This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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SMART Scotland winners
07/02/2005
More than £900,000 to help small companies research and
develop innovative products was announced today under the
Executive's SMART:SCOTLAND scheme.
The companies cover a wide range of sectors, such as
renewable energy, life sciences, nanotechnology and new
solutions for sport and healthcare applications.
Developments include:
- An early warning mobile alarm system to avoid the
loss or theft of personal items including lap-top
computers and other mobile office equipment
- New computer software to help oil and gas companies
reduce waste and improve their resource efficiency
- A wave turbine which minimises the number of stages
of energy conversion from sea wave to electricity
- A pocket-sized portable battery powered digital
projector. This will be able to be used as an add-on
device for lap-top computers and other electronic
equipment
Enterprise Minister Jim Wallace said:
"Support mechanisms like SMART can help continue to grow
our economy, by helping small firms develop new competitive
products and processes that have the potential for
commercialisation.
"The diversity and range of knowledge supported by these
SMART awards is evidence of the flair and leading-edge
expertise to be found in Scotland today.
"I am particularly pleased to see that several of
today's award winners are
developing green technologies, including new software to
help industries improve their resource efficiency, wave
turbines and a new wind turbine generator for the urban
renewable electricity market.
"This is an area where there are great opportunities for
Scottish firms to capitalise, and for us to become a world
leader. Projects like these are vital to the creation of
'green jobs', and will be key to our Green Jobs Strategy
which we plan to publish before the summer."
Entries for SMART:SCOTLAND can be submitted by
individuals planning to start a business in Scotland, and
by existing small firms / groups with less than 50
employees.
There are three rounds of judging each year with closing
dates for applications in January, May and September. The
Government meets 75 per cent of the project costs and the
maximum award payable is £50,000.
Projects last between 6 and 18 months.
Winners who successfully complete their projects and
require additional assistance to develop a pre-production
prototype can apply for further funding under the SPUR
scheme and grant is available at 35 per cent of the
eligible project costs, subject to a maximum grant of
£150,000. These projects should last between 6 and 36
months.
The SMART:SCOTLAND Programme is part-funded by the
European Regional Development Fund.
SMART:SCOTLAND 2004 ROUND 3 WINNERS:
Aims (Int) Ltd, Crossford, Fife
development of A NEW ADSL2 AND ADSL2+
INTEROPERABILITY TEST
Aims (Int) Ltd will use their SMART Award to develop a
new interoperability test solution for ADSL2 and ADSL2+
telecommunications equipment. This development will enable
the company to provide a test solution for the DSL
industry.
Ankur, Edinburgh
development of NOVEL NANO-COMPOSITE MATERIALS
AND PROCESSES
Ankur will use their SMART Award to carry out
development work on noble, low cost, high performance
nano-composites to be used as moisture and oxygen barrier
layers for food and beverage packaging applications. Such
layers will help packaging to be cheaper and more
environment and health friendly and packaged food last
longer while retaining its taste and aroma intact.
Calico Jack Ltd, Dundee
development OF EMERGENT PRESENCE IN MOBILE SERVICES
Calico Jack Ltd will use their SMART Award to develop a
unique engine that exploits a new kind of powerful
reasoning system in mobile services making use of
contextually tailored 'presence' information about a user.
The development of this Presence Management Engine will
enable the company to meet the needs of Mobile Network
Operators.
CelluComp Ltd, Burntisland, Fife
NANO-BIOCOMPOSITES
CelluComp will use their SMART Award to investigate the
technical and commercial feasibility of using a new
biocomposite material for the manufacture of shaped
composite tubular components for applications in the sports
equipment market. In addition to being derived from
sustainable sources, the biocomposite material promises to
offer a superior combination of both stiffness and very
high toughness, unlike other products currently
available.
Codeplay Software Ltd, Edinburgh
development of A VECTORC EMBEDDED GRAPHICS
COMPILER
Codeplay Software will use their SMART Award to research
parallelisation across multiple processors in relation to
the company's highly sophisticated compiler in order to
investigate the feasibility of developing innovative new
technology that will increase the optimisation of
asymmetric multi-processing units across a range of
industries.
Conjunct Ltd, Edinburgh
development of A DYNAMIC SERIAL OPTICAL
INTERCONNECT (DSOI)
Conjunct Ltd has recently been formed to develop and
commercialise its proprietary innovation for short range
optoelectronic communications. The company will use the
SMART Award to research the feasibility of replacing
several communications devices with a single device. The
DSOI will be a dynamic, optical and integrated system which
will bridge the gap between electrical and optical
interconnects thus reducing time to market for companies
incorporating compatibility with short range serial optical
communications into their existing product range.
Elonics Ltd, Livingston, West Lothian
development of VERSATILE SILICON SOFTWARE
RADIO
Elonics Ltd will use the SMART Award to undertake
research into the technical and commercial feasibility of a
novel radio tuner silicon chip suitable for addressing a
number of worldwide radio broadcast standards. The aim is
to produce a versatile chip that can be reconfigured on
demand to enable reception of multiple broadcast standards
such as FM, AM, LW and the emerging digital formats such as
DAB and DSR .
