XR Spotlight – Glen Kelly

We talk to Glen Kelly, Programme Manager at CoSTAR Live Lab about breaking down barriers to infrastructure, the Live Lab’s specialist set up, and the value of failing fast and failing often.

Let’s start with the basics. Please give us your elevator pitch about CoSTAR Live Lab.

I should probably start with the acronym! CoSTAR is short for Convergent Screen Technologies and Performance in Realtime (the ‘P’ is silent!). 

CoSTAR is a national network of R&D labs dedicated to growing the UK creative industries. We work with industry to develop and commercialise new technologies, products and services, supporting businesses to grow and maintain the long-term competitiveness of the UK screen and performance sector. Since 2023, thanks to a £75.6m investment from the UKRI Infrastructure Fund, we’ve been focused on building the infrastructure for companies to come and access.

Now that we’re open, our focus turns to stimulating the creative economy by supporting the development of new IP (intellectual property). The goal is to drive job creation, economic growth and global competitiveness.

Live Lab is one of five network labs around the UK, and each has its own flavour. Led by the University of York, our focus is on redefining the future of live performance. 

We’re based at Production Park, which is an innovative community of studios, technology and talent near Wakefield in West Yorkshire. Production Park is used by performers like The Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga and Coldplay to prepare for their world tours. They arrive in fleets of giant stage trucks, set up, rehearse their shows, then pack down and head off to play in arenas around the world!

Production Park is an extraordinary and thriving ecosystem focused on live performance, and it feels right that Live Lab is now plugged into that. And whilst our remit is to support companies from all across the UK, I think it’s brilliant that this part of CoSTAR is taking place in the heart of Yorkshire.

Tell us about your role at Live Lab, what does a typical day look like?

The funny thing about project and programme management is that there really is no typical day. In the ten months that I’ve worked at Live Lab, I’ve been involved with everything from contracts and recruitment to marketing and event delivery! 

A recent highlight was to see the official launch of Live Lab on 6 February. We were the first of the CoSTAR labs to formally launch and it was a huge undertaking from everyone involved. The Live Lab team, with support from Phoenix Dance Theatre, Bonza and Viridian FX delivered a showstopping event for VIP guests from government and industry that showcased the new lab, culminating in a memorable live performance from Jamie Cullum.

After the launch there wasn’t time to draw breath and the focus shifted to day-to-day operations, ensuring the lab is running effectively and rolling out our support and access programmes.

You mentioned that Live Lab is up and running. What does that mean in practical terms? How do people access the infrastructure and technology?

We’re at the point where we can give demos in the UX (user experience) lab, the acoustically isolated network performance studios and in our main stage experimental performance space, Future Venues. In June, six businesses will be taking up an eight-week residency at Live Lab which is when we’ll put our technology to the test and explore its full potential. 

Over the last few months, we’ve been running ‘Live Lab Presents’ and ‘First Encounter’ events for people to come and meet the team, learn about the technology and experience what’s on offer. Our next session is on 11 June with Phil Coleman of L-Acoustics. It’s open to everyone to come along and check out the space. 

And what about longer term access through the various funding and support programmes?

CoSTAR has three main routes for businesses and creatives to engage with the network’s expertise and infrastructure. 

The Pilots and Prototypes Programme (PPP) is geared towards companies with an idea for a new product or service that they want to explore but they might not have the resources in house to do so. There’s also cash funding to pay for staff time, travel, and access to facilities to come and build, test and develop prototypes on-site. The key output will be the development of a piece of IP, a new service/product or technology that can go to market and start generating revenue for the business. The first PPP call has now closed but companies should look out for additional calls later in 2025.

The Enterprise and Commercialisation (E&C) Programme helps early-stage businesses, including startups, to turn their ideas into viable products and services. It provides support with intellectual property development, commercial strategy and building a route to market. Once businesses have laid the groundwork, they undertake an eight-week residency at Live Lab, where they’ll have access to infrastructure, postdoctoral researchers and creative technicians to stress test and refine their innovations. Applications for our most recent E&C call, CoSTAR Ideate, have now closed, but new programmes are in development to support scaleups and larger businesses. These will launch later this year and in 2026.

The Access Programme is enabling public and industry participation in research and development activities. It includes workshops, networking events, technology showcases, lectures and symposia. 

I’d encourage creatives and business owners to sign up for our newsletters because there are going to be lots more opportunities to engage with Live Lab events and opportunities over the coming months, in addition to funding.

If a company has applied for a funding or access programme but hasn’t been successful, can they apply again in future rounds?

Definitely, we’d encourage them to do so. Many companies might not be successful the first time around due to the high number of applicants, but we encourage people to take on board feedback and apply again if it is appropriate to do so.

What makes the technology at Live Lab so special?

