Subsea Expo is the world’s leading annual subsea exhibition and conference, held annually at P&J Live in Aberdeen, and also includes the industry’s prestigious awards ceremony, the Subsea Expo Awards.

The exhibition and conference are completely free to attend.

The exhibition is a quality-focused event showcasing the capabilities, innovations and cutting-edge technologies of the underwater sectors, with over 185 exhibitors and 6,500 delegates attending the latest show.

The conference runs multiple parallel sessions and attracts a broad range of experts to discuss the challenges facing the industry, new and transformational technologies, digitalisation, clean energy and the path to net zero, among other topics.

The Subsea Expo Awards dinner is an opportunity to join friends, colleagues and peers in celebrating the accomplishments of the industry’s standout individuals and companies and is held at P&J Live in Aberdeen.

Subsea Expo is organised by the Global Underwater Hub.

Background

Entergaia Technologies located in Aberdeen, Scotland is a holding company for value creating entities in the areas of energy technology and AI and Analytical software development. Entergaia Technologies aims to push the boundaries of innovation and technology.

Formed in 2018, Entergaia Technologies were looking to develop a long-range wireless power transfer (WPT) solution that would result in the creation of a new portfolio focusing on long range wireless power transfer.

Wireless power transfer (WPT), wireless power transmission, wireless energy transmission (WET), or electromagnetic power transfer is the transmission of electrical energy without wires as a physical link. The technology of wireless power transmission can eliminate the use of the wires and batteries, thus increasing the mobility, convenience, and safety of an electronic device for all users. Wireless power transfer is useful to power electrical devices where interconnecting wires are inconvenient, hazardous, or are not possible.

The Challenge

The manufacturing process of electrical wire, steel and batteries emit enormous greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Entergaia Technologies wanted to develop a Wireless Power Transfer System (WPT) that demonstrated the long-range transmission of electrical power which could gradually reduce the use of steel wires and reduce the number of batteries used in storing electricity, which would in turn, reduce greenhouse emission and improve environmental sustainability. There was evidence to suggest that Entergaia’s WPT model worked but only over short distances.

Entergaia Technologies required assistance from an academic institution to investigate potentially three projects. Initially a proof of concept to look at the notion of beaming electricity from the point of production to the point of utilisation without electrical cables or batteries, followed by testing of such a model and then the development of a demonstrator.

The Solution

Entergaia Technologies with assistance from Dr Peng Li of the University of Aberdeen aimed to develop a Wireless Power Transfer System (WPT) that demonstrated the long-range transmission of electrical power. The solution would gradually reduce the use of steel wires and reduce the number of batteries used in storing electricity, which would in turn, reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere through the production of steel cables and batteries.

During the initial phase, the application focussed on the possibility of a long-range wireless-powered electric vehicle charging system that was beyond any current near field deployments in existence. Subsequently simulations showed that long range transfer of electrical power is possible.

The work also established the possibility of electromagnetic beam tracking and directioning – which means tracking the transmitted electrical energy in motion. The beam technology would help in future developments of a wireless power charging solution that is mobile and semi-autonomous, enabling charging of electric vehicles in motion or beaming electrical energy from space, where there are no energy losses due to positional changes.

This phase also identified areas of the components analysed that require significant improvement and showed the possibility to combine some technologies to help future prototyping and product development. The understanding derived from this work would be beneficial for Entergaia’s future strategy in deploying associated products such as beaming electricity from space, wireless electricity deployment during emergencies, beaming wireless electricity to charge robots, IOT devices and remote vehicles (ROVs).

The Future

The result from the initial collaboration with the University of Aberdeen showed that although it was possible to develop a Wireless Power Transfer System (WPT) that demonstrated the long-range transmission of electrical power there was the need to increase power efficiency received at the receiving end that would eventually charge the battery. Entergaia Technologies’ focus then turned to optimising the receiving end that charges the battery – a rectenna, to enable effective conversion of the microwave radiation received, to electrical energy, and loading the charge effectively onto the battery or other alternative storage.

Entergaia Technologies secured an Advanced Innovation Voucher through Interface and partnered with Edinburgh Napier University who are producing an optimised prototype that improves power efficiency.

The Benefits

• Initial proof of concept established that it was possible to develop a Wireless Power Transfer System (WPT) that demonstrated the long-range transmission of electrical power. Leading to a reduction in the use of steel wires and the number of batteries used in storing electricity, which would in turn, reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere through the production of steel cables and batteries.

• The initial collaboration helped Entergaia embark on further product development work with Edinburgh Napier University focussing on optimising both the transmitter and the rectenna (receiver end) to enable effective conversion of the microwave radiation received, to electrical energy, and loading the charge effectively onto the battery or other alternative storage.

• The findings are helping inform Entergaia’s future strategy in deploying associated products such as wireless electric vehicle charging, beaming electricity from space, wireless electricity deployment during emergencies, beaming wireless electricity to charge robots, IOT devices and remote vehicles (ROVs).

A chance to gain insight into how Natural Language Processing (NLP) is evolving and how various sectors are realising business benefits.

