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Nine
research and development projects to receive a share of £450,000.
The programme is designed to help new and existing
small companies improve their competitiveness by developing leading-edge
products or processes that have
real commercial potential.
 A
company developing new ultrasound technology to produce high-quality images
of soft tissue and bones is one of nine research and development projects to
receive a share of £450,000, it was announced today.
Deputy Enterprise Minister Allan Wilson revealed the latest companies to
benefit under the Executive’s SMART SCOTLAND innovation scheme.
The programme is designed to help new and existing small companies improve
their competitiveness by developing leading-edge products or processes that
have real commercial potential.
Mr Wilson announced the successful companies at an awards ceremony in
Glasgow to congratulate the 42 SMART winners from last year’s competition.
He said:
“Scotland’s companies must continually aim to be at the cutting-edge of
innovation and technology if we are to gain a competitive edge in the world
marketplace.
“The SMART SCOTLAND grant scheme is helping ambitious small and medium
businesses do just that, by providing vital funding to help them develop new
products with the potential to compete in global markets.
“Take just one company to benefit in this latest funding round, Kelvin
Biophysics Ltd, which is pioneering new ultrasound technology for soft
tissue and bone imaging. This significant development has the potential to
offer a range of advantages over traditional X-ray based methods in terms of
safety and image quality, benefiting both patients and medical staff alike.
“Another exciting project being supported is Glasgow-based Cascade
Technologies, which is developing gas detection technology capable of
identifying the presence of explosives and hazardous substances. This has
potential benefits for the military, oil and gas and aerospace sectors.
“It is dynamic companies like these that will help to drive Scotland’s
economy forward and I would encourage other firms to consider how the SMART
SCOTLAND scheme can help them.”
The nine winning companies in the 2006 Round 1 SMART:SCOTLAND Competition
are:
1. Cascade Technologies Ltd, Glasgow
A FIBRE-COUPLED QUANTUM CASCADE LASER-BASED GAS SENSOR
Cascade Technologies Ltd will use its SMART Award to develop a fibre-coupled
Quantum Cascade Laser (QC-Laser) based gas sensor for industrial purposes.
The proposed technology is aimed at market opportunities not currently
available with existing gas measurement techniques, including detection and
screening of explosives and detection of chemical weapons and toxic
industrial chemicals.
Contact: Dr J William Buckie
Telephone: 0141 303 8223
Email:
b.buckie@cascade-technologies.com
Website:
www.cascade-technologies.com
2. Clyde Space Ltd, Glasgow
DEVELOPMENT OF A POWER SYSTEM FOR CUBESATS
Clyde Space Ltd will use its SMART Award to develop a highly capable,
plug-and-play power system and battery solution for very small spacecraft
known as picosatellites. This will meet the technical requirements of the
‘CubeSat’ platform, a miniature spacecraft standard that is set to become
the most commonly launched satellite platform.
Contact: Mr Craig Clark
Telephone: 0141 946 4440
Email:
craig.clark@clyde-space.com
Website:
www.clyde-space.com
3. Gordon McAllister, Dundee
DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCIAL 3D HUMAN MOTION TRACKING
The applicant will use the SMART Award to assess the feasibility of
developing a commercial solution for automating 3D tracking using a single
video camera. The technology will provide both marker-based and marker-free
tracking.
Contact: Dr Gordon McAllister
Telephone: 01382 384146
Email:
gordon_i_mcallister@yahoo.co.uk
4. Kelvin Biophysics Ltd, Rhu
DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL ULTRASOUND TECHNOLOGY FOR SOFT-TISSUE AND BONE
IMAGING
Kelvin Biophysics will use its SMART Award to assess the feasibility of
developing a new ultrasound technology for imaging soft-tissues and bones.
The technology will have distinct advantages over traditional X-ray
based-methods in terms of safety, image quality and the ability to assess
the strength of bone healing.
Contact: Dr Duncan F Campbell
Telephone: 07801 568946
Email: duncan@zygomatics.net
5. Level E Ltd, Edinburgh
DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL HIGH FREQUENCY FINANCIAL TRADING SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED
DECISION-MAKING IN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
Level E Ltd will use its SMART Award to develop CLEVER, a Continuous
Learning Engine for high frequency financial trading that combines a novel
set of artificial intelligence concepts and techniques that allow large
numbers of virtual traders to adapt to new market regimes and learn
continuously to develop successful market strategies, all in real-time. The
technology will offer investment management firms a unique portfolio
management solution that enables fast, reliable and high-performance
automated multi-asset trading under a single platform.
Contact: Dr Sonia Schulenburg
Telephone: 0131 472 4807
Email: sonia@levelelimited.com
Website:
www.levelelimited.com
6. Martin Energy Ltd, Edinburgh
DEVELOPMENT OF A SOFTWARE TOOL FOR ELECTRICITY SUPPLY/DEMAND BALANCING USING
LOAD MANAGEMENT
Martin Energy Ltd will use its SMART Award to assess the feasibility of
developing a live electronic link between Electricity Suppliers trading
desks and their industrial/commercial customers equipment, allowing
suppliers to automatically purchase reduction in their customers’
consumption during periods of supply/demand imbalance.
Contact: Dr Alastair Martin
Telephone: 0131 225 8100
Email:
alastair.martin@flexitricity.com
7. Mistral Ltd, Edinburgh
TO DESIGN, FABRICATE AND TEST A MID INFRARED TUNABLE FILTER COMPRISING
OPTICAL WAVEGUIDES
Mistral Ltd. will use its SMART Award to design, fabricate and test a
mid-infrared waveguide tuneable filter that will be used to implement a
novel optical sensor. This development will be used in applications in large
and growing markets such as pollution monitoring.
Contact: Dr Frank Tooley
Telephone: 0774 007 2393
Email:
frank.tooley@blueyonder.co.uk
8. Plenoptics Ltd, Edinburgh
DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTOMATIC 3D MODEL TEXTURE MAPPING TOOL
Plenoptics Ltd will use their SMART Award to assess the feasibility of
applying optimisation technology to develop a tool for the automatic
creation of highly efficient texture maps for 3D models. It is envisaged
this tool will offer significant time and cost benefits for the creative and
visual simulation industries.
Contact: Roy Middleton
Telephone: 0131 448 0718
Email:
roy.middleton@plenoptics.com
Website:
www.plenoptics.com
9. Wireless Fibre Systems Ltd, Livingston
DEVELOPMENT OF A SUBSEA RADIO FREQUENCY BROADBAND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR
USE WITH UNMANNED VEHICLES
Wireless Fibre Systems Ltd will use its SMART Award to develop a subsea
radio frequency broadband communication system for use with unmanned
vehicles. The system offers an innovative alternative technology for subsea
wireless data communications and the only feasible technology for wireless
broadband links.
Contact: Brendan Hyland
Telephone: 01506 407814
Email:
brendan@wirelessfibre.co.uk
Website:
www.wirelessfibre.co.uk
NOTES:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
Contact: Claire Delaney – 0131 244 2547
News Release: «NewsReleaseNo»
Internet:
www.scotland.gov.uk
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