In 2017, the number of new tech companies being set up in the South West rose by 42% and this growing hub has seen many exciting developments. The latest Tech Report 2018 states that tech clusters in Devon and Cornwall boosted Britain’s economy by ÂŁ605 million last year, and Bristol topped the productivity of local tech ecosystems, reaching a higher turnover per employee than London. Let’s take a look at some of the exciting developments and companies…
Blu Wireless Technology
Bristol based Blue Wireless Technology is a specialist provider of unlicensed 57-71GHz wireless networking solutions, delivering data rates of multiple Gbps and ranges over 300m. The business was recently named as one of the nation’s key innovators by the European Commission in its Innovation Radar Platform launched in April.
Cubik Innovation
Also in Bristol, Cubik Innovation works with SMEs, corporations and emerging businesses to help them achieve their electronic product objectives and bring new products to the market. They are experts in the design and development of electronic products for a range of industry sectors, and they recently achieved ISO 9001:2015 accreditation status.
Ordoo
Ordoo is based at the University of Bath Innovation centre and their app allows customers to order ahead at cafes and lunch spots to beat the queue and earn loyalty rewards.
Reach Robotics
Founders Silas Adekunle, John Rees and Chris Beck are the creators of augmented reality gaming battlebots that allow gamers to reach a new level of play. The business stands out in its sector, and recently they moved to their new headquarters on the outskirts of Bristol.
Exeter College
Last year Exeter College opened its Centre for Advanced Industrial Automation, a multi-million pound robotics and engineering centre. The robotics workshop can accommodate seven Kuka robots including the KR Agilus. For the UK, Exeter College will be the leading college for robotics programming, giving its students a head start when it comes to future employment.
LED Technology
Innovative LED technology made in Plymouth by Plessey Semiconductor is going to be used for a new generation of virtual reality and augmented reality smart glasses that will be launched next year.
Vuzix in the US is developing advanced display engines with its waveguide optics for next generation AR Smart Glasses that it says will be the smallest and most power efficient by using Plessey’s microLED light engine.
Zenotech
Bristol based start-up Zenotech, part of the Oracle Cloud accelerator programme, has used its technology to develop engineering workflows in the cloud as part of a project with Airbus. Marc Fischer, the Head of Flight Physics at Airbus, wanted to use cloud technology for future aircraft development along with data science, and Zenotech uses its EPIC (Elastic, Private, Interactive, Cloud) tool to manage high-performance supercomputers on demand, managing hardware and software requirements, data security, and licensing.