The UKRI CDT in NLP is hosting its annual Natural Language Processing Research Day in Edinburgh. This is an event for key decision makers from industry and is focused on a two-way flow of ideas to develop new collaborative opportunities that meet industry challenges.

The CDT programme is now at a stage where there is a wide mix of innovative concepts and also students at a stage where their next career choice is imminent, and we would really appreciate the chance to have industry experts share views on how such students can best prepare for this next stage in their careers and hence we invite dialogue specifically to support the student cohorts (details to follow).

Attendees will get a chance to explore strategic themes with academic research staff and postgraduate research students as well as meet with current industrial partners already immersed in the field of NLP.

The CDT is specifically designed to equip a new generation of future leaders and experts with skills for advanced research in NLP and language science, giving them foundations in: linguistics, machine learning, statistics, algorithms. programming, working with other modalities such as vision, design, ethics, and responsible innovation as they apply to NLP systems.

Launching the new Centre for Engineering Biology at the University of Edinburgh. See the world-leading specialist research facilities including Edinburgh Genome Foundry, the world’s largest automated DNA assembly platform, and EdinOmics, for mass spectrometry, metabolomics and proteomics analysis and hear first-hand about current research and meet some of our key research staff. The morning will include short presentations on how the Centre is driving innovation in many markets including industrial biotechnology (e.g. bioremediation and biofuels), agriculture, the environment, and medicine and healthcare.

The new Centre brings together a community of more than 50 research groups and 200 researchers spanning biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering, informatics, medicine and social sciences from the former Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology (SynthSys) and the UK Centre for Mammalian Synthetic Biology.

The event will include an opportunity to visit the world-leading Edinburgh Genome Foundry (the world’s largest and most automated platform for DNA assembly) and the EdinOmics research facility (for mass spectrometry, metabolomics and proteomics analysis). These highly specialist facilities make a significant contribution to making Scotland the go-to destination to incubate and grow bioeconomy businesses to scale. The research facilities at the University of Edinburgh are unparalleled in Scotland and we seek to constantly evolve our research environment to allow the best ideas to thrive, push frontiers, deliver economic impact and drive sustainability.

CeeD in conjunction with the Scottish Institute for Remanufacture and Zero Waste Scotland will deliver this hands-on event designed to increase understanding of what is meant by remanufacturing and about design for remanufacture. Participants will learn how to define and differentiate what is meant by remanufacturing from repair and reconditioning and why this is important. Activities will involve brainstorming, group work involving practical disassembly and analysis and product redesign.

“What I want to do is run a workshop aimed at getting folk to understand the product features and characteristics that hinder and assist remanufacturing and thus how products should be designed to enable remanufacturing at end of life” – Professor Winifred Ijomah, Technical Director, SIR.

This event is intended for small & medium sized companies (SMEs) involved in manufacturing and engineering.

Following the session, participants should be able to:

• Differentiate what is meant by remanufacture from related processes such as repair and reconditioning;

• Understand the factors that hinder and assist remanufacturing;

• Identify whether a product can be remanufactured;

• Identify whether a product should be remanufactured based on potential economic and or environmental impacts;

• Understand how a product’s design and remanufacturing methods should be altered to enhance its potential for remanufacturing.

This session will be led by Professor Winifred Ijomah, Department for Design, Manufacture and Engineering Management, (DMEM) and Technical Director, Scottish Institute for Remanufacture (SIR). The SIR is a pan-Scotland expertise hub for remanufacture hosted by the University of Strathclyde.

Future economic growth could be held back because of the ‘stark regional divides’ in the UK’s technology sector, as shown by the results in the Local Digital Capital Index 2022.

techUK  is committed to developing strong local economies across our nations and regions that ensure the tech sector is at the forefront of delivering new and improved services, products, careers, companies and helping to tackle climate change. As part of techUK’s plans they are holding a number of sessions and events across the UK.

The first of these sessions will be hosted by KPMG on 2 February in Edinburgh, with Scottish Government and other stakeholders invited. We are delighted to be partnering with KPMG and to be joined by David Gimson, Director, Infrastructure, Government and Healthcare Consulting – Scotland for the discussion.

Agenda

The event will include an SME tech panel looking at the opportunities and challenges for tech firms (especially SMEs) in Scotland, and how SMEs in Scotland are helping to grow the economy, innovate and create new jobs. We’ll also discuss the impacts of the Scottish tech ecosystem, before we have a fireside chat with Mark Logan, Chief Entrepreneur to the Scottish Government. Mark is the former COO at SkyScanner, and as the Chief Entrepreneur to the Scottish Government led the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review in 2020 which aided techUK in the development of our Local Digital Capital (LDC) Index.

A great opportunity for all local stakeholders to have their say.  

Sign up now.
 

The Scottish Research Partnership in Engineering (SRPe) Annual Conference 2022.

The Scottish Research Partnership in Engineering (SRPe) Annual Conference 2022 is the annual opportunity for industry, academia and government to share the latest technological advances and research in Scotland.

