Artificial Intelligence, drones and satellites among the cutting-edge tech solutions selected to impact Scotland’s public sector Challenges
Innovative technology to help women deal with menopause symptoms in the workplace, satellite monitoring to limit the spread of disease in trees, and cutting-edge drone and thermal imaging systems to manage deer populations are just some of the solutions which have been selected for the Accelerator stage of CivTech Round 9, a Scottish Government funded programme.
A total of 13 companies have made it through to the final stage of the CivTech Accelerator, responding to a range of environmental, healthcare, economic and cyber-crime challenges facing the public sector.
The winning companies will spend the next few months working closely with their Challenge Sponsors to develop their solutions with a view to developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). CivTech Round 9 has a total of up to £7.48 million of investment from the Scottish Government and at the end of the process, the businesses will hope to win contracts ranging in value from several hundred thousand pounds to £1.3 million.
CivTech is the world’s first Government-run accelerator for digital public services, and previous Challenges have seen the development of numerous innovative solutions including a Virtual Reality programme to familiarise people with the experience of giving evidence in court; an app to make it easier for people in tenement buildings to organise and pay for repairs; and AI and voice recognition technology to help people connect more simply and quickly with their local Citizens Advice bureau.
Revealing the winning companies today (Thursday 18th) at the official launch of the Accelerator Stage, the Innovation Minister Richard Lochhead said:
“Solutions being developed through the latest CivTech Accelerator promise to have a positive and meaningful impact on Scotland’s society and people. Using the very latest technology, including artificial intelligence, we are tackling real world challenges to help build a stronger and fairer economy.
“Our investment in the CivTech programme is creating tangible and accessible solutions. This shows the tech sector’s appetite to use advances in areas such as AI, machine learning, satellite, and drone technology to make people’s lives easier and better.
“Our focus is on creating opportunities for a highly productive, competitive economy, providing new jobs, embedding innovation and boosting skills.”
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About CivTech Scotland
CivTech is a Scottish Government funded programme and is the world’s first Government-run accelerator for digital public services. It was launched in 2016 to inject innovation into how the public sector uses technology to improve the lives of Scotland’s citizens. During its first 7 years, CivTech has set 92 Challenges for tech entrepreneurs and companies, with 279 teams taking part in its Exploration Stages, and 107 teams going through to the Accelerator Stage. For more information visit www.civtech.scot
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