Deep Digital Cornwall opens state-of-the-art visualisation suite and data hub

Powered by Virtalis-Geovisionary hardware and software, and hosted on a 4.4 metre x 2.8 metre screen, the Deep Digital Cornwall visualisation suite is designed to open one’s imagination and unlock new research and innovation ideas, including, for example, the ability to visualise Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in 3D. The project team have been developing GeoVision Cornwall, a brand-new model of Cornwall using subsurface, surface, aerial and satellite data.

Deep Digital Cornwall (DDC) is a £4.2 million project funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to conduct new research and support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly with grant funding and knowledge exchange. The project launched in early 2021 and is connecting research-intensive digital businesses working with the underground environment, to form a cluster of excellence in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Project staff at the University of Exeter, Cornwall Resources, Cornish Lithium and the South West Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications have been generating, digitising and compiling open-source datasets that can be used in combination with proprietary or additional public domain data, to enable the modelling and visualisation of digital, real-world scenarios and create new research and business opportunities in the natural resources sector and beyond.

The visualisation suite is part of the Deep Digital Cornwall Hub based on the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus, where the team has dedicated staff, space, hardware and software to work with SMEs and provide support through knowledge exchange and consultancy (business assists), Innovation Vouchers (up to £5k), or one of the final Research and Innovation Projects (up to £100k). In its first year, the project has awarded more than £400k of the £775k Deep Digital Cornwall grant fund and provided more than 200 hours in business assists, to 16 SMEs based in the region. Funding has already enabled the development of new products, services and long-term research collaborations.

Professor Frances Wall, Principal Investigator, DDC said, “It is vital that companies in Cornwall invest in digital research and innovation. It is brilliant to see such good ideas proposed to DDC and together with the data hub these will create an internationally leading georesources cluster.”

At the Deep Digital Cornwall Hub launch event, attendees will be able to book a tour of the visualisation suite, meet some of the businesses the team has already supported, discuss research grant funding with the university’s Innovation, Impact and Business teams (IIB), or sit down and ‘Ask Deep Digital Cornwall!’, where you can sign up to explore ideas with some of the academic and industry researchers in the Deep Digital Cornwall team. To sign up, you can find a registration link on the project's Twitter @DDC_Project, or on the website deepdigitalcornwall.org.

With Impact Fellows in Geology, Digital Mining Innovation, and Satellite Applications, access to an extensive pool of academic research expertise, and support and knowledge from delivery partners, Cornish Lithium, Cornwall Resources, and the South West Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications, Deep Digital Cornwall is leveraging the region’s unique research skills, collaborations and SME network, to boost regional economic growth.

The project is targeting further funding to enhance and maintain the project’s digital infrastructure beyond 2023. Deep Digital Cornwall’s leading academics and industry partners have ambitious visions to define the future of the natural and georesources sectors in the UK. Continued provision of Deep Digital Cornwall resources to regional businesses is an important element of this strategy.