New SBRI funding competitions announced

Date published: 1 November 2017

SBRI competitions aim to provide funding to companies to develop new innovative solutions/products to address a challenge or need in the public sector; giving companies a route to market for their ideas and bridging the funding gap experienced by many at early stage development.

Unlocking creativity and the past with the Tourism NI SBRI competition

Tourism NI, in partnership with the Department for Communities, Digital Catapult NI and Matrix announced a new £70,000 competition to encourage tourism-focused innovation in Augmented Reality (AR).

The competition is seeking to promote and test in market the deployment of AR technology in tourism contexts.

The competition provides opportunities that may include multi-lingual signposting and way-finding, immersive storytelling and the provision of an enhanced visitor experience at remote or unmanned tourist and historic heritage sites.

For more information please visit the Tourism NI website

Smart solutions for school transport challenges

The Education Authority in Northern Ireland has up to £200,000 to invest in smart transport projects that improve the way it delivers home-to-school transport.

The authority is looking for projects that examine ways of:

• improving convenience for pupils, for example, by replacing physical passes and loading lists with smart alternatives
• understanding usage patterns, for example, by facilitating data capture on each individual trip made by each pupil
• improving fleet logistics by analysing data received on routes used and vehicle telematics
• improving pupil safety and security, for example, through a system of alerts on bus timings or if a pupil unexpectedly fails to board a service
• linking with other transport providers

For more information on the competition visit the Education Authority website