Update 26 October 2016

We are live! Get your HATs here! https://hatters.hubofallthings.com

This indiegogo campaign is now used for premium membership for the HAT Community Foundation. Thank you for all your support - let others know and let's all have our HATs on!

Update 26 July 2016

How you be a part of The HAT and this data revolution?

We’re looking for £50,000 to help us transition from a funded university research project to an online platform that will benefit the public. This amount of money will help us get started on:

• Launching HAT in beta with 1GB storage for every user from July 2016 (click here to check if and when HAT is available in your country).

• Transitioning from beta to public within 3 months. 

• Building the development community to build more apps to help you do more with your data, and write more code to bring more data in for ourselves.

We chose to go down the crowdfunding route because it’s important that we are all in this together as a community to collectively want our data from the Internet! We wanted to use Indiegogo to reach new people in the social movement to help people become more aware of their data online, and to start a revolution in the way people use the Internet.

There’s a lot more we dream of doing - but this will help us start on what we need to do first. And we want to hear from you - our supporters and future HAT users - on what you’d most like us to include and focus on. Talk to us on Facebook or Twitter or visit our website!

Perks for Indiegogo supporters

If our Indiegogo is successful, a standard HAT that includes 1GB storage, data plugs and use of Rumpel will be free for all our backers. We are asking Indiegogo supporters to help us make that happen and in return, you will be the first to get a HAT. 

Your HAT ID is not an email address. it's an actual IP address, your digital presence on the Internet, a microservice container. For Indiegogo earlybird and beta access users, you will be the first to get a preferred HAT address of name.hubofallthings.net - or name.hubat.net for short.

We’re opening the opportunity up for you to be an Associate member of the HAT Community Foundation through our Indiegogo campaign. Associate members will be consulted on future developments and have privileges such as being the first to test out new functionalities on the HAT, access to events, research papers and focus groups for feature evolutions. 

We also want to encourage companies to support the HAT and offer HATs to their customers! HAT Corporate supporters will be given priority for their product or service to be 'HAT ready', which means their customers can pull their data the corporation holds on them into their HATs.

If you back with more than £10 you’ll be a part of the HAT user community and will have an opportunity to invest in the HATDEX Company.

The HAT in more detail

The HAT is a private and secure cloud-based information system with storage and data processing abilities. It's your own microserver container. You can access your data and manage it from an easy-to-use dashboard, a hyperdata browser we call Rumpel. With Rumpel, you can access your HAT from a desktop and mobile devices.

If you are an expert user, you can install the HAT on your computer or other devices in your home or office (the hard HAT), or if you're like the rest of us, subscribe to a service provided by certified HAT platform providers (HPP) that are legally committed to ensure privacy, security and confidentiality. You can move your HAT between HPPs at any time. HPPs are regulated by the HAT Foundation.

COLLECT

• HAT offers data plugs to claim your personal data from the Internet, your mobile and IoT wearables, and all those companies gathering, storing and selling information on you.

• What do we mean by data? Where you are and where have you been, what you were listening to, what was in your diary, what you bought, what you searched, what you sent, what you photographed. Also your calendar, your email and more, the list goes on!

• Who can you claim your data from? Google, Facebook, supermarkets, online stores, phone GPS, streaming services, transport companies, your broadband provider - anyone you can imagine. We’ll strive to add as many as possible to make your own HAT more data rich.

VISUALISE

• Using Rumpel - the first ever hyperdata browser - you can see what different companies know about you.

• Add the data only you know about yourself - your diary, habits, health, coffee preferences and more.

• Put all of this data together and build a picture of yourself using all of these digital fragments.

CONTROL

• YOU can choose what you do with this data.

• You can keep it just for your enjoyment, information or peace of mind - to get to know yourself better and make smart choices online.

• Or you can share it with friends and family without a third party being involved - to help making plans run smoother, or just for fun.

• Or you can securely trade this valuable resource for reward credits, discount codes, money, recommendations.

• Have you ever signed in to a service with your Google or Facebook account? Why should they be a custodian of your data? Now you can use your own HAT to sign in and actually control the data you share - using a ‘data debit’ - with others and terminate the data debit when you don't want to share it anymore!

• And YES, we keep the control tight through the HAT APIs, following the Code of Practice in Privacy, Confidentiality, Security and Trust developed by the research project.

