Blog

One set of visual data transformation with a code snippet in Python on the left and manuscripts on the right.

From Cagliari to KDL: Memories of a research stay

by Filippo Astori on
With these few lines, I would like to describe what has been my experience...

What brought me to the Virginia Woolf Building was the doctoral programme I am pursuing at the University of Cagliari under the scientific responsibility of professor Giampaolo Salice, and in particular the training course linked to the PON R&I scholarship I hold.

A woman stands in the dark embracing a swirl of vibrant neon colours in shades of pink and blue.

Empowering Artistic Innovation

by Neil Jakeman , Elliott Hall on
Inside GLoW3's Collaborative Journey with Creative Technology

Experimental digital research is difficult for independent artists to do in terms of finance and skills on their own, but they are exactly the type of people that will move the use of digital tools forward from interesting tech demos to tools of storytelling.

A desk with lamp and plant on top, in a room are bathed in purple light.

Room is Sad

by Elliott Hall on
Room is Sad is appearing at the London Design Biennale until June 25h.

Room is Sad is an immersive experience that uses AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) to tell the story of a smart room that isn’t feeling quite itself. It's a humorous, accessible way to engage both an academic and general audience on questions of identity, privacy, and intelligence.

Books neatly arranged in a pile against a wall, representing a wealth of information and intellectual exploration.

Critical Modelling of Extensive Literary Data

by Arianna Ciula , Miguel Vieira on
An Experiment

This blogpost discusses and reflects on the process and findings of the collaboration between colleagues at the Australian National University (ANU) and at King’s Digital Lab (KDL), supported by the King’s College London Australia Partnership Seed Fund and Australian National University Global Research Partnership scheme, for the period 2020-22. It provides some background and outlines three approaches to investigating the Reading at the Interface project dataset.

An underwater scene showcasing a diverse array of fish gracefully navigating through a coral reef.

What does the role of Research Technology Professional mean to King’s Digital Lab?

by Arianna Ciula on
Part 4: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

This is the fourth part of a blogpost published for International Research Software Engineering Day integrating and extracting from our response to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) consultation this summer on what the role of Research Technology Professional (RTP) means to King’s Digital Lab. Research Software Engineering profiles are a category within RTPs so our response was based on the KDL experience of inhabiting those roles.

Two dolphins swimming gracefully in the vast ocean gliding through the water.

What does the role of Research Technology Professional mean to King’s Digital Lab?

by Arianna Ciula on
Part 3: Visibility, recognition, career development, sustainability and training

This is the third installment of a blogpost published for International Research Software Engineering Day integrating and extracting from our response to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) consultation this summer on what the role of Research Technology Professional (RTP) means to King’s Digital Lab. Research Software Engineering profiles are a category within RTPs so our response was based on the KDL experience of inhabiting those roles.

Professional shot of an orca, up close, gliding through the ocean iceberg waters

What does the role of Research Technology Professional mean to King’s Digital Lab?

by Arianna Ciula on
Part 2: People, projects, infrastructure, methodologies and processes

This is the second part of a blogpost published for International Research Software Engineering Day integrating and extracting from our response to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) consultation this summer on what the role of Research Technology Professional (RTP) means to King’s Digital Lab. Research Software Engineering profiles are a category within RTPs so our response was based on the KDL experience of inhabiting those roles.

Three orca whales gracefully swim alongside an iceberg in the pristine water near McMurdo Station, Antarctica

What does the role of Research Technology Professional mean to King’s Digital Lab?

by Arianna Ciula on
Our integrated response to AHRC call for evidence - Part 1: Who are Research Technology Professionals?

For International Research Software Engineering Day we are publishing a serialised blogpost integrating and extracting from our response to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) consultation this summer on what the role of Research Technology Professional (RTP) means to King’s Digital Lab. Research Software Engineering profiles are a category within RTPs so our response was based on the KDL experience of inhabiting those roles.

Indigenous Digital Humanities Banner

Indigenous Digital Humanities

by Samantha Callaghan on
A Research Theme under Development

Whaia e koe ki te iti kahurangi, kia tāpapa koe,he maunga tiketikeFollow your treasured aspirations, if you must bow your head,let it be to a lofty mountainNāku te rourou, nāu te rourou,ka ora ai te iwiWith my basket, and your basket,we will feed the people

A 3D wooden box model and render of the Marconi Morse Tapper displaying the words "Complex 3D Data in Arts and Humanities"

Making sense of the Stakeholder Map

by Neil Jakeman on
A focused approach for high-level requirements

We recently embarked with partners on an AHRC funded scoping exercise, to define the specifications of a Complex 3D Data Repository for the Arts and Humanities.

Image of cityscape against a colorful sunset rendered by VQGAN-CLIP

How KDL applies Machine Learning to research projects

by Geoffroy Noël on
A subjective retrospective

As our new director, Arianna, mentioned in her recent blog post, Machine Learning (ML) is one of the research themes we are keen to start prioritising. Not only because it matches strong personal interests among the solution development team who are eager to experiment with new and exciting techniques (as you would expect from a Lab) but also because, as AI research moves quickly, it continuously brings new methodological opportunities to many scientific fields including the Humanities.

Bunting flags

High level priorities

by Arianna Ciula on
As new Director of KDL ...

After almost exactly five years since I joined King’s Digital Lab (KDL) as Research Software Analyst, I have recently been appointed Director for the next four years, following the departure of KDL first director, James Smithies.

Spinners Mill

Ghost Hunt at Spinners Mill

by Elliott Hall on
A family immersive adventure

Tom Bowtell of KIT Theatre and Elliott Hall of Kings Digital Lab worked in collaboration with Leigh Ambassadors group to create a new Digital Ghost Hunt at Spinners Mill for family audiences (9+) inspired by real historical events.Listen to an episode of the Exchange's podcast Connecting Tales discussing the show, with Tom, Elliott, and Leigh Ambassador (and part time ghost) Mike Burwin.Emma Bradburn, intern for the ‘Civic Theatres: A Place for Towns’ research project wrote an account of the show on her blog.

Four penguins jumping above the ocean with splashes of water around them

Announcing my departure from KDL

by James Smithies on
New starts, new possibilities

I’ll be leaving King’s Digital Lab (KDL) this month, after 6 wonderful years, for a new role as Professor of Digital Humanities in King’s Department of Digital Humanities (DDH). Although merely a move over to the other half of Digital Humanities at King’s, and a return to a department I used to hold a fractional appointment in, it represents a significant milestone in my career. I’m grateful to the many people who have supported me to this point, in New Zealand, Australia, Jordan, and the United States, as well as the UK.

Liane Metzler Unsplash - White stairs

The road to a more inclusive web

by Ginestra Ferraro on
The state of digital accessibility at KDL

Recently I was asked to present the lab’s progress on the work done to improve accessibility in our products to the Digital Accessibility Programme Board at King’s. KDL joined the board from day one to help shape the College’s digital accessibility policy and help scope the work that needed to be done to make every platform as accessible as possible.

A workflow diagram depicting Software Development Lifecycle for Research Software Engineering, from inception to completion

Safeguarding an inheritance and ensuring a legacy

by Neil Jakeman on
Software Development Lifecycle for Research Software Engineering

At its inception in 2015, King’s Digital Lab became the de facto custodian of a rich legacy of Digital Humanities (DH) research projects spanning decades of experimentation...

A VR headset resting on a pink chair

Meeting in Virtual Reality

by Neil Jakeman on
Conferences and gatherings while working from home

In these strange days technologies for virtual meetings and gatherings that have been developing steadily and quietly are now finding themselves suddenly ushered to the front of the class as we ask what might change in the workplace post COVID-19.