Roderick Hodgson

I joined BBC R&D as a Trainee Technologist September 2009, after completing a 4-year B.Sc. AI & Computer Science at the University of Edinburgh. During my time at university I focused mostly on the artificial intelligence side of the degree, developing an interest in computer vision, information retrieval and machine learning. Having done a fair amount of programming, I knew I did not want to work for a large software development company. I was really interested in the field of AI and desperately wanted to keep working in it after my degree.

I applied to the BBC because I had a fascination with the world of broadcasting and it sounded to me like technologists had great opportunities to work on projects I was interested in -- a perfect combination. I was worried at first, as I had little knowledge in all the complex technologies involved in broadcasting. Electronics, signal processing, radio, were not subjects I had studied at university, or on my own. When I started, I found that I was not only placed on projects that allowed me to use the skills I already had, but the trainee programme allowed me to develop the other skills that would really help me work on other projects.

As soon as I started, in September, I was put on my very own mini-project: to investigate the best way of delivering subtitles on the YouView platform. I was excited to be put in charge of solving an important problem like that. It was a significant amount of responsibility, and my manager trusted me to initiate conversations with the different partners. One of the first things I did was try and design a prototype system to play different subtitle file formats, to show everyone how I thought we could make it work. Coding for hardware devices was not something I had done much of, and despite a lack of practice in C programming and cross-compilation, colleagues helped me out when I needed it. When I got my code working on a prototype set-top box, the feeling of satisfaction when I could turn on a TV and a set-top box and watch my program working with BBC content was fantastic. Eventually, my prototyping allowed me to write a specification regarding how we should deliver on-demand subtitles. I'm really fortunate and proud that I have had the opportunity to make a significant contribution to the future of broadcasting.

My second project followed on from the first project. Based on work I had done in information retrieval and text processing at university, I came up with an idea about how subtitles could be used for search, and was recommended by my manager to speak to the leader of the section for Audience Experience. Together, we agreed to have me start a project investigating different ways of performing information retrieval using subtitles. I began working on this project several months ago and am very excited about it, as it has me looking into developing my own search engine technology and data classification. I realise this job is pretty unique in that it lets me test and use the tools I'm interested in and want to work with.

Working for the BBC was a great decision for me. I find it's fantastic how this job is giving me high exposure to technology in various aspects of the broadcast world, whether it's the tools the director is using during a recording, or the experience the user is having in their living room. I'm especially grateful for the inspirational colleagues I am working with, and the amazing amount of knowledge I've acquired in the past year.

I know I still have a lot to look forward to. Whether it be working on computer vision technology and machine learning, meeting more people in the industry, initiating conversations with other research departments, talking about it in published papers or the R&D blog, and maybe even getting the opportunity to release some of my work as open source.

Click Back To Top