Interview
Growing the SIS industry in Scotland
Speaking to Ian Reid, CEO of CENSIS, CIE editor Amy Wallington finds out how the Innovation Centre is driving economic activity in the sensor and imaging systems industry in Scotland. Reid also talks about some key projects CENSIS has been part of over the past year and some of his highlights since his appointment as CEO two years ago
contribute a combined £2.6bn to the economy and employ 16,000 people. These solutions, of course, underpin the success of a wide range of industries, and sensors now touch most aspects of the country.”
CENSIS has been at the forefront of the
Internet of Things (IoT) scene in Scotland, instigating and organising a number of initiatives to encourage its adoption. Reid spoke about some of the projects CENSIS has introduced to drive the IoT scene. “We launched our demonstrator project
Ian Reid C
ENIS is the Scottish Innovation Centre for Sensor and Imaging Systems, funded by the Scottish Funding Council. Its aim is to bring together commercial innovation and academic research, to drive economic activity in Scotland. Ian Reid, CEO of CENSIS, described the organisation as being “one of eight Innovation Centres set up to help companies, in some of Scotland’s key growth sectors, and universities work together to improve competitiveness in the global marketplace.”
CENIS was established in April 2013 with an initial £10m funding and it aims to promote economic development through innovations in the use of sensor and imaging systems (SIS) technologies in the industrial base, including the delivery of collaborative R&D projects. Reid commented: “Scotland has an active cluster of some 170 companies providing SIS solutions, which between them
14 June 2016
last year, to pioneer the introduction of an IoT system in a manufacturing or logistics business. As part of the deal, we offered businesses six months’ worth of project management skills and time with industry- experienced engineers, to the value of £85,000. In the second half of 2015, we also introduced our Connected Device Development Centre (CDDC), which was aimed at helping SMEs fast-track the development of new IoT-related products. The centre gives businesses access to the expertise of our engineering team, as well as a range of off-the-shelf hardware components and software packages.” “Earlier this year, we also organised Scotland’s first-ever IoTUK Boost event, inviting 18 companies to pitch their IoT ideas to a panel of experts with the chance of winning valuable help in commercialising their prototypes,” commented Reid. “Our winners were wearable tech provider, Sansible Wearables; venue marketing app developer, Obrand Communications; Rapport Network CIC, which aims to use IoT technology to help people living with early-stage dementia; The WindOP, which has designed a product to capture accurate wind speeds at remote locations; and fuel management company, FUELlink Systems.”
Components in Electronics
CENSIS has also been involved in an initiative that it describes as its “showpiece” project. It aims to place Scotland at the forefront of the £7bn global mid-infrared sensors market, deliver significant economic growth and onshore 41 highly skilled research and manufacturing jobs from Asia. “The Mirage project is the first initiative of its kind in Scotland and has backing from Sottish Enterprise, bringing together companies and organisations to collaborate on the production of materials integral to manufacturing a variety of goods that use sensors, ranging from asthma inhalers to infrared cameras,” explained Reid. “CENSIS is providing £241,000 of funding, plus capital equipment.”
The four companies involved will combine their expertise in different aspects of manufacturing next generation sensing technologies to produce a wide range of products for different end markets. “The initiative will target a cumulative boost in turnover for the businesses of £135m over the next decade, cut their production costs by up to 50 per cent, and give them a critical competitive edge in the global mid- IR sensors market,” Reid commented. “The project is expected to deliver £56m to the Scottish economy over the next 10 years, highlighting the overall economic benefit we look for in all of our projects – that’s the real litmus test for us.”
The sensor and imaging industry is
growing in Scotland, therefore the Scottish Government has decided to pay extra attention to it. When asking Reid what he thought of the matter, he said, “The opportunity for Scotland to be a pioneer in the SIS field is huge – hence why the Scottish Government decided to focus on it. There is serious potential for Scotland to be a world leader and use SIS to grow the economy.
“Scotland has a unique opportunity in this market because of three key factors: academic know-how, a track record of research and innovation, and a high concentration of companies that can benefit from sensor-based products for many end applications. Among the many potential destinations of sensor and imaging systems are oil and gas, aquaculture and engineering – all areas in which Scotland is particularly strong.” One of the company’s main focuses is on collaborating with companies to help them overcome problems. Reid said: “All companies have challenges they want to overcome. But more often than not, they will not have all of the expertise required to solve that problem. That’s where CENSIS comes in. Scottish universities are teeming with expert groups which have the capabilities to investigate all manner of business challenges and devise ways of solving a range of problems. If you have a
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