Understanding human skin appearance is a subject of great interest in science, medicine and technology. In medicine, skin appearance is a vital factor in surgical/prosthetic reconstruction, medical make-up/tattooing and disease diagnosis. The production of facial prostheses to replace missing facial structures requires the skills of highly trained anaplastologists to correctly match the shape and colour of the prosthesis to that of the host skin. With the 3D printing of human skin now available the process involved in matching natural and manufactured skin samples has become essential; a robust, accurate and efficient imaging system is required that acquires the relevant skin information and predicts a good match and translates this information through this new and innovative manufacturing process. A major problem with manufactured skin is that the match to the individual's natural skin must hold not only be accurate under a particular ambient illumination but the match needs to be preserved when the individual is moving between different environments, e.g. when the individual moves from office or LED lighting into daylight. To achieve this illumination invariance, the physical properties of the skin need to be taken into account. A further requirement for successful skin reproduction is the development of appearance models. These can be considered as individual "recipes' or 'blueprints" for each skin type and these not only represent inter-personal differences - different ethnic groups and age ranges, but also intra-personal differences - for each individual. Features of the human skin (wrinkles, pores, freckles, spots etc) make human skin as individual as a finger prints and thus, for facial prosthetics applications, skin appearance models also need to be fine-tuned for each individual area. The purpose of this work is to develop a complete spectral-based 3D imaging system which will allow us to additively manufacture soft tissue prosthetics or deliver predictable tattooing techniques that will exactly match the skin colour of a particular individual (Application 1) or have the capability to rapidly manufacture/3D print soft tissue replacements representative of a particular ethnic/age/gender group with a high degree of accuracy (Application 2). In application 1, the input to this 3D imaging system will consist of a 3D colour skin image (of a particular individual) obtained with a 3D camera in conjunction other specific skin characteristics. The skin sample will then be printed using a printer profile that maximises the match between the natural and printed skin across different ambient illuminations. In application 2, the skin manufacturing process will not be fine-tuned for a particular individual, but input to the 3D imaging system will consist of basic information about the age, gender and ethnicity. Representative skin samples (colour; texture; translucency; geometry) for this group will then be loaded from a pre-computed library instead of using the measurements from an individual.

Virtual Production (VP) is a novel approach to media creation that utilises digital tools such as computer-generated imagery, motion tracking and virtual and augmented reality to produce immersive media experiences that appear realistic. Used more widely in the gaming, film, and television industries, the application of VP technologies to the live performance industry has yet to be fully explored. Despite the environmental and creative benefits of VP, the technology is currently expensive, highly specialised, and out of the reach of most small production companies, creating a significant skills gap. The development of new, accessible, low-cost technologies and frameworks targeted at real creative sector needs is therefore essential for UK industry to maintain a competitive digital economy. To this end, the University of York, in collaboration with our core project partners, Production Park, Screen Yorkshire, Wakefield Council, Vodafone, and York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, have created the CoSTAR Live Lab - a world-leading facility in the research and development of novel immersive and interactive technologies. Our lab supports the rapid convergence of the UK screen and performance sectors within the framework of live performance and the metaverse. Directed by the University of York, which has a track record of delivering high-impact XR technologies and developing the creative industry in its region, and based at Production Park, the UK's largest live production facility, in the heart of West Yorkshire. The CoSTAR Live Lab facility focuses on developing market ready products and services utilising immersive technologies, achieved by building a unique laboratory infrastructure on top of a thriving state-of-the-art commercial VP facility. This is the only specialised research facility in the world where the creation of production tools, workflows, and content for networked immersive virtual live performances coexists with a campus of businesses committed to live performance. Our main goal is to develop innovative, low-cost technologies and efficient workflows to transform the live performance sector, boost the growth of small and medium-sized businesses in the region, and contribute to the expansion of the wider UK creative sector. CoSTAR Live Lab includes three main laboratory spaces: a large volume commercial VP stage with high resolution motion tracking, LED panels and 3D immersive sound; a performer-performer / performer-audience network lab; and an end-user experience lab for VP. It also houses a team of world-class researchers dedicated to creating innovative and novel technologies that are close-to-market and shaped by the needs of industry. The facility enables commercialisation of the research and will incubate start-ups and high-growth SMEs. Our unique Access programme encourages public and industry participation in R&D activities, workshops, networking events, technology showcases, lectures and symposia. Within the CoSTAR ecosystem the Live Lab contributes a unique capability to develop technologies for future live performance experiences using VP, from small-scale pilots to arena-sized productions, and will deliver scalable, efficient, and accessible workflows, paving the way to position the UK as the leader in immersive and interactive live production experiences.

