Smart UK project, a competition to find the most innovate UK mobile company, today revealed a shortlist of 19 companies which hope to triumph in the government backed scheme.
The shortlist covered inventions of every kind from apps involving the NHS, museums and taxis to waterproof hardware technology.
Introducing the event in London earlier today Simon Carter, Deputy Director of the government agency for High
Technology Sectors and Head of Information and
Communication Technologies, was keen to stress
the importance of innovation ahead of the ultimate
winner being announced at Mobile World
Congress in Barcelona next month.
“We’ve had over 80 entries for this competition and these companies represent the best. These companies have been selected for their innovation and because they are newsworthy. 2012 will be a defining year in so many ways when the eyes of the world will focus on the UK. UK Trade and Investment is hosting at the British (Business) Embassy during the Olympics and each day we’ll have a particular focus on technology, designed to demonstrate the rich diversity of technology in the UK.”
What does that mean for you? More technology coming your way from home grown talent and we’ve picked our favourite contenders from the conference.
“We can double battery life and give a very good viewing experience” say Apical, which has offices in both London and Japan. How do they manage that? Assertive Display technology appears to be the answer. What does that mean? It’s basically a way of controlling the amount of light that your phone or tablet uses and Apical make it sound simple “Assertive Display technology works like a human eye, using digital imaging processing and adaptive screen brightness control to deliver high-quality multimedia experiences in high levels of ambient light while reducing power consumption on tablets by as much as 50%.”
An augmented reality company that does more than just provide a link to a product page. Anywhere you see the Blippar ‘b’ is Blippable – sending games, links and 3D product screens to your phone instantly – no scanning or snapping. “We’re creating a new verb, ‘to Blip'” is the bold claim made by Blippar who offer ‘interactive content experiences’ through magazines, billboards and er, cereal packets. They’re working with Tesco and Nike and have big funding. Expect to hear a lot more about Blippar in 2012. Find out more at the Blippar site.
The Ubislate is a $35 tablet aimed at developing markets such as India. Ahlia from Datwind says “4 billion people in the world don’t have internet access” before revealing that the firm has won a government tender in India to equip students with tablets. “All of our hardware comes with accelerated compression technology which reduces data consumption by up to five times, making the device much cheaper on mobile networks.”
P2i produce Aridion technology which provides protection from water damage with a liquid repellent nano-coating technology used by the UK Ministry of Defence. It’s the secret of Motorola’s SplashGuard feature on the new RAZR too. P2i demo the technology by dipping an Aridion coated tissue into water – and it works! Impressive.
Pyreos has invented an accurate gesture recognition sensor for touchless control of mobile devices. It works using an infra-red sensor technology that detects the heat of the user’s hands, calculating direction and speed – creating a control method similar to the Microsoft Kinect Xbox 360 add-on. “Pyreos will change the way you interact with mobile phones forever” claim their marketing team…
Claiming to revolutionise the way we interact with exhibits in museums and galleries, QRpedia uses QR codes and Wikipedia to provide a direct description of the exhibit via your phone. Now the clever bit: the single QR code recognises your language and is compatible with 200 languages which makes those audio guide headsets at the museum reception suddenly look very old fashioned, not to mention expensive…
