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The PETRAS National Centre of Excellence was established in 2016 and concluded on 30 June 2024. The Centre existed to ensure that technological advances in the Internet of Things (IoT) and systems at the ‘edge’ of the Internet, were safely and securely developed and applied in consumer and business contexts. This was done by taking a co-creative systems approach to the social and technical issues relating to the cybersecurity of IoT devices, systems and networks.
Initially funded in 2016 by Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), and later by the UK Government’s UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund from 2019 to 2023, both through EPSRC, PETRAS focused on ensuring the safe and secure development of IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning technologies. The centre funded 116 research projects, distributing over £13.2 million in total funds.
The research projects all involved collaboration with organisations in government, industry and academia, and this maximised knowledge exchange and real-world impact. This approach saw the centre gain over 149 User Partners.
PETRAS influenced national policy, exemplified by literature reviews commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) in 2018. The engagement extended to the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT), where PETRAS researchers contributed to a literature review on public perceptions of connected places. The programme also included 15 months of post-doctoral deployment to the Department for Transport (DfT). Further work included a commission from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) feeding into the Tech Horizons Report 2022. Local governments also benefited from PETRAS’s insights, particularly in the adoption of IoT and edge technologies.
A commitment to co-creating solutions with tangible societal benefits, outreach efforts including exhibitions, events, and a podcast series, played a crucial role in fostering public understanding and engagement.
The PETRAS legacy extends beyond the research phase, with postdoctoral researchers and PhD students achieving success in academia, industry, and government. With approximately 45% of PETRAS research publications having at least 10 citations, and 30% considered highly impactful.
PETRAS was a consortium of 24 research institutions: University College London, Imperial College London, University of Oxford, Lancaster University, University of Warwick, University of Southampton, Newcastle University, University of Nottingham, University of Bristol, Cardiff University, University of Edinburgh, University of Surrey, Coventry University, Northumbria University, Tate, University of Glasgow, Cranfield University, De Montfort University, Durham University, University of Manchester, Royal Holloway, University of London, University of Strathclyde, Keele University, and Loughborough University.
Access over 550 PETRAS publications here.
The PETRAS website is no longer maintained, but is hosted by UCL Computer Science. The https://petras-iot.org/ domain will not exist beyond July 2026.
You can access the archived PETRAS website here: https://petras.cs.ucl.ac.uk/