With discernible effects of climate change manifesting globally, immediate reduction of carbon emissions is crucial. The UK aims to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035, of which 2% to 4% come from the ICT sector. The UN sector body for ICT (ITU) has set decarbonisation goals of 45% by 2030 - while demand for ICT services continues to grow from increased uptake of new and better services. The ICT companies that operate datacentres and networks, and those companies that provide digital software services 'on-top' of the physical internet infrastructure begin to set their own Net Zero goals of carbon emission reductions. Now they each need to implement these goals through concrete reduction strategies based on specific changes. However, the knowledge of what changes to software services will reliably result in carbon reductions is missing, as the existing understanding ignores the interactions between the complex, highly dynamic ICT supply chains underlying digital services. Currently, an accounting perspective is implicit in reasoning about and estimating current carbon impacts and which forms the basis for deciding how to reduce carbon. This is deeply problematic. This project aims to create the missing causal understanding and investigate a framework for anticipating the systemic, long-term environmental impact from changes to the design, provision, and use of digital services and provide a step-improvement to our ability to pursue Net-Zero goals. Our project team represents the entire vertical stack of technologies that form the ICT product system, from user-facing digital services to network and datacentre operators. We have the experience and capacity to investigate ways to reason about and assess the longer-term carbon impact from decisions taken by users, software providers, and infrastructure operators. Let's consider the difference between merely accounting for existing carbon emissions and estimating future reductions from actions in the case of train travel. Roughly, using an accounting method, the footprint per passenger per mile from fuel is the per-mile fuel consumption of the entire train divided by the average number of passengers (the approach is similar for impact from construction of trains and tracks). Importantly, such a carbon footprint per passenger-mile cannot be used to estimate the amount of carbon that could be saved per passenger that was not travelling. Instead, decarbonising train travel requires long-term changes, such as modifying fuel types, train construction, and schedules. As passengers are not free to choose between trains by their fuel types, it might be acceptable to provide this information to consumers. However, software providers must not use analogue accounting-style reasoning to estimate carbon footprints for cloud computing and networks when thinking about their Net Zero plans, as they would misestimate the longer-term consequences of their initiatives. In contrast to train passengers, software providers have a certain freedom in the design and operation of their services through their choice of architecture and suppliers. They shape demand for peak performance of infrastructure paired with instant and constant availability and so co-evolve with cloud computing and networks. Software engineers and designers thus need an understanding of how their decisions drive carbon emissions long-term - so they know e.g. What carbon savings come from reducing video resolution? What is the real carbon benefit from pre-loading content off-peak? Etc. With our partners that operate some of the world's largest ICT services, we study how environmental impact is driven by choices taken during software design, operation and use. From this, we investigate a framework that can support designers and developers. This will unlock innovation from a systemic, causal understanding and provide a step-improvement to our ability to pursue Net-Zero goals.

As cultural artefacts, video games are complex, multi-faceted products that encompass creative practices from character and narrative, interaction and gameplay design, architecture, product and environment design to sound design and composition. Technically they bring together software engineering with maths and physics, AI with networks and user data. Bring these together with a dynamic and competitive commercial environment and a disrupted technology environment and a growing cultural significance and you can begin to appreciate the challenges faced by this industry. SMEs operating in the video games sector are subject to technological, market and platform disruption where platform access and 'discoverability' are significant challenges to product viability. These factors are exerting a downward pressure on innovation and the creation of original IP in the Dundee cluster. The InGame partnership will pursue a highly collaborative, embedded approach to R&D by establishing a dedicated a R&D centre at the heart of the cluster. Artists, designers and creative writers will be co-located with technologists and business specialists to offer a dynamic and responsive resource to engage with three significant high-level challenges - consolidated from issues raised through local consultation, a survey of over 700 UK games studios and the trade body's blueprint for growth - where combined collaborative R&D could lead to significant growth, sustainability and intensification for the computer games cluster in Dundee. Creative Risk: Over the last decade the dominant business model in the Dundee games cluster has shifted from a publishing model where development costs are borne by the publisher in advance of sales income; to a platform model where individual games companies carry the cost of development in return for as larger proportion of the sales revenue. As a consequence the risk attendant with the development of original IP for the games market is, more often than