A massive new technology centre that could support the development of franchises like Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep is being built in Bristol.
The £100milion Bristol Digital Futures Institute will be part of Bristol University’s new Temple Quarter Enterprise campus by Temple Meads.
The 6,000sq m building will house 200 researchers who will study the use of digital technologies.
The institute will be jointly run by professors Susan Halford and Dimitra Simeonidou and will aim to generate 30 new collaborative projects every year.
It will also contribute more than £180million to the economy in the next decade, according to Bristol University.
Professor Simeonidou said: “The new research facilities are vitally important to understand our digital futures.
“They will allow a step-change in socio-technical research and help us to gain new insights on the challenges and opportunities brought by disruptive digital technologies.
“These insights will enable us create new technologies and deliver our vision for a future digital society based on opportunity, trust, human control, resilience, openness, diversity and inclusion.”
David Sproxton, co-founder of Bristol-based animation studio Aardman says the new centre will support the creation of the "next world-class character franchise like Wallace and Gromit" in Bristol.
He said: “The Bristol Digital Futures Institute will build new knowledge using state-of-the-art facilities to create truly immersive and engaging experiences."
Bristol Digital Futures Institute is being funded by a £29million grant from Research England. It has also received £71million from 27 partners including Aardman, Dyson, the BBC, Airbus and BT.
Professor Hugh Brady, vice-chancellor of the University of Bristol, said: “We are creating a unique research ecosystem where world-class engineers, computer scientists, social and behavioural scientists, psychologists and legal scholars can work shoulder to shoulder with our partners from industry, social enterprises and civic organisations exploring the opportunities and challenges posed by new digital technologies.”
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