The first and original Internet was a paradigm changer but the latest developments push things further than could ever have been imagined.

Professor Mischa Dohler, Centre for Telecommunications Research

Academics from the Department of Informatics are working to develop a new generation of internet that could have a major global impact in conquering some of the world’s biggest challenges.

Called the ‘Internet of Skills’, the new network is a collaboration between robotics, artificial intelligence and 5G technology that will enable the delivery of physical experiences remotely and could revolutionise the way we interact with our surroundings.

This is the next step from the ‘Internet of Things’ which sees everyday objects networked together to send and receive data and will be familiar to most in the form of the revolutionary Amazon Dash technology recently made commercially available. 

The network is being developed with the aim of being reliable, cheap and having perceived zero delay – meaning a user could eventually replicate physical movement through a device (such as a robotic hand) in two different places in the world. This could have major global impacts for healthcare, disaster response and education.

The technology is currently at prototype stage but in the future could be deployed in disaster zones and would mean a top health care professional in the UK could operate in a war zone via robotics or assist in infectious disease response without risk of contamination.

Professor Mischa Dohler who is leading the work said: ‘Each Internet generation was believed to be the last, with designs pushed to near perfection. The first and original Internet was a paradigm changer but the latest developments push things further than could ever have been imagined.

‘With this new network we envisage a world where our best engineers can service cars instantaneously around the world; or anybody can be taught how to paint by the best available artists globally.’

King’s is also one of three sites in the UK that will be linked up via 5G test beds for the first time thanks to £16m investment from the Government.

The funding will bring King’s, the University of Surrey and the University of Bristol together for the development of the world’s first trials of end-to-end 5G system.

The investment will fund leading edge technological developments at each of the three universities, linking all three sites through cutting edge design and research, and will see all three work in partnership to keep the UK at the forefront of 5G technology development.