Abstract

The UK is a world-class innovation hub and incubator of talent. That is why Microsoft chose to establish its first research lab outside the US, here, in 1997. Since then, our proximity to such a rich and varied academic and technical community has helped us contribute to pushing back the boundaries of research in computer science. Research which often begins in a relatively unconstrained and fundamental way, aims also to catalyse the technology trends that will impact the future of our society. From success stories like our contributions to the fastest selling consumer electronics device of all time and devising new functional programming languages, to improving machine intelligence and building computational tools which enable new kinds of Science – the possibilities are continuing to develop and extend.

Andrew Blake is a Microsoft Distinguished Scientist and the Laboratory Director of Microsoft Research Cambridge, England. He joined Microsoft in 1999 as a Senior Researcher to found the Computer Vision group. In 2008 he became a Deputy Managing Director at the lab, before assuming his current position in 2010. Prior to joining Microsoft Andrew trained in mathematics and electrical engineering in Cambridge England, and studied for a doctorate in Artificial Intelligence in Edinburgh. He was an academic for 18 years, latterly on the faculty at Oxford University, where he was a pioneer in the development of the theory and algorithms that can make it possible for computers to behave as seeing machines.