HAT in the press

Here's what the press are saying about the HAT: 

“If the HAT project’s model of data as a form of currency comes to pass, it will represent a turning point for businesses that have so far been helping themselves. The smart home, instead of being a bit creepy, could in future become a place where consumers hold the greatest power.” - Financial Times

“…the point of the HAT – the Hub of All Things – your personal capability to hold everything about you as privately as you wish and, moreover, to trade it on the open market if you so choose; a commodity of great value that will be sought after as industry shifts its attention towards ever-more personalized products and services to suit the way you live and work.” - Groupe Intellex

“The HAT therefore augments digitally sophisticated smart homes by empowering the individual to participate in the ‘personal data economy’, make better everyday decisions, and generate smarter monetary and time savings. As the HAT is obviously a very appealing concept to individuals and households, its adoption is widely anticipated to dramatically escalate once launched, thereby creating huge network effects.” – BIG Innovation Centre

The HAT research project has been around awhile so read all about us by following these links:

• The HAT in the press and podcasts.
• The PhD Comic HAT video!
• The HAT research video when it was first launched.
• The HAT research professors videos.

Meet the HATDEX team rolling out HATs!

Paul Tasker, Chief Executive

Having worked in engineering leadership positions in a number of defence organisations, Paul has more recently being involved in helping industry to pull applied research into practice (and academics to push!) particularly in the field of engineering services. He is a visiting professor at the University of Kent and Cranfield University. Until late 2015 he was Independent Chair of WMG’s Industry Advisory Board for the HAT Project before becoming a co-founder and director of HATDeX.

Xiao Ma, Chief Technology Officer

Xiao is a hybrid of an academic and an entreprenuer. With a PhD in ontology engineering, he first joined research team as the Senior Research Fellow in Digital Innovation at WMG, University of Warwick. He now splits his time between research and an international business consultancy specialised in new technology adoption, international marketing and business model innovation. He holds the prestigious status of an overseas expert under China’s “1000 Plan” programme.

Andrius Aucinas, Head of Engineering

Andrius has recently fast-tracked through Bachelors and PhD at the University of Cambridge and worked with R&D of some of the biggest telecommunications companies in the world, including Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica. Driven by his love for education Andrius has co-founded the Cambridge Coding Academy to help everyone learn the skills. He joined the HAT Project as a post-doctoral researcher at WMG, University of Warwick, and has become a co-founder and the Head of Engineering for HATDeX, leading a highly-skilled team in building the technology for the HAT.

Irene Ng, Chairman and Chief Economist

Irene Ng is a Professor of Marketing and Service Systems and the Director of the International Institute for Product and Service Innovation at WMG, University of Warwick. She is also a Senior Member of Wolfson College, Cambridge. 15 years an entrepreneur and 15 years as an academic, Irene is passionate about the link between practice and research. She is a specialist in the design of complex service systems such as markets and contracts and is an advisor to startups on new financial and economic models in digital businesses and also one of the 5 thought leaders for ESRC/InnovateUK Innovation Caucus. Website at www.ireneng.com

The HAT is the result of 2.5 years of multidisciplinary research between 6 universities funded by the RCUK Digital Economy Programme. That means we also have a great advisory team from the research project. For more about the HAT research project click here.

FAQs

How can I ask your team more questions?

We’d love to hear from you! Talk to us and other HAT users on Facebook or Twitter or visit our website. Alternatively, please send an email to contact@hatdex.org

We've also got a list of questions about data below here that you might find interesting.

How much will HAT cost each year?

The basic HAT consisting of 1GB of storage + data plugs + Rumpel would be around £50 per annum. That is a fully private HAT where you are not obligated to share any data. However, you may opt to get free HATs from our HAT service providers (HSPs) who would require you to share some data with them. You will be able to say yes or no to sharing that data before you get your HAT.  We aim to give you choices in HAT service providers (HSP) so that you can shop around for the most suitable HPP. More importantly, HAT Data Exchange (HATDEX: the firm managing the HAT ecosystem) rules allow you to change HSPs and bring your data with you!

You may need to pay annually for more storage, premium hyperdata browser features and other applications on the HAT later on - but you could possibly get it back from your data exchanges!

When will we get our HATs?

We hope to get HATs out by July 2016 with a choice of 2 or more certified HAT Service Providers. As personal data storage is often governed by national rules, click here to check when you can get your HAT based on your location. 

Can I help you in any other way?

Yes! Please share this page on social media, or forward it to your contacts via email.

Most people don’t find data particularly interesting, so they’re missing out on all of the potential. If you help us reach your friends and networks, we might be able to change the way the Internet works.

Even if you just send this on to 3 people, you’ll make a huge difference.

What do you mean by data?

This could mean less security sensitive data such as your facebook posts, your location on your smartphone, your calendar, your health data, your likes, your coffee preferences, your weight, height, all the way to data that is security sensitive such as credit card information, bank statements etc.

Which companies collect data?

