As our Roller team has been at London Tech Week 2018 this week, we wanted to highlight some of the newest innovative technology our capital city has produced recently. A city of culture and evolution, London is one of the most creative spaces for British technology, and is at the forefront of creating and adopting new and exciting technologies. London is known worldwide for its experimental nature, and unique approach to embracing the latest in home, work and entertainment technology.
Recently, in the build up to Tech Week, some truly innovative collaborations and product launches have been revealed, and we wanted to highlight a few of our favourites.
In a press release published earlier this week, it was disclosed that the Mayor of London is unveiling a plan to make London the ‘Smartest City In The World’. Describing the city’s future as a ‘global test-bed city for innovation’, the Mayor promises to launch programmes such as the Civic Innovation Centre, the London Office for Data Analytics, a Connected London programme and an increase in drives for MedTech in the press release. He also discussed a proposed strong focus on showcasing and encouraging new technologies in a wide variety of sectors, including travel, health, sport and the environment, and on specific areas such as Digital Greenwich and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Even some previously unexplored areas of London culture, such as policing and safety, are going to be introduced to technology and influenced by new changes to bodywear, evidence gathering and body beacon trackers. This general summary of the conscious re-focusing of technology in London really summarises its potential to be a stand out global city when it comes to innovative tech.
As England becomes more and more focussed on protecting our environments and making London a more eco-friendly place to live and work, cleantech Cambridge-based company Polysolar has begun to transform major city buildings into solar panelled stations. From a Canary Wharf Bus Station to a supermarket petrol station, glass social panels are already being installed to encourage a cleaner way of life in the city. With over 500 skyscrapers planned for construction in London over the next few years, Polysolar is currently running a crowdfunding campaign to transform more and more buildings into solar power stations. Creating plans for delivering additional products, such as electric car charging and battery storage, MD Hamish Watson plans to invest over £1.5m into this new venture, hopefully allowing technology and the environment to work together for the better in future.
Introducing the latest alternative to the traditional city Boris Bikes, Ofo Bikes and Mobikes are the new technological travel product to be embraced by London. Dockless and hi-tech, these bikes are all hired via an app, and all have various pieces of sports tech embedded into their designs. From a Bluetooth locking system to motion activated rear lights, these bikes are creatively imagined to be both secure and smart. What makes these bikes even more innovative is their QR code unlock system - ensuring that only those who have authentically paid and hired their bikes can use them, and with the app containing an inbuilt map and tracking location, these products are set to help London’s commuters feel that little bit more protected.
Developed as a startup product, Safe and the City is one of the most innovative safety devices in London at the moment - designed to help protect people in rough or ‘red flag’ areas of the city. Created by CEO Jillian Kowalchuk, the app is formatted to help users to navigate their way safely around London, avoiding potentially ‘harassment prone’ alleyways, neighbours and tunnels. With input from the Metropolitan Police, Safe and the City offers an alternative to Google or Apple Maps, with added features such as emergency calling, crime statistics and even descriptions such as ‘light quality’ ‘volume of people nearby’ etc… Helping to protect and educate the residents and tourists of London, this product shows both an innovative use of handheld technology, but also a city-specific awareness of how tech can be used to protect.
Moorfields Eye Hospital & Google DeepMind
Implemented in a major London eye treatment hospital, Google DeepMind has been used to innovatively deepen and improve the retinal scanning facilities of the current hospital equipment. Working with leading eye-care specialists and researchers, DeepMind and AI are being used with the aim of providing earlier detection, and earlier treatment, for major eye diseases and ailments. Using over 1 million existing scans to create a database for DeepMind to work with, the device is able to diagnose and analyse scans in a much faster and more detailed capacity than human doctors, allowing for more time to treat and care for the problem. Medtech is one of the biggest hybrid sectors in the industry, and it’s no surprise that London has been one of the first cities in the UK to experiment with these new healthcare technologies.
Over the years London has been given various titles in relation to technology; from the ‘Prop Tech Capital’ to the ‘Undisputed Tech Capital of Europe’. Staying true to these nicknames, these innovative examples of technological development in the city only serve to support that claim. We have enjoyed being immersed in the London technology scene at London for London Tech Week 2018 and we are excited to see how this thriving community can pave the way for technology innovation across the country.
If you want to catch up with our Roller team about how we can help you make your idea a reality, make sure to drop us at email at: [email protected]!
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://rolleragency.co.uk/blog/innovative-london-technology/