New research looks to improve internet experience

University of Northampton researcher Dr Mu Mu has been awarded £100,000 to research ways of making the internet work better for users.

The two-year project – funded by the EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) – aims to find solutions to common frustrations such as slow music downloads or buffering during video playback.

“At the moment, user experience is not given precedence, with priority usually given to other features such as network coverage,” said Dr Mu, from the University’s Advanced Technologies Research Group.

“As such, different media streams compete for resources, and user experience suffers.”

To improve the flow of internet traffic, the project aims to develop software that will improve network efficiency, fairness, and ultimately, user experience.

High quality and reliable media streaming will also be beneficial to the digital economy and digital public services, added Dr Mu.

The grant ‘Software Defined Cognitive Networking: Intelligent Resource Provisioning for Future Networks’ starts this autumn and will employ a research associate and at least one PhD student.

Also involved are Lancaster University and Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.

You will be able to follow the progress of the project on Dr Mu’s blog.