Following the ColLabfest event hosted by Digital Catapult this week, the company has launched its Digital Catapult Things Connected, an innovation support programme to ensure London is open and ready to innovate with the Internet of Things (IoT).
Digital Catapult emphasises its strong interest to empower digital start-ups and SMEs to embrace opportunities of IoT, and the programme is to benefit this specifically, whilst also helping dive innovation that will transform many lives in London.
The UK IoT marketplace is currently worth £13.3bn, with expectation to rise to £20bn by 2018.
Things Connected is to provide a total of 50 LoRaWAN base stations that are to be located across London to establish the UK’s largest IoT LoRaWAN network.
Steve Yianni, CEO of Transport Systems Catapult announced at the ColLabfest their engagement with SMEs.
He said: “We’ve created a incubation space for start-ups, operating in Milton Keynes.”
The launch of Things Connected in London is a first step to create a national innovation support programme for LPWAN testbeds.
It will also bring a demand and supply side stakeholders together to accelerate market growth, establishing strong links to international LPWAN initiatives.
The aims of the programme include: Lessening the risk for vulnerable road-users, including cyclists, improving the quality of life for COPD and asthma sufferers and Optimising delivery drones.
In order to deliver the programme across the capital, the company will be working in collaboration with BT, Future Cities Catapult, Beecham Research, and Queen Mary University of London, along with other universities and companies alike.
Jeremy Silver, CEO of Digital Catapult said:
“Things Connected is starting in London but we want to cover the UK. To capture more of the digital dividend in the UK economy, we need to accelerate the adoption of the Internet of Things.
This is the beginning of our work. We aim to roll Things Connected out to help remove the barriers to IoT technology for businesses, and create new revenue opportunities for entrepreneurs and for smaller and larger companies.”
The areas covered by Things Connected include, but are not restricted to that of infrastructure provision, traffic and transport services, energy management and environmental sensing.
Chris Sims, Managing Director of BT said:
“The Internet of Things has the potential to fundamentally change how we live, work and do business. But only by taking an open, collaborative approach can we truly maximise that potential, and help our customers to engage with this exciting new world of IoT technologies.”