Supermarkets collect data about what you buy. Insurance companies collect data about your claims. Google collect data from your searches, emails, calendar. Facebook collect data on your social interactions. Energy companies collect data on your energy use. Your phone has the location you've been. This list can go on and on and on. There really is a lot about you out there.

How do they do it?

Mostly you give it to them. by using their tools, by checking out at the cashier, by signing up to their service. you probably have signed several terms and conditions that gives your data away.

Do they know it’s MY data?

Yes.

How does The HAT help me claim it?

You might not believe it, but many of these services share your data with other companies, but they must do so with your permission. Ever signed in on a web service with Google? or sign up to an application with your Facebook account? They do it through APIs. So we figured that if these companies are sharing data about us with one another, might as well share it with us too! so the HAT is your own service provider to yourself, and you can then claim your data into your HAT!

How is The HAT different from other Personal Data Stores (PDS)?

1. The HAT is a database in your own Micro Server Container, whilst PDS are normally an account in a centralised database with many accounts). So a breach of admin level access on PDS usually exposes all users’ data, while the same breach on HAT would only expose one user’s data.

2. The HAT Personal Data Schema allows data from multiple verticals to be bridged and re-organised, even reorganising data points, while PDS tends to keep vertical data in their original forms.

3. The HAT's Direct Data Debits allow you to control what bundle you’d like to share, who to share with, when and how in a 'direct debit' manner, meaning you have full control, and can change your mind, even after your initial agreement to share the data, although you might no longer benefit from the exchange.

4. HAT is an exchange platform - all parties SSL certified, and communication enforced via the HAT APIs, and your all data exchanges are logged so that you know the journey of your data within the ecosystem.

5. The HAT network actually has a regulatory body and oversight through the HAT foundation and it regulates any party participating in the exchange ecosystem to act within the code of practice. HAT Foundation certification ensures every party “play nice” according to the rules, otherwise they may be excluded from the ecosystem.

What does my data look like?

That is actually quite a hard question! We often don’t see our data because it just goes to companies and we don’t get a chance to view it. This is why the HAT will come with your own hyperdata browser - Rumpel - for you to view your own data. 

Where is it stored?

For the initial roll out, we will be offering HATs on cloud servers. We call them Sun HATs. In future, you can have HATs as a box in your home (we call them Hard HATs) or with your data completely distributed across the internet to be accessed whenever you pull out your browser (we call them Straw HATs).

Is it secure?

It is as secure as most cloud storage providers such as Dropbox, iCloud or Box.

Is it confidential and private?

Yes, the HAT Foundation certification ensures that HPPs contract with you is legally binding in terms of your privacy and confidentiality. Although, if you do share it through the HAT Data Debit system, it may no longer be private!

Does claiming my data back mean the companies don’t have it any more?

No. You are merely taking a copy of your data. Remember, without the technology of the companies, these data would not even exist so legally, that data is theirs. However, once the network gets more established, we believe that companies will have less incentive to hold your data (it does cost them to store and it is risky for them as well). It then would make more sense to synchronise your HAT with their system. We think this would change the Internet for the better!

What exactly can I do with my data?

It’s one of those questions that can be answered glibly like - you can do this and this and this - but to be honest, the future is to be invented by all of us! It may be that we will use it to match what we have with what we buy e.g. matching our wardrobe with clothes on sale, or we can just monetise it e.g. selling how we use our energy to companies that match deals with our usage or maybe even just to track our own habits so that we can change our diet, lifestyle etc. The initial roll out would allow you to get credits or discount codes for bundles of your data.

How many HATs can there be?

The technology is really at the leading edge, so we expect only up to a million HATs can be technologically feasible to begin with. Our indiegogo supporters will be amongst the select few who will be the first to get their HATs.

If I have my own HAT server, what is the point of a HPP?

A HPP acts as your trust broker, a sysadmin, an IT management role, so that you don't need to do the back end IT/IS plumbing that you would normally have to do if you own a server e.g. security. HPP could be your host server provider, or could be your managed service for a separate host server. There are a few models of HPPs so it would depend on you to decide which HPP is best suited for you to decide. Regardless, they all have to to be certified by the HAT foundation.

Who can be a HPP?

Anyone can, as long as you meet the requirements of the HAT foundation for providing the HAT technology with an infrastructure that ensures privacy, security, confidentiality and trust. The technology created by the HAT research project has been released as open sourced and given out free so technically, if you wish to be your own HPP, you can as well. You would need to get yourself-as-HPP certified, otherwise you will be missing out on all the HAT services offering rewards and applications on HAT data. Many of our HATDEX certified HPPs often have their own extras services for your HAT data.

* All stats from this Digital Catapult report: https://www.digitalcatapultcentre.org.uk/pdtreview/