Publications

• Bennett, J., Moncur, B., Fogarty, K., Clawson, G., and Fox, C. (2022) ‘Towards Open Source Hardware Robotic Woodwind: an Internal Duct Flute Player‘ International Computer Music Conference.
• Moncur, B., Galvez Trigo, M.J., & Mortara, L. (2023) Augmented Reality to Reduce Cognitive Load in Operational Decision-Making. Augmented Cognition. HCII 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 14019, pp. 328-346. Springer, Cham.

Presentations

• International Computer Music Conference 2022 (July 2022): Towards Open Source Hardware Robotic Woodwind: an Internal Duct Flute Player.
• 25th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCII2023) (July 2023).

 Posters

• AgriFoRwArdS CDT Annual Conference 2022 (June 2022): Augmented Reality to Help Humans Solve Complex Problems.
• Institute for Manufacturing First Year PhD Conference 2023 (May 2023): Integrating Multiple Perspectives in Technology Management Decisions
• The Towards Autonomous Robots and Systems (TAROS) Conference 2023 / CDT Annual Conference / Joint Robotics CDT Conference (September 2023): Deciding to Implement Emerging Technologies: the Use of Digital Technologies in Planning the Implementation of Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) in Food Manufacturing Firms.

Other Activities

• Member of the Institute for Manufacturing First Year PhD Conference 2023 Conference organising committee.
• Member of the Strategic Technology and Innovation Management (STIM) Consortium.
• Lead a ‘hot topic discussion’, on integrating different perspectives in decision-making about manufacturing process innovation, at ISPIM 2023 (Ljubljana, Slovenia).
• British Science Week (School Outreach) demonstrations and stall (Mar22).

About me

My name is Bethan and I am excited to have joined the CDT in 2021. I come from Surrey and am pleased to have moved to Lincoln to explore a new part of the UK. I spend most of my spare time playing hockey, but I also love cooking and hiking.

Before joining the CDT, I was studying manufacturing engineering at the University of Cambridge, where I will be returning to complete my PhD. I chose to join the CDT to equip myself with the skills needed to address the challenges facing the food chain, such as population growth and climate change, and I would like to have a career that improves the social and environmental impacts associated with food production.

MSc Project

Augmented Reality to Help Humans Solve Complex Problems

Decision making occurs at all levels of an organisation, from day-to-day operational decisions through to long-term strategic decisions. Complex and fast-paced environments with high levels of uncertainty can be overwhelming for humans, resulting in sub-optimal decisions. Therefore, individuals and organisations can utilise decision support systems (DSS) to provide relevant and appropriate information on which to base their decisions. This project aims to explore how augmented reality (AR), specifically situated visualisation (SV), can be used in DSS to solve a bin packing optimisation problem that mimics frequently occurring problems in manufacturing settings.

PhD Project

Deciding to implement emerging technologies: the help of digital technologies in planning for the implementation of robotics and autonomous systems in food manufacturing firms

Novel technologies are radically changing the way that food is produced, processed, and traded. However, successfully implementing emerging technologies is an important yet challenging task for organisations: they operate within complex, uncertain, dynamic environments where they must make decisions based on incomplete information. Therefore, companies often used tools and techniques developed by technology management researchers (such as roadmapping, scenario planning and scoring methods) to reconcile opportunities and risks associated with implementing emerging technologies. 

Digital technologies can be used to alter the interface through which information is presented to decision makers, thus influencing decision-making behaviour and affecting the decision outcome. The aim of the proposed research is to incorporate AR and VR into technology management decision support tools and study the effects. The focus will be on facilitating decision-making in the context of implementing emerging technologies, such as robotics and autonomous systems, that are necessary for the transition to a more sustainable food system. The insights gained will be used to develop a decision-making tool to test in the agri-food industry. 

Bethan’s PhD project is being carried out in collaboration with Samworth Brothers, with primary supervision by Dr Letizia Mortara.