The combination of purpose-built, dedicated facilities and specialist technologies focused specifically on innovation in live performance makes Live Lab unique. 

But I think more than that, it’s also the purpose of Live Lab, and the wider network, that makes it so impactful. CoSTAR is here to help companies to explore and experiment, without having to pay to hire a studio or performers, or to access specialist technology and expertise. That freedom is what allows people to take risks, learn quickly and embrace the value of failing fast and often – something that’s critical to innovation in creative technology.

One example of Live Lab’s specialist setup, and one of the few setups of its kind in the country, is our low-latency networked performance studios. 

Latency is the time delay between when a signal, such as audio, video, or control data, is sent from one point over a network and when it is received and processed at another. It affects the real-time interaction and synchronisation between performers across different locations. The perceptual threshold for latency is around 30 milliseconds. Below that threshold, musicians can perform in sync from different locations, as if they were in the same room. That has huge potential for innovations in live performance and rehearsals.

And that’s just one example of some of the exciting technology that we have available!

We’ve talked about access and technology, how does research and development fit into the picture?

The whole Live Lab team will work with the businesses and creatives that come through our programmes to drive R&D in live performance. 

Companies will gain access to a full research and development ecosystem; academic expertise, cutting-edge facilities, and industry partners to explore and test new technologies.

Our academic team (from the University of York) works across music, performance science and user experience, spatial sound design, immersive technology, VR (virtual reality), interactive media, and machine learning. 

Our partners (including Production Park, Sony, Vodafone, TAIT, Opera North and Megaverse) all have dedicated time on the programme and work alongside the businesses on their R&D projects.

And not forgetting our creative technicians and technical specialists, who play a vital role in running the lab and supporting R&D through hands-on expertise. You can read about all our team on the ‘Meet the Team’ section of the CoSTAR Live Lab website. 

Throughout the programme we’ll be feeding data into the CoSTAR Foresight Lab who are leading information gathering and data analysis for the whole CoSTAR network. The Foresight Lab is led by Goldsmiths University of London and they’ll be sharing industry knowledge and trends from the CoSTAR network to inform future investments and research activities.

Julie’s Bicycle [a non-profit that aims to mobilise arts and culture to respond to the climate crisis] is one of the partners on the Foresight Lab. How important is sustainability as part of the CoSTAR network?

Sustainability is embedded in all of our planning and delivery across the CoSTAR Network. From our use of energy and materials, to how we procure goods and services, to the environmental impact of the R&D projects that we embark on. We’re constantly innovating new ways to undertake R&D that minimises environmental impacts across the lifecycle of products and services we help develop. Our colleagues at the Foresight Lab recently released a report exploring the sustainability impact of convergent technologies. It’s a thought-provoking read and I highly recommend checking it out!

And what about EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity). Is that embedded into the CoSTAR programme and if so, how?

Absolutely. We believe that innovation thrives when diverse voices come together, so we’ve built our labs to be welcoming spaces for everyone. CoSTAR is taking a network-wide approach to EDI – people  can read more about CoSTAR’s EDI Framework & Action Plan on the CoSTAR website. Additionally, Live Lab is working with partners and projects at the University of York, including XR Stories, XR Network+ and their Valuing Voices project, to embed their learning into our processes.

How do all the different CoSTAR labs link together?

The whole point of the CoSTAR network is to be collaborative. So for example, if a company working with the Screen Lab in Ulster needs someone with expertise in immersive audio that the Screen Lab might not have in-house, that company could be referred to work with the Live Lab team. We also have several working groups across the network, including one focused on decarbonisation, to align our efforts on sustainability, EDI, and technical standards.

In terms of the companies that come into the CoSTAR pipeline, how will you track what those companies go on to do and their impact on the UK Creative Economy?

We’ll be tracking those companies who come through Live Lab in the same way that the University does for other industry-facing projects, but for now our focus is on building the initial relationships. 

There are future plans for a CoSTAR community, where members can collaborate with each other and share ideas and best practices beyond their physical time in the lab. Once that is established, it will be a mechanism to see where companies are working.

We’re currently funded until 2029, after which we’re expecting CoSTAR to stand on its own two feet as a self-sustaining network. 

And to finish, what do you think the CoSTAR network brings to the UK Creative industries?

I think it goes back to what I said earlier about this unprecedented investment in cutting-edge infrastructure, and making that infrastructure accessible to industry for testing, experimentation and innovation – often at little or no cost.

We know that some of the barriers to innovation and growth lie in lack of access to facilities and technology. By lowering barriers to access for companies to explore and innovate, and by providing a broad spectrum of expertise for those companies to tap into across our R&D ecosystem, CoSTAR will boost growth across key sectors including live performance, digital entertainment, film, TV and gaming.