This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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SMART:SCOTLAND Awards
01/09/2005
A novel system for 3D imaging for underwater inspection is just one of 18 research and development projects to receive a share of £900,000 in the latest round of the SMART:SCOTLAND Competition.
Enterprise Minister Nicol Stephen today announced the latest Award winners during a visit to life sciences company Lab 901 in Edinburgh - who have previously had success in the 2001 and 2004 Competitions.
Mr Stephen said:
"The Executive is committed to growing the economy by investing in new skills and new ideas. We need to do more to transform ideas and innovations into successful businesses. These awards of £900,000 will help companies right across Scotland to develop new cutting edge technology. This support is vital to these exciting new projects.
"Today I am seeing how valuable a SMART:SCOTLAND Award can be to our leading technology businesses.
"Lab 901's technology for lab testing equipment has huge potential. With the assistance of further innovation funding from the Executive, they are setting an example to other up and coming technology businesses in the country.
"SMART:SCOTLAND is pivotal in our programme of support to help small companies develop new, cutting edge products and processes, bringing science out of the labs and onto the production line.
"Today's winners signify once again what can be achieved in terms of turning ideas into market leading products."
SMART:SCOTLAND 2005 ROUND 2 WINNERS
ADSL2/2+ DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE ACCESS MULTIPLEXOR (DSLAM) SIMULATOR. AIMS (INT) Ltd in Crossford will use their SMART Award to develop a DSLAM simulator for multi-chipset ADSL 2 and ADSL2+ telecommunications equipment.
DALI PROJECT - Amaneca Ltd, Edinburgh is concerned with the development of silicon intellectual property for powerline communications.
REMOTE MONITORING SYSTEM - Andrew James Willshire, Glasgow will use the SMART Award to assess the feasibility of developing novel optical sensor technology for use in a remote sub-sea plant monitoring system.
A NOVEL IMAGE MATCHING SERVER - Anthony Ashbrook, Edinburgh will conduct a feasibility study for an innovative system for delivering dynamic video content to third generation camera phones.
TEXT AND NUMERICAL PATTERN SEARCHING - Blueflow Ltd, Aberdeen will use their SMART Award to develop the company's core numerical pattern searching and analysis technology, which is generic and can be applied to many market areas, to include textual data sources and to integrate these with the numerical sources already used.
SPECTROSCOPIC VECSEL LASER - The SMART Award will enable the new company - Bruce Ainsley, Polmont -(yet to be formed) to test the feasibility of manufacturing a Vertical External Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VECSEL) operating with relatively high power and an extremely narrow linewidth. The new laser could offer advantages over competing products through its relatively low capital cost.
ACID REMOVAL FROM NATURAL GAS - Clear Process Ltd will use their SMART Award to investigate the feasibility of developing a multi-tubular hybrid membrane system for the removal of acidic gases, including carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, from natural gas streams.
DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL PCR INSTRUMENT - Dunsinane Technologies Ltd will use their SMART Award to develop a real-time PCR instrument that uses a novel technique to facilitate extremely rapid heating of a number of samples (typically 96, each of volume around 10 microlitres).
NEW TUBULAR INSTALLATION METHOD AND APPARATUS - Futuretec Ltd will use their SMART Award to assess the feasibility of developing a system to allow "first time" placement and completion of oil and gas well casings.
BRAND PROTECTIVE LABEL - Gavin Watson Ltd will use their SMART Award to further test the feasibility of developing a novel brand protection solution for labels, to counter the threat of refilling genuine spirits bottles with an inferior product.
REAL TIME CHEMICAL PROFILING - HRH Ltd will use their SMART Award to assess the feasibility of using a mass analyser for the real-time detection and measurement of organic and inorganic components from rock pore fluids as an oil well is drilled.
AUTOMATED RISING SCORE TECHNOLOGY - IceRobotics Ltd will use their SMART Award to assess the feasibility of developing technology for automatically generating rising scores for dairy cows to allow more accurate and efficient detection of lameness.
DEVELOPMENT OF "devBot" - The SMART Award will be used to assess the feasibility of developing devBot - a unique development platform for autonomous mobile robots driven by embedded computers.
NOVEL BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS - Ocutec Ltd will use their SMART Award to demonstrate the technical feasibility of synthesising highly novel hydrogel materials that are capable of being manufactured as functional contact lenses.
THE JUVENTAS AI PROJECT - RAID Ltd will use their SMART Award to assess the feasibility of developing a software-based agent system that will employ emerging artificial intelligence technologies.
DEVELOPMENT OF SEEGAUGE - A VIDEO TOOL FOR SPOOL PIECE METROLOGY - SeeByte Ltd will use their SMART Award to investigate the feasibility of using video technology in conjunction with other navigation sensors for underwater spool piece metrology operations.
3D IMAGING FOR SUBSEA INSPECTION - SLD Ltd will use their SMART Award to assess the feasibility of developing an innovative 3D system capable of detecting mooring chain defects with high accuracy in sub-sea environments. The technology will have specific applications in the oil and gas sector.
ELECTROCHEMICAL SCALE SENSOR - SurCh Technologies Ltd will use their SMART Award to develop an innovative electrochemical sensor that will enable real-time determination of the scaling tendency of solutions and scale formation on surfaces in boiler feed applications.
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 has recently been raised to £50,000. Projects last between six 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. SPUR is a non-competitive 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 six months and three years.