Mike Craven's Home Page

Last updated: January 16th, 2007

Medical Devices

I am currently Senior Research Fellow in Multidisciplinary Assessment of Technology Centre for Healthcare (MATCH), a UK multi-site research centre funded by the EPSRC under its Innovative Manufacturing Programme, conducting applied research towards improving methods for medical devices development, technology evaluation, and procurement processes in collaboration with the medical devices industry and the NHS. Other interests include pervasive computing in healthcare and surgical simulator design.

3D TV

During 2003 I was a Research Fellow in the Imaging and Displays Research Group (IDRG) at the School of Computing, De Montfort University - Leicester, working on 3-Dimensional autostereoscopic displays for 3DTV applications, a European Framework Programme 5 IST project, ATTEST: Advanced Three-Dimensional Television System Technologies.

Lecturing in Jamaica

I returned to England in November 2002 after 2 years lecturing in the School of Engineering, University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech), teaching Digital Signal Processing, Automation, Microprocessors, C++, I.T. and Electromagnetics. Research projects included digital video annotation for distance education, web graphics for tourism, 3D analysis of cricket batting strokes, and a cardiac surgery training simulator. I was also involved with IEEE Jamaica Section, especially as technical programme co-chair for SoutheastCon 2003.

Collaborative Virtual Environments

From 1997-2000 I was Research Fellow in the Communications Research Group (CRG), now part of the Mixed Reality Lab (MRL) in the School of Computer Science and I.T. at the University of Nottingham, working in the area of Collaborative Virtual Environments, specifically with Inhabited Television. This involved the public deployment of CVEs, where on-line audiences can participate in TV shows within shared virtual worlds. Examples include the development of a virtual reality game-show Out Of This World, analysis of an online community The Ages of Avatar and an interactive story involving multiple actors Avatar Farm.

Neural Networks, Materials Modelling, Gesture Recognition

I graduated with a Physics degree from the University of Bristol in 1987, and a Masters degree in Modern Electronics from the University of Nottingham in 1989. I subsequently carried out postgraduate research into neural network VLSI architectures, graduating with a Ph. D. in 1994, and continuing in a 2 year research position investigating ANN architectures for adaptive noise removal in multiplexed communications. I was later involved with design of software for modelling high-temperature microwave heating of ceramic materials as part of a DTI LINK project, and a rehabilitation engineering project funded by the Action Research medical research charity, investigating gesture-to-speech assistive technology for persons with motor disability, in collaboration with Access to Communication and Technology, West Midlands Rehabilitation Centre. I demonstrated the GesRec3D gesture recognition software on BBC Tomorrow's World in May 1997.

Publications