not, fatal for start-up and micro-SME studios. Technological Innovation: Working practices in this cluster are characteristically solution focused and iterative, and often inventive and ingenious. However, technology innovations are not systematically captured or tested for generalization or re-use value. Commercial pressure on value chains has inhibited SMEs from taking on the risk of high-value innovation activity resulting in lost economic opportunity and inhibited cluster growth. Organisational Development: The cluster is characterized by a high number of dynamic micro-SMEs creating content for mobile, tablet and PC gaming platforms. The city is also home to a smaller number of mid-sized SME's with established product portfolios ranging from original franchises, sub-contracted development for established franchises and studios developing games for console. There is a growing professional services sector (accountancy, legal) and cultural scene (galleries and events). R&D in organisational development in this context relates to start-up at company level through to cluster and ecosystem development. The education sector is foundational to the cluster; Abertay University's Center for Excellence in Computer Games Education is characterised by active and mature collaboration between businesses, universities, and agencies of every scale. The University's longstanding relationship with national and multi-national games companies offers a unique opportunity to catalyse the value chain in the Dundee cluster. The academic partnership with Dundee University in Design for Business, and St Andrews School of Management's expertise in Creative Industries offers a world-leading research base for the R&D partnership. The InGAME R&D Center and cohort of Creative R&D Fellows will establish a new mode of engagement for industry and universities to work effectively and responsively to meet the challenge of cross-sector collaborative R&D in the Creative Industries.

Storytelling is central to human activity, one of the ways in which we make sense of the world. The screen industries are the latest in a long line of technologies and cultural practices committed to the creation of stories. Film, TV, video, computer games and other interactive media now tell stories digitally. But digital technologies are changing rapidly, enabling new modes of creation, new approaches to storytelling, new experiences for audiences and users. How can the screen industries keep pace with such change? How can they make the most of the new opportunities available to them? How can they develop the skills necessary to engage with these new technologies? How can they create with those technologies in ways that are exciting, commercially viable and capable of generating significant economic growth? These are some of the questions that Creative Media Labs (CML) seeks to answer, as it enables innovations in screen storytelling in the age of interactivity and immersion. The focus of CML is the considerable cluster of screen industry enterprises in the Yorkshire and Humber (Y&H) region. The partnership aims to enable this regional cluster to become the UK centre of excellence for the next generation of digital storytelling. This is an established creative industries cluster that has been earmarked for significant support through Screen Yorkshire's (SY) Growth Plan, backed by the British Film Institute's (BFI) Creative Clusters Challenge Fund, and showcased in the Creative Industries Sector Deal document as one of five "prominent creative industries cluster projects". SY, the BFI and University of York (UoY) have come together in a collaboration that blends world-leading research on digital storytelling with national strategic vision and unparalleled regional industry nous. Clustering is key to the development of the contemporary screen industries, and clusters come in many shapes and sizes. With key initiatives across its five major cities, the Y&H region saw the fastest rate of screen industry growth in the UK in 2009-2015. It is home to one of only three ITV production centres, producing around 500 hours of TV annually; True North, the biggest factual producer in the North of England, now owned by Sky; Warp Films, probably the most important out-of-London film company in the UK, and winners of multiple BAFTAs; Rockstar, one of the largest games developers in the world; Sumo Digital, one of the fastest growing games companies in the UK with over 300 staff; Revolution Software, developers of the hugely successful Broken Sword series; Viridian FX, one of the largest VFX houses in the North of England; and Church Fenton Yorkshire Studios, a major production facility used by Mammoth Screen for ITV's Victoria. There is also a wealth of micro businesses working in the sector. Creative Media Labs will build a sustainable, collaborative R&D partnership around this regional screen industries cluster, its numerous MSMEs and branches of large creative enterprises. Its core delivery partners are UoY, SY and the BFI; the key local authorities, enterprise partnerships and universities in the region are on board; so too are investors and several leading national trade associations, organisations and creative enterprises. Co-creation and collaborative working will be at the core of what we do. UoY has an excellent track record in multi-disciplinary research, with huge investment in creativity, across the arts, humanities and sciences - a combination reflected in the multi-million pound Digital Creativity Labs. There is an extensive pool of research expertise in digital storytelling, from writing, through media embodiment, to development of underpinning technologies. By identifying industry-led challenges, this expertise will be shared with the Y&H screen industries cluster in ways that will enable us to fulfil our ambition to establish the region as the UK centre of excellence for digital storytelling.