At an event, earlier this week, Professor Irene Ng announced registration for the HAT personal data platform (HATPDP), which allows individuals to collect, use, share and trade their own data amongst themselves and with firms, will be open for people in the UK, giving them the opportunity to become the world's first 1 million HAT beta users.

In 2015, the HAT will first be launched in the Midlands and then later in the year in Singapore. The HATPDP was demonstrated for the first time at the 2nd Mad Hatters' Tea Party in London's Digital Catapult, with the release of the technical specification of the HAT APIs for developers and firms to build applications and devices around the use of personal data. The event also saw the release of the economic model of the HAT ecosystem, and new potential business models for the use of personal data of the future.

Announcing the HAT project's collaboration with Enable iD, to become the first HAT Platform Provider (HPP) in Europe, Professor Irene Ng, Director of the International Institute for Product and Service Innovation at WMG, University of Warwick and the Lead Investigator of the HAT project said:

We are very pleased to be working with Enable iD to scale up the HAT. We believe that the next stage of the Internet is that of data-driven human decisions enabled by the Internet of Things and data intensive services and we are really pleased that it will begin in the Midlands, the birthplace of the industrial revolution. We think the HAT will create an economic system that is more democratic in terms of data exchanges as well as incentivising more innovation, business opportunities and will create a whole new economy with new jobs and skills”.

Chris Thompson, who will head up Enable iD, cites a singular mission "To create value by enabling people to securely capture, combine and control their data." The company will serve manufacturers, brands and organisations, with a focus on creating and connecting ‘smart environments’ that enable individuals to own and effectively trade personal data, in return for a range of lifestyle benefits.

Alongside its launch announcement in London today, Enable iD outlined a mobility-focused initiative in partnership with Centro, Greater Birmingham’s Integrated Transport Authority. Chris Perry, Centro’s Head of Smarter Travel explained:

The proposed pilot is an extension of our Centro’s 'New Journey' initiative, engaging a whole range of public and private sector bodies in improving the experience of navigating the region. We see the secure management of peoples journey data as a key element in creating truly passenger-centric smart cities.”

Following the HAT's UK introduction will be its Singapore launch by Noggin Pte Ltd, Asia's first HAT Platform Provider. Noggin co-founder Lai Chwang Chua said:

We are very happy to be the first HAT provider in Asia, and are really keen to see the democratization of data exchanges in this region. This is also in line with Noggin’s objective of creating and nurturing an ecosystem that will give data access to individuals, as well as developers who can create smart apps to help individuals manage and use their data.”

Noggin is looking to collaborate with relevant agencies to access vast number of data sets made available by the Singapore government through data.gov.sg and on map.sg. The firm is also promoting the HAT to the largest community of start-ups in Singapore. Chua said:

Several start-ups have already committed to participate in the HAT platform as soon as the APIs are available to them. Among them are startups with lifestyle consumption data (events attendance - musical, concerts, etc.) and utility consumption data (household power usage by equipment).”

Noggin co-founder Kong Soon Chak added:

As a city state, Singapore will provide an exceptional platform to launch a nationwide HAT initiative. Singapore is building the world’s first Smart Nation, with fuller use of technology to live, work and play, resulting in improved quality of life for individuals; business opportunities for enterprises and an anticipatory government that uses tech to better serve and anticipate citizens’ needs. The HAT is a natural extension of this initiative and strategy."