Impact case study database

Caskia: Growing a MarsBoot has helped position the UK as a leader in the field of ‘Sustainable Fashion Product Design’ via its nomination for the internationally-renowned * *Beazley Design of the Year 2018, which recognises innovative and thought-provoking designs from around the world, and through being commissioned/exhibited/published at world-leading museums/galleries, including MoMA (Museum of Modern Art, New York) and the Design Museum (London), and associated exhibition books . The project was a vehicle for innovation, awareness, and debate, created by Ciokajlo (lead concept/footwear designer), collaborator Montalti (designer/mycelium specialist) and collaborators Papastavrou (designer/computational specialist) and Solomon (artist/researcher).

Impact of the research can be seen in a commerce and economic context, and on creativity, culture and society. This is demonstrated through:

1. Contribution to innovation activity through the design of new products: Through collaboration with Italian industrial SME MOGU, the research resulted in advanced material development. With each MarsBoot iterative prototype, MOGU supplied myceluim variant material for the research, responding to application opportunities and challenges communicated by Ciokajlo for directive development. “Responding to Liz’s requirements in the iterative prototypes working with the mycelium material, we supplied her with the first version of our flexible mycelium (pure white “fabric”), plus other mycelium materials too.”

The collaborative working relationship also impacted upon business practices and strategies at MOGU, influencing priority shifts in expenditure:

“The concept of the MarsBoot, deriving from the utilisation of human sweat as culturing terrain, was well displayed and contributed to attracting interest from leading fashion houses and brands, supporting the possible creation or further expansion of commercial opportunities.” As a result, “Mogu continued to decisively invest and expend on research and development efforts targeting the Fashion sector... and it is driving strategic business” (Camera, Head of Products MOGU)

1. Impact on creativity, culture and society: Public/industry attitudes/awareness via museum exhibitions/publications of design-led opportunities and challenges moving from a plastic throwaway society towards biomaterials/renewable circular economies and associated cultural/ethical values in material/design narratives.

Through collaboration with world-leading public arts venues, the creative outputs of the research have resulted in raised awareness of issues and opportunities, provoking debate with regard to fashion products and material sustainability, “reimagining our relationship to clothing” (Arguedas Ortiz, BBC Futures). The MarsBoot project was exhibited/published in multiple international museums/events, including MoMA. Senior Curator of the Department of Architecture and Design at MoMa, Paola Antonelli, commissioned Ciokajlo, commenting, “In Stockholm, Liz was exhibiting a hemp shoe. [..] I liked Liz’s approach to sustainability and the use of materials. As a result, I got directly in touch with Liz and the relationship has developed and matured”.

Representing a change of practice for the Museum, The exhibition at MoMA that featured the MarsBoot, ‘Items: Is Fashion Modern?’, was the first fashion exhibition at MoMA since the 1940s. For the duration of the exhibition, MoMA estimated that 588,000 people visited the exhibition, a daily average of 4,985 people during its 118 day run, including visitors from France, Italy, UK, Germany and Canada. “It has also featured on social media and engaged with a range of publics. People’s responses to the MarsBoot were very positive. The designer of the Tecnica Moon Boot and his family came and saw Liz’s MarsBoot at the exhibition. They really understood it and loved it…What appealed to me about the MarsBoot was it’s view of the future from today’s viewpoint as opposed to 1969’s. [..] MarsBoot portrays a more feminine concept of going to space…. I also included Liz’s MarsBoot also in the 2019 exhibition, Broken Nature. There are certain projects I take with me. The MarsBoot was one of them.”

The project received further public exposure and engagement with the Design Museum London, being exhibited twice, which is unusual for the Museum, first as part of Beazley Design of the Year 2018, Design Museum London’s internationally-renowned exhibition, for which it was shortlisted for the Product Design category Award . “BDOTY is an annual exhibition and awards programme that showcases the best design projects from around the world.” (Horton, CEO Beazley). “It is the fast-track to what’s coming, the world summit of design, designers do not come looking for us we go looking for them – (designs are) nominated by a team of people from all over the world (Adamson, Curator 2017).

The MarsBoot was nominated for inclusion in the exhibition by the leading international art curator and critic, Jan Boelen.

In its second exhibition, ‘ Moving to Mars’, the MarsBoot was “…exhibited in the ‘Survival’ chapter in a subsection about closed-loop systems…. work once again proved to be a popular exhibit, being at once a recognisable everyday object but also futuristic and provocative. We presented the final product alongside a petri dish filled with mycelium so that visitors could see the living organism that went into the boot’s production. Visitors were both repulsed and fascinated by the exhibit, and it provided a great entry point through which to discuss broader issues of sustainability, self-sustenance, environmental collapse and the dangers of space.” (Watson, Curator Design Museum London). The exhibition received 80,000 visitors and garnered a number of four and five star reviews from the national press, being featured on television programmes such as Sky News and Saturday Brunch. In further evidence of international reach, the MarsBoot has been taken on loan by Sweden’s national science museum, the Tekniska Museet, touring Moving to Mars.

