CW Announces IoTUKBoost Cambridge Competition Winners

Scottish based SME Beringar impressed judges with their ingenious LoRa-based Space Capacity Sensor - which can tell the number of people in a room, without any privacy issues.  Pitched by Director, Mark Sorsa-Leslie, Beringar showed a passionate ambition to ensure every asset in the NHS is used as effectively as possible – so that resources can be directed to the front line. Cambridge-based 8power Ltd was announced runner-up for the development of their self-powered wireless sensors for industrial IoT applications. Philip McAleese, CEO of See.Sense received the highly commended accolade for their product ICON, a patent-pending smart sensor platform, built into a bicycle light to improve safety and security for the cyclist as well as simultaneously collecting data for use in Smart cities initiatives.

IoTUKBoost was launched earlier this year in April 2017, when CW were selected by the Digital Catapult to deliver a programme of support to help UK SMEs and entrepreneurs develop Internet of Things (IoT) enabled services and applications in Cambridge – using low power wide area networks (LPWANs). A core partnership was formed with Everynet, the LoRa Alliance™, Iotic Labs, and Smart Cambridge, which has been supported by the University of Cambridge.  The programme was also sponsored by the global company Flex, and the Eastern Academic Health Science Network, and supported by several high profile mentors.

After 6 months of mentoring, the programme has culminated in a passionate pitching day at the Bradfield Centre, Cambridge. The SMEs were judged against product technical and commercial viability, progress made throughout the programme and the companys’ potential and market proposition.

The IoTUKBoost team Project Manager, Sophie Peachey of Iotic Labs comments "Iotic Labs are delighted to have been able to support the CW IoTUK LPWAN Boost. This year we have seen some fantastic companies develop innovative solutions to the complex challenges society faces.

It is a measure of the success of the programme that we saw competing teams collaborating to enhance their proposition, gain real market insight and deploy solutions with paying customers. 

Sophie continued "We are proud to be part of this innovative community, helping accelerate time to market for transformative products and services and look forward to continuing the collaborative journey with the participants.”

Dan Clarke, Smart City Programme Manager for Smart Cambridge (one of the Cambridge IoTUKBoost partners) summarises what’s next for the winners; “The standard of companies involved in the IoTUKBoost process has been very high and we’ve seen some exciting ideas and products developed which can make a real difference to local communities.

As cities like Cambridge continue to work on big societal challenges such as poor air quality and congestion innovation from companies such as these is critical to our success. Beringar are worthy winners, we look forward to working closely with them in the future, seeing their ideas become reality and making a real difference to communities.

Cambridge Ahead, a business and academic member group dedicated to the sustainable growth of Cambridge and its region, awarded Beringar with a cash prize of £2,000 and the runner-up, 8power Ltd with £1,000. Faye Holland, Project Chair of Cambridge Ahead’s Digital Connectivity Project Group said “The IoTUK Boost competition has been a great demonstration of the innovative range of applications that will drive future technology use. We were very impressed at the variety showed by the ten competitors and the demonstration of how applications in travel, healthcare and quality of life can be applied within a smart city infrastructure."

Cambridge Ahead has been delighted to support the programme and we look forward to seeing how Beringar and 8power Ltd continue to develop what we hope will be key services and applications for the future.

The finalists who pitched on Thursday 05th October 2017 were:

• 8power Limited – Runner-up
• Beringar - Winner
• Energenie
• Mandrel Systems Ltd
• See.Sense (Limeforge Ltd) – Highly Commended
• The Future Care (UK) Ltd
• Virtual Technologies

Flex have been great supporters of the programme and a key sponsor. Lindsay O’Regan, Business Development Manager commented: “It’s been great to work with these companies, all the mentors, and CW. I think the combination has made the project a huge success, and will undoubtedly make a difference both locally and further afield.

Given our company’s aim of enabling people to live smarter lives though a more connected world, an opportunity to work with innovative companies on IoT products, is a perfect fit with our Sketch-to-Scale™ approach to product development.

Robert Driver, CEO of CW was delighted with the quality of the applications pitches, commented:

It’s been an intensive programme which couldn’t have been made possible without the fantastic support from the partners and mentors. The technology solutions pitched by the SMEs to tackle key challenges across Cambridgeshire have surpassed the teams expectation and for them to implemented into the wider city deal is a huge accolade for the teams involved.

CW were one of only six organisations across the UK delivering this national programme which has been coordinated by Stephen Tolfree from the Digital Catapult. Stephen comments:

The CW Boost has been a great success and really helped the companies further develop their IoT applications. Digital Catapult is delighted to have supported the programme and we look forward to seeing the companies flourish in the future.

For more information, please head to our website  or email the Project Coordinator

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