空间的应用领域工作过，通过智能城市，并且了解安全和隐私，CHEDDAR旨在建立一个社区，该社区将提供研究的步骤变化，并在出现新机会时灵活应对。CHEDDAR还旨在对这项研究采取不同的包容性方法，其中包括在英国各地进行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的全面包容性和负责任的研究。该中心特别关注安全/隐私，可持续性和弹性，旨在加速连接计算研究的国家规模创新进程，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，自治等领域处于世界领先地位的能力，但许多EPSRC和UKRI资助的进步将释放其对经济的潜在价值-它需要新的通信接口来连接它们并释放这些好处，同时减轻出现的新风险。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，并交叉施肥连接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.