Business Travel Funding will aid access
A project delivered by Innovation Birmingham Campus-based start-up Conigital has been given a £2.2m boost. Conigital is part of an all-British
consortium to have secured major funding from the Government’s Intelligent Mobility Fund.
‘This will be a great opportunity for us to showcase our accessibility technology’
Project INSIGHT – which will be delivered by Conigital alongside Westfield Sports Cars, Heathrow Enterprises, Fusion Processing, Creative Example and Birmingham City University – is among eight projects awarded a total of £20m towards developing driverless shuttles with advanced sensors and control systems. The project will focus on
improving the accessibility of transport for people who have difficulty travelling independently, as well as on the safety, reliability
and integration of autonomous vehicles into an urban environment. The vehicles will feature the
world’s first four-dimensional tactile display which will provide continuous sensory feedback for blind users over the course of their journeys. Advanced indoor and outdoor positioning systems will allow blind users to know their exact locations using a smartphone app and will link to a cloud-based system which will allow nearby vehicles to be virtually requested or ‘hailed’. Prem Moti, technical director at
Conigital Group, said: “We are thrilled to be part of the INSIGHT project and to have received this funding from the Intelligent Mobility Fund. “This will be a great opportunity for us to showcase our accessibility technology and to develop the next generation of autonomous vehicles.” Founded by Roger Wilson-Hind
who has been blind since birth, Conigital launched the GeorgiePhone app in December
Funding boost: Prem Moti
2015, providing talking and text services to enable the disabled and visually impaired to way-find indoors. They are one of 12 tech start-ups recently accepted on to the Serendip Smart City Incubator at Innovation Birmingham’s new 42,149 sq ft iCentrum building.
TOA chairman Manwar Hussain, Mohammed Khalil and secretary Imran Akram
Taxi firm expands to 400 drivers
Birmingham’s oldest taxi firm TOA Taxis has increased its fleet by 50 drivers – bring the total number to 400 across Birmingham City centre. And while the number of drivers
has increased, TOA has lowered driver membership fees. A major factor in TOA’s growth
has been the securing of a coveted contract with the NEC in July 2015. The deal saw TOA become the
official taxi provider for the NEC site, which includes the exhibition centre, the Genting Arena and Resorts World. TOA hopes to continue its
success over the next 12 months with plans to increase the fleet by up to a further 50 new drivers.
Sector Focus
September 2016 CHAMBERLINK 53
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