NEWS ROUND-UP


Nominations open for the AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards 2019


Nominations are now open for the AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards 2019 – the annual showcase for the amazing people who use digital technology to make the world a better place. This is the ninth year of the awards, which are organised by


national charity AbilityNet and sponsored by BT. The awards have grown year on year and this year they also include an Ageing Society, Diversity in Tech and Inclusive Design Awards. Winners will be announced at a glittering awards ceremony on 17 July 2019, hosted by BT in central London. Andy Wales, Chief Digital Impact and Sustainability Officer,


BT, said: “BT is keen to find and support disruptive new technologies


that improve people’s everyday lives. A new world is being shaped and created by the rapid acceleration of technologies, and we need a culture in the UK that celebrates tech for good entrepreneurs, who are at the forefront of making sure no one is left behind. And it’s even more exciting when these new ideas come from young people.” The Awards are organised by AbilityNet’s Head of Marketing and Communications, Mark Walker. He said: “AbilityNet’s Tech4Good Awards celebrate the amazing


people who use digital technology to make the world a better place for other people. “Last year’s winners included


everything from a robot that allows children with disabilities or long-term health conditions to go to school or a social event, small industrial robots that plough the fields or a global app that provides visual support for people who are blind or have low vision.


“This year we’re looking forward to seeing another large


batch of high-quality entries that showcase how people are using technology for good – which will include our 100th winner.”


Nominations are open from midday on 27th March until 6.00


pm on 10th May and anyone can nominate themselves or someone else in any of the categories. The full list of sponsors and supporting partners in 2019 includes: AbilityNet BT, Brandwatch, Charity Digital News, Comic Relief, Crowdfunder, Do it Life, Good Things Foundation, Information Technologists’ Company, Lloyds Banking Group, Microsoft, Recite Me, Samsung, Scope, TechTrust and UnLtd. More details about the awards and


past winners can be found at: www. tech4goodawards.com


5G to rid UK of black-spots, thanks to £210,000 grant for the COCKPIT-5G project


• Project COCKPIT-5G has won £210,000 on Government funding for further research into 5G and AI (artificial intelligence)


• COCKPIT-5G (Crowd blackspot intelligence for 5G rollout) will be joint research with UK SME Ranplan, and the University of Warwick, led by Dr Weisi Guo (School of Engineering) and Prof Rob Procter (Dept. of Computer Science). They are both Turing Fellows at the Alan Turing Institute.


• They aim to curate geospatial data of wireless black-spots to enable 5G services across urban and rural areas.


5G will be available across the entire UK as black-spots are


being identified by researchers at the School of Engineering, University of Warwick. The project COCKPIT-5G has won a £210,000 grant from Innovate UK, once they’ve identified black-spots they can enhance connectivity for businesses, AI (Artificial Intelligence), driverless cars and manufacturing. COCKPIT -5G (Crowd blackspot intelligence for 5G rollout)


06 www.isopps.com


gas been awarded £210,000 by Innovate UK’s Geospatial Commission to research where signal black-spots are in the UK and roll out 5G to improve both urban and rural coverage. Using real-time machines they can identify black-spots which


can revolutionise the future digital economy, which depends on mobile broadband services and is critical to ensuring connectivity across a wide range of social and industrial sectors, including driverless cars and manufacturing. Enhancing 5G across the UK will transform UK businesses and empower UK to lead the AI and 5G revolution. Dr Weisi Guo, from the School of Engineering at the University of Warwick comments: “COCKPIT-5G will enable the UK to be world-leaders in


new technologies by getting 5G coverage in black-spots. Businesses will be better connected, which in turn improves manufacturing, and we can enhance AI and the development of autonomous vehicles. “For the consumer of mobile data they could get 5G in rural areas and even on top of Ben Nevis.”


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