Posts Tagged ‘TechnologyWorld09’
Video highlights of TechnologyWorld09
Sunday, November 29th, 2009Social media: debate and definitions
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
When the first day of TechnologyWorld09 came to a close yesterday, the last session of the day addressed the question on the lips of every CEO looking to crack the world of Web 2.0: How can businesses use social media to create value? Unfortunately for all the companies at TechnologyWorld09 and beyond, the answer can’t yet be summed up in less than 140 characters.
For a start, the audience signalled that the question required definition. Just what is social media? Marketing and Communications expert Helen Keegan summed it up neatly as ‘media that is two-way instead of one-way’; Redcacto Director Benjamin Ellis reaffirmed this idea by explaining that the reason many companies are afraid of setting foot into the social media arena is that we are ‘obsessed with controlling brands’, something that is impossible to do in an open dialogue.
Next, we need to define ‘value’. And here comes some key advice: judge your social media success by the value its activity has added to your business or the amount of additional product you have sold, not the number of followers you have on Twitter. But, unfortunately for those hoping to hear the secret, nobody can yet guarantee how to add that value using online communities.
One message came from the panel loud and clear: there are no experts. Not yet, anyway – in a field so young, with rules as yet undefined, there is no hard and fast, step-by-step process to social media success.
And this was reflected in the differing standpoints of the panel. Helen advised companies to ‘join in. There’s people already doing it. You can learn from what they’re doing by joining in.’ However, Toby Constantine, Marketing Director of Market Evolution, reminded us that there is no need to rush, describing the opportunity as ‘an opening door’, and recommending that businesses only ‘get involved when you are ready’. Just as the world of social media is itself a dialogue, the ‘rules’ for businesses within social media are still very much up for debate.
Company profile: Games for Life
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Games for Life is a UK company providing a range of ‘mind-controlled’, brain-training computer games for children that are not only educational but can help to tackle the symptoms of attention-related disabilities.
While at university, Director Ian Glasscock – specialist in psychology and cognitive neuroscience – researched technologies that could sense human sensory activity. Fascinated by the monitoring of brain activity, he discovered that certain technologies were actually capable of improving attention spans and, working with his daughter to test the effects of these technologies, Games for Life was born in June 2008.
The games themselves involve a headpiece, which is fitted with sensors in order to non-invasively monitor electrical activity in the brain, linked to a computer. When the wearer is completely focused, characters within educational game will move effectively to complete various tasks – however, whenever concentration is lost, the characters will simply stop.
“It’s the same premise as physical exercise,’ explains Ian. “This really is ‘brain-training’. Other brain-training technologies out there don’t necessarily require the user to be focused. You can use them whilst listening to music, or while the TV is on in the background. But when playing our games, the child really has to concentrate properly, and this is what can help to improve the symptoms of attention-related disorders.”
In July this year, Games for Life completed a study with Hertfordshire County Council schools. The results (which are to be released very shortly) were positive, showing that pupils experienced a reduction in the symptoms of attention-deficit disorders, and Ian hopes that parents and educators will become increasingly aware of technologies that can provide a non-medical solution to these learning disabilities.
“What’s frustrating for me is that parents visit my lab on a weekly basis, unaware that technology can offer a non-medical alternative to their child’s condition,” he explains, conscious that some parents and children would rather not take medication. “They don’t realise that there are alternatives. But what inspires me is using pioneering technology to provide a real-life, real-world solution.”
For Ian, TechnologyWorld09 has not only been a chance to see what innovations are taking place in the UK, but also what government-related support infrastructures are available to growing UK technology companies. “We’ve found them to be extremely supportive,” he explains. “It’s a chance to speak to someone who knows more than I do about business support.”
Cambridge Consultants and wireless healthcare
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Cambridge Consultants specialise in developing and licensing breakthrough products, from the early design and concept stages right through to manufacturing. With the Cambridge Consultants approaching their fiftieth anniversary within the industry, there are few more experienced consultancy firms in the medical and connected healthcare sectors.
As senior mechanical engineer Edward Brunner noted however, there is more than meets the eye to Cambridge Consultants; “One of our key advantages is that we can help out in so many different ways. It’s not just the product development process, it’s identifying the right technology or the right product for a technology. We have structuring ideas and management processes that can help”.
Cambridge Consultants were invaluable in the development of Vena, the first fully Continua compliant wireless healthcare device. Committed to reducing healthcare costs, Vena enabled products range from healthcare devices that monitor vital signs wirelessly to fitness enhancing products like gym equipment and motion-based gaming devices. Being Continua compliant, these devices can all seamlessly stream data to health services from the likes of Philips and Google Health.
Cambridge Consultants are also committed to helping their clients cut CO2 emissions, having recently launched their Clean Tech campaign to help mitigate fossil fuel costs. One key innovation aiming to help tackle the challenge poised by climate change is the Holographic Radar system. Where wind farms currently disrupt Air Traffic Control and surveillance systems, the Holographic radar system is set to transform the UK’s wind energy industry by allowing turbines to be built near controlled air space.
With both wireless healthcare and eco-friendly systems becoming increasingly valuable, Cambridge Consultants offer superb experience and expertise within these sectors to UK companies who are looking to turn their product concepts into a reality.
Colin Cohen discusses the UK Technology brand
Monday, November 23rd, 2009Colin Cohen is on secondment from IBM, to work with UKTI. He tells us how he plans to help small businesses flourish.
UMIP launches first free-to-use technology marketing system
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
The University of Manchester Intellectual Property (UMIP) has launched a free-to-use marketing system to help bring technology providers and seekers together.