1. Practitioners, Commerce and the Economy:

WEKIT ECS has recently (S1) been accepted as one of 10 Qualified Teams, from 118 teams from 20 countries, in the $5M XPRIZE Rapid Re-skilling Competition. The team will develop a Neuro-Adaptive Mixed Reality Training platform (REAP) to place 350 participants into full-time jobs, re-skilling solutions for individuals most vulnerable to employment loss in the United States.

ALTEC SpA [2] – through the WEKIT project, LTRC developed a wearable sensor for astronaut trainees, enabling measurement of the affective state of the learner including stress but also concentration. Real-time measurement of the affective state enabled a redesign of instruction sets to overcome the challenge faced by users. “ LTRC’s contribution was significant for the development of the concept, hardware and software, and the integration of sensors, allowing content to be analysed and processes improved.” (S2)

DoubleMe – established in 2014, DoubleMe first collaborated with LTRC in 2016, resulting in production of a one-of-a-kind HoloPortal (S3), laying the foundation for a $500K Venture Capitalist investment for 8% of the company. The relationship with LTRC allowed DoubleMe to develop products for UK and overseas markets and to enter new markets, such as a HoloDash for cars, a technology that was shared with Kia, Audi and Ferrari. DoubleMe now employs 43 people and sees revenues of $3m per annum, up from $250k when the company first engaged with LTRC. Collaborative development of the HoloPortal have allowed the company to engage major Telco companies, including BT, Vodafone and O2. “ I can honestly say that our company growth is based on our interactions, knowledge sharing and product development with LTRC.” (DoubleMe CEO)

Medical Realities – LTRC research has facilitated development of the world’s first end-to-end immersive platform for the healthcare industry (S4), with Medical Realities employing 360-degree video, MR/VR/AR and hologram systems designed by LTRC to trial immersive training for medical students/professionals and, indeed, patient consultations, with acceptance of such methods driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. Development of the system has involved a partnership of universities (including RUL), healthcare companies (Roche), ICT providers (Samsung), and medical institutions (Barts Hospital).

1. Understanding, Learning and Participation:

LTRC’s research has influenced the design of inclusive educational methods for a global audience. Improved social welfare through enhanced employment/education opportunities and a reduced gap in academic attainment for ‘marginalised’ students is evidenced by:

AR-FOR-EU (CodeReality) – a £300k Erasmus+ project ( 2017 to 2020), AR-FOR-EU brought together five internationally-renowned institutions to validate a course offering for teaching AR in HEIs.

The Project Lead states (S5), “ The AR-FOR-EU impact is strongest at the global level, while also providing benefits to society and the economy on local, regional and national levels. The project has produced results that became self-sustaining and are likely to develop further.”

Hobs Academy – a 2018 collaboration between Hobs 3D at Stratford and the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC, established to develop the Olympic Park site) had a focus on tackling social integration and working with the surrounding communities (S6). LTRC won a competitive tender to design and deliver the training contract for the £470k LLDC-funded Hobs Academy, with targets for the two-year programme being to train 120 students by March 2022. By the end of December 2020, 61 students had been through the programme, with over 50% having gone on to access work placements or full-time employment. An offer from international construction company, Mace, to provide work placements directly for three students and a further ten within its supply chain was also received. Head of Socio-Economic Regeneration at LLDC comments, “ *This is testimony from a significant company on the value and, indeed, uniqueness of this training, and the skills it gives participants. I know that students hold the course in high regard, it builds skillsets and competencies, and students are more positive about future employment opportunities.*”

mEQUITY and mRidge – international reach is evidenced through collaboration between LTRC and the Universities of Plovdiv (Bulgaria) and Jordan, from which two ERASMUS+ projects were progressed. mEQUITY (S7) saw the development of an inclusive curriculum in engineering education based on digital learning resources for mobile devices. The project aimed to improve education provision to high-risk groups whose special needs or socioeconomic status restricted their access to adequate education. Beneficiaries of separate strands of the project included Gaza Camp students suffering from socioeconomic isolation (x38), recent graduates of Jordan University of Science and Technology who were seeing continued unemployment (x7). Influence on Public Policy and Standards

LTRC research has had a significant influence on public policy and the development of professional standards in the following ways:

• Development of IEEE 1589-2020 – Smith and Rasool’s research, through work with WEKIT, was instrumental in the development of the IEEE Standard for Augmented Reality Learning Experience Model (S9), approved in January 2020 under the AR-LEM (Augmented Reality Learning Experience Model) working group.

• The EU’s primary route for dissemination ‘CORDIS’ states (S10), “Cr-EAM project recommendations will contribute to current and future EU policy initiatives that aim to strengthen and support the European creative industries. Cr-EAM has made an important contribution through its comprehensive online communities that will continue to encourage and stimulate direct engagement and cooperation between ICT solution providers and creative sector stakeholders."