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    • About us
          • Digital Catapult is a deep tech innovation organisation driving business value by accelerating the application of advanced technologies.

            3,000

            Companies supported since 2018

            £555m

            Investment raised by startups since 2018

            20+

            Advanced technology facilities nationwide

    • Our ambition
          • Our ambition is to realise the practical application of deep tech through four interventions

            ambition-scale-deep-tech

            Enabling UK deep tech companies to scale

            ambition-improving-supply-chain

            Improving UK industrial supply chain resilience

            ambition-decarbonisation

            Driving industrial decarbonisation

            ambition-advancing-data

            Advancing UK development and use of data driven and open future networks

    • Our people
          • susan-bowen

            We are an organisation made up of almost 300 innovators.

            We pride ourselves on the skilled and talented people from varied backgrounds that make up our team – we harness the expertise, perspectives and connections of people of more than 40 nationalities, thereby bringing together a diversity of skills, experience and backgrounds.

            Susan Bowen

            CEO of Digital Catapult

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    • Startups and scaleups
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            Black Founders Programme

            The Black Founders Programme is an accelerator targeted at pre-seed or seed stage, Black-founded companies creating innovative products and services...
            ORCA-020

            Quantum Technology Programme

            Separating opportunity from hype to understand industry challenges that may be best solved by quantum computing.
    • Government and Public sector
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            Hydrogen Innovation Programme

            Discover more about the the Hydrogen Innovation Initiative and the deployment of hydrogen technologies to address pressing energy and environmental...
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            Digitalising Energy Programme

            Energy Systems Catapult and Digital Catapult have partnered to explore the groundwork for a UK-wide initiative to accelerate a digitalised,...
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            UK Digital Twin Centre

            Delivered by Digital Catapult and funded by Belfast Region City Deal and Innovate UK, the UK Digital Twin Centre makes digital twins more accessible and meaningful in the UK. It actively enable industries and innovators to safely embrace, explore and realise their dynamic power.
            Find out more UK Digital Twin Centre
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            Green Hydrogen Certifier

            This report looks at the Green Hydrogen Certifier - an end-to-end demonstration of a potential digital certification solution for hydrogen production...
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            Black Founders Programme

            The Black Founders Programme is an accelerator targeted at pre-seed or seed stage, Black-founded companies creating innovative products and services...
    • Services
          • Bespoke software & data systems

            Developing proof-of-concept demonstrators to showcase the viability and benefit of deep tech solutions.

            Platform engineering service

            Designing, building and operating physical and digital facilities. Providing testbeds for deep tech discovery and experimentation.

            Technology & innovation consultancy

            Consultancy services helping organisations addresses market preparedness gaps, evaluate financial viability and navigate technology change management.

          • Acceleration programmes for business

            Creating acceleration programmes to support businesses.Helping them grow through mentorship, technology support, networking, and investment opportunities.

            Facilitating and convening

            Bringing together and developing ecosystems of companies to explore, test and demonstrate how deep tech works in practice.

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    • Current interventions
          • ORCA-020

            Quantum Technology Programme

            Separating opportunity from hype to understand industry challenges that may be best solved by quantum computing.
          • Banner website digital twin 3

            UK Digital Twin Centre

            Delivered by Digital Catapult and funded by Belfast Region City Deal and Innovate UK, the UK Digital Twin Centre makes digital twins more accessible and meaningful in the UK. It actively enable industries and innovators to safely embrace, explore and realise their dynamic power.
            Find out more UK Digital Twin Centre
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            SymphoMe: case study

            Part of the FutureScope's Black Founders Programme, Digital Catapult supported Nyangibo Gallery to get investment ready and receive business expertise
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            The Programme

            Find out more about how the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme and how it aims to stimulate the adoption AI and...
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Open call

Connected Factory Demonstrator

Open date: Monday 21 January 2019   Close date: Monday 11 February 2019

Join Digital Catapult as we undertake an industry-first project with Dyer Engineering and Special Metals Wiggin. This Project sets to unlock productivity, streamline processes, improve yield and increase quality control in the manufacturing environment.

The Connected Factory Demonstrator brings together Digital Catapult with the two innovative manufacturing businesses and the UK startup community to explore how future networks technologies including LPWAN (low-powered, wide area networks) can drive improvements throughout the product lifecycle.

Why you should get involved

In September 2018 Digital Catapult was awarded funding from Innovate UK to establish the Connected Factory Demonstrators. Digital Catapult will procure suitable solutions on behalf of Dyer Engineering and Special Metals Wiggin within the allocated funds.

Consequently, we are now seeking innovative partners to help solve real world challenges related to indoor and outdoor tracking for the location of assets, equipment and components, as well as process measurement, optimisation and control.

Who should apply

We’re looking for IoT and LPWAN enabled startups able to deploy their asset tracking solutions in a live manufacturing environment. Respondents to this brief are invited to provide a cost-effective proposal to remotely monitor the location of assets including metal components and containers across the facilities.

Next steps

The RFP (Request for Proposal) will be open from the 21st January where potential participants can register their interest in taking part and receive the RFP application documents.

Applicants are welcome to submit proposals for one or both challenges.The deadline for receipt of proposals is 17:00 Monday 11 February 2019.

While there are similarities between both use cases, the following key differences should be noted:

Special Metals Wiggin: Require assets to be tracked across the entire manufacturing facility (approximately 47 acres/190,000 square meters) in both indoor and outdoor environments. Initial studies by Digital Catapult have found that GPS signals are available on site, both indoors and outdoors.

Dyer Engineering: Require assets to be tracked around multiple warehouses over two sites with a total combined footprint of 8,361 square meters. Only indoor tracking is required. GPS signal is not available inside the warehouses.

Further details on the facilities, use cases and requirements can be found in the RFP documents.Shorlisted applicants will be invited to present their proposals to a panel from Digital Catapult, Dyer Engineering and Special Metals Wiggin; the selected supplier(s) will be procured to work with these proof of concepts.

Timings

The following timings apply to the RFP process:

  • 21 Jan – Open Call opens
  • 11 Feb – Deadline for receipt of proposals
  • 11 – 22 Feb – Presentations and demonstrations
  • 28 Feb – Selection of supplier
  • 31 March – Deployment complete
  • 1 Apr – 30 Sep – Trial periodThis work is supported by Innovate UK