The Intellectual Property allows technology providers to advertise what they are looking for and provides a powerful online database offering succinct, tailored email alerts which allow users to review a large number of opportunities very quickly.
Although the site has only just gone live, it has already has technologies from more than 20 universities and over 70 technology firms – including over 50 multinationals – onboard.
Mark Thompson, head of market development at UMIP, revealed the idea came about 18 months ago when he became aware that existing ways to market technology were fairly poor.
“There are a number of portals in the world where people can advertise their technologies,” he said, “but they’re all either very expensive, data heavy, not user friendly, or there is a cost somewhere that puts a barrier in the process. We wanted something that was simple lean and free and using Web 2.0 principals rather than having a website where someone needed to manage the content all the time.”
Thompson added that the idea was to keep it simple so that anyone could be up and running within minutes of registering. Long-term he especially wants to see small to medium enterprises (SMEs) benefiting from finding innovation and new ideas on the site.
“They are small by nature, have busy day jobs and don’t have much time to become experts in looking for new ideas and technologies for specific things,“ he added. “This is a way for SMEs in particular to tap into very high quality ideas and innovation of all sorts from universities and potentially other SMEs who are advertising their technologies too.”
Chocolate powered cars and self healing planes: Meet the minds behind the magic at TechnologyWorld09 today!
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Forget your preconceptions of government research centres being dull, as the latest research to emerge from the EPSRC is the stuff science fiction films are made of. The latest products cooked up by a team of university whizz kids and their mentors range from Formula 3 cars with steering wheels made from carrots, to aeroplanes that can heal themselves using fibre-reinforced polymer.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a UK governing body that contributes towards research and developments in the physical sciences, to a tune of 800 million a year. They work very closely with a large number of universities, enabling students to get really involved, and focus on creating technology that’s innovative and useful to the everyday consumer.
They were established to enable research centres to fund cutting edge exploration in the fields of Engineering and Physical Sciences. They run a grant scheme which helps support promising schemes, and currently have 5756 on offer. ‘We’re keen to encourage exciting and innovative research across the physical sciences’, says Dr Matthew Bell from the EPSRC. ‘We’re here today to showcase research we’ve been involved in, and make ourselves available for possible investment’. (more…)
Profile: Marlyn Sousou, UK Trade & Investment Officer, Jordan
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Marlyn Sousou’s day-to-day role is all about increasing the chances for UK companies to do business in Jordan. Keeping up-to-date with market developments in the respective sector, highlighting business opportunities on the UKTI portal and liaising with key local contacts, Marlyn makes sure that UK businesses are given the best possible chance of partnership by providing expert local knowledge and advice. Through the Overseas Market Introduction Service, Marlyn arranges for UK companies to meet interested Jordan counterparts to discuss potential partnerships, arranging outward missions and attending local, regional and international exhibitions.
“The global downturn is the challenge facing the UK technology industry, in particular young technology companies,” explains Marlyn. “Thus it is vital for young UK technology to choose the right market which can offer the opportunity to grow. Researching markets is key in helping the young UK technology businesses tap into opportunities – and the role of UK Trade and Investment Officers is to advise on the respective requirements and do the relevant research.”
For Marlyn, the increasing importance of communication technology in both our personal and working lives means that the ICT sector is ‘one to watch’ for the coming years. “With all the preparation for TechnologyWorld09 and with the support provided to the ICT companies attending from around the world, I’m sure it’s going to be a successful event. It’s the right forum to initiate contacts, which can be built on later to develop business around the world.”
Caecus – object recognition for the blind and visually impaired
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Wandering through a shopping mall, Steve Lloyd noticed something that he found peculiar – and not particularly helpful. On a wall was a sign advertising ‘information for our blind customers’, sitting above a small box of leaflets written in braille.
In this moment, as he doubted whether this would actually be of any help to blind and partially sighted customers, Steve came up with the idea behind Caecus – a-not-for-profit company that aims to create object recognition technology for the 20 million blind and partially sighted people across the EU.
Caecus aims to allow users to turn their mobile phones into processing devices, providing audio information to the user via a Bluetooth headset. Currently in the research stages, already working with Staffordshire University and in discusison with Nottingham University, Steve believes that Caecus can bring the product to market within 18 months.
The aim is to focus on public sector buildings, and ‘tag’ relevant information such as toilets, fire exits and even significant hazards. Upon entering the building, blind or partially sighted visitors would then be able to access this information via their mobile, and be kept informed of the objects within a 25 metre range. Steve believes that this kind of information could be extended to include information about people – so, if a friend was in the same building as you, you’d be informed of that, too.
Steve believes that, while there are lots of specialists producing technologies for the blind and partially sighted, there is a real need for standardisation – and that this is where a device as ubiquitous as a mobile phone may make the difference. While current technologies are robust, they are not necessarily designed to do a range of things. Steve explains that by using mobiles as processors, they can be used to access a wealth of information.
Steve also plans to make the information available in several languages, meaning that the product would be of use not just to the blind and partially sighted, but also to foreign visitors who need the same information.
For Steve, TechnologyWorld is about finding partners – mobile manufacturers, or others who can provide multi-lingual support. Caecus has received funding from the Department for Health Social Enterprise Investment Fund, but are continuing to search for those who can make their vision a reality.
Interview with Dominic Jermey, UKTI
Monday, November 23rd, 2009Dominic Jermey from UKTI sits down with our camera crew to give his thoughts about the show. He shares what he’s looking forward to at TechnologyWorld09, and gives tips on how UK companies can make themselves an international success.