Green Cat Renewables Ltd, Thankerton
development of the green cat wave
turbine
Green Cat Renewables Ltd will use their SMART Award to
investigate the feasibility of a novel wave energy device
which uses the minimum number of stages of energy
conversion from sea wave to electricity. The new turbine
could offer advantages over competing products through its
simple design and relatively low capital cost.
Infotag ( Scotland ) Ltd, Lesmahagow
development of an automated fish tagging
system
Infotag (Scotland) Ltd will use their SMART Award to
conduct a feasibility study into the development of an
automated system for applying identity tags onto the gills
of fish during the fish processing procedure. This
procedure is currently performed manually and the new
system would allow increased throughput and higher safety
levels for labourers.
Invinity Bioscience Ltd, Roslin
development of improved methods for the
generation of therapeutic antibodies
Invinity Bioscience Ltd will use their SMART Award to
develop a process for the rapid selection of cell lines
producing human antibodies suitable for therapeutics or
diagnostic use with particular emphasis on those important
for use against infectious disease. The development of
therapeutic agents based on human antibodies continues to
be one of the biggest growth areas within the
biopharmaceutical industry and this process seeks to
shorten the time required to select a candidate product for
therapeutic evaluation.
Lab901 Ltd, Loanhead
development of a novel microscale bio-analysis
platform with integrated dna amplification
Lab901 Ltd will use their SMART Award to investigate the
feasibility of integrating DNA amplification by Polymerase
Chain Reaction (PCR) and On-Tape fluid management with the
company's existing ScreenTape® bio-analysis platform. PCR
is central to modern molecular biology and is used in a
wide array of applications in bio-medical research. The
market for PCR products is growing rapidly and Lab901 plans
to exploit the commercial opportunity within the global
market by developing a micro-scale PCR-on-tape platform
which will facilitate rapid and cost effective automated
sample preparation and analysis.
Ovisor Technologies Limited, Glasgow
FEASIBILITY OF MODULE TECHNOLOGY
Ovisor Technologies Limited will use their SMART Award
to develop low cost interconnection technology for telecom
systems. This system will eliminate the need for fibre
interconnections between optical telecom components.
PI Energy and Emissions Ltd, Aberdeen
development of AN ENERGY TRACKER SOFTWARE
PRODUCT
PI Energy and Emissions will use their SMART Award to
assess the feasibility of developing a user friendly,
universal computer software product (Energy Wizard) for
monitoring the energy usage, wastage and CO2 emissions of
a processing plant/asset. The development of this
technology will allow users in the oil and gas sector to
understand for the first time, the true cost of running
major equipment inefficiently. The adoption of this
technique will also aid operator's compliance with the
Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC)
standards. Overall, the product will enable them to
improve plant performance using less power, reducing
emissions and saving money.
Power Projector Ltd
development of A Truly PORTABLE DIGITAL
PROJECTOR
Power Projector will use their SMART Award to model and
design a pocket sized portable, battery powered digital
projector. The projector will be able to be used as add-on
devices for mobile computing devices and most other
portable electronic devices. Realising a truly portable
digital projector requires a novel redesign of the whole
system and the application of new technologies maximise
performance whilst minimising component sizes.
Proven Engineering Products Ltd,
Stewarton
development of the crossflex wind
turbine
Proven Engineering Products Ltd will use their SMART
Award to investigate a new wind turbine generator for the
developing urban and building-integrated renewable
electricity generation market. It is believed that the
concept will offer effective performance, lower mass and
cost of installation, and a modular and flexible design
which reduces loading on the building it is mounted on, and
integrates architecturally into the building.
RM Logic, Edinburgh
development of AN EDA TOOL FOR AREA AND POWER
OPTIMISATION
RM Logic will use their SMART Award to develop an
electronic design automation (EDA) tool for chip and system
targeting power and area optimisation in the EDA industry.
The project will involve research into the feasibility and
interoperability, followed by the trial and test at a
rigorous industry level for performance evaluation.
Spartan Solutions Limited, Glasgow
RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION MANAGED
SERVICE
Spartan Solutions Limited will use their SMART Award to
develop a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) solution to
be delivered as an internet business service. This system
will reduce software and hardware costs for companies who
need to run RFID.
Zeroed-In Ltd, Edinburgh
development of mobile security solutions
Zeroed-in Ltd will use their SMART Award to conduct a
feasibility study into the development of a mobile security
system designed to avoid the loss of equipment and
information in public places where the risk of theft or
accidental loss is high. The product will be of particular
interest to Companies with travelling employees, as it will
increase the security of an individual's mobile office
(laptop, briefcase, handbag etc.), along with confidential
information, by alerting the user to imminent loss or theft
before the actual event. Zeroed-in aims to become a leading
supplier of mobile security solutions for personal items
and information within the next 3 years.