Centred around SRPe’s Strategic Themes; Advanced Manufacturing; Robotics and Autonomous Systems; Engineering for Healthcare; Infrastructure & Environment, the event will take place at the John McIntyre Conference Centre in Edinburgh.

In addition to invited Keynote Speakers, there will be four Strategic Theme sessions with updates from respective Theme Chairs, and each will host a Guest Speaker with Q&A at the end of each session.

Speakers Include:

• Alan Thomspon (Government Affairs, Skyrora Ltd)
• Claire Scott (Programme Manager, IGNITE+ Network)
• Jennifer MacDonald (Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Manager, Manufacturing Skills Academy, National Manufacturing Institute Scotland)

• Adrian Gillespie (CEO, Scottish Enterprise) – Keynote Speaker
• Chris Courtney (CEO, National Manufacturing Institute Scotland) – Keynote Speaker
• Simon Reeve (Director of Innovation, The Alan Turing Institute) – Robotics and Autonomous Systems Theme, Guest Speaker
• Professor Steve Petrie (Board Member, Built Environment – Smarter Transformation) – Infrastructure & Environment Theme, Guest Speaker
• Mark Cook (Chair Life Sciences Scotland, Co Chair Industrial Leadership Group) – Engineering for Healthcare Theme, Guest Speaker

Unlocking Potential (U>P) – a powerful people analytics platform helping organisations of all sizes to optimise their workforce 

Background 

Nectis Ltd focuses on optimising wellbeing, performance and productivity in the workplace through people analytics and understanding business ecosystems.  Founder and CEO, Colin Campbell has a wealth of experience in this area, having spent more than 20 years building company ecosystems (the people related to your company). 

The Challenge 

Nectis Ltd successfully competed to deliver against CivTech 5, in 2021 with sponsor Transport Scotland.  Their Challenge – How can tech help foster the development of informal networks when people are working at home or in Work Local hubs? 

To assist in addressing the challenge and through the partnership between CivTech and Interface, Colin approached us to help facilitate collaboration with academia on three 3 different projects: 

• Data Visualisation 
• Business analysis of Serviceable Available Markets 
• Security and Anonymised Data Cloud Analysis 

The Solution 

The solution developed by Nectis Ltd is Unlocking Potential (U>P) Unlocking Potential – Optimising Business Agility & Performance, a SaaS people analytics platform that visualises patterns of collaboration and uses insight to create agility and wellbeing. This solution uses data driven insights of individuals and teams, to understand their patterns, overcome barriers and breakdown work silos.  In addition, it provides an evidence base for fair working practices, supporting positive working relationships. 

People analytics is a very powerful tool and up until now, the science behind it has been the reserve of researchers and programmers. 

Unlocking Potential (U>P) is a software tool that works by creating a digital model of a company ecosystem (the people related to any organisation) and then analysing it to deliver unique and powerful insights that can help achieve high levels of business agility and performance. 

To assist in addressing the challenge set by Transport Scotland Interface helped facilitate collaboration with academia on three 3 different projects: 

• Data Visualisation 
• Serviceable Available Market 
• Security and Anonymised Data Cloud Analysis 

The first related to Data Visualisation where a Data Science for Business MSc student at the University of Stirling undertook a project working with data that was already on the U>P platform and also tested data, to find ways to increase the rate at which data is added, through motivational feedback loops. This was achieved by identifying which forms of data design and delivery optimised insight creation for individual users to help them solve problems and/or take meaningful action.  

Beyond the initial contract with Transport Scotland, Nectis wanted to understand market potential and their initial B2B target market i.e. organisations with remote/complex workforces. Masters marketing students at the University of Glasgow carried out research to establish the serviceable available market for their offering and establish what Nectis could legitimately claim they could deliver on and how to articulate it to these customers.  Other student projects looked at innovation within Nectis’ pricing strategy and at finding ways to reward people for adding data that builds the aggregate picture, as well as, providing value for them individually. 

The third project relating to Security and Anonymised Data Cloud Analysis was as a result of a successful Advanced Innovation Voucher application and involved the School of Computing at Edinburgh Napier University.  This collaboration built on work already done by U>P with the aim of improving the levels of security in the application, focusing on the collection and processing of personal data, as well as, introducing advanced security measures to enable intelligent analysis of anonymised data.  

A key aspect of the work involved the use Big Data analysis methods in understanding the complex relationships involved in projects, roles, business relationships, behaviours, and so on, to determine good practice in achieving strong outputs, and thus more clearly identify how best to both understand the metrics to be gathered, but also in how to best define KPI (Key Performance Indicators). Understanding that the collection of data around business relationships requires to be kept private, Nectis wanted to develop privacy enhancing methods, which could be used to assess successful engagement, but respect privacy and consent. The collaboration with the School of Computing at Edinburgh Napier University with their strong background in cryptography, and other privacy related areas, along with their experience in building production ready systems was crucial to the success of this project.   

The Benefits 

The academic rigour awarded by the collaborations with academia have been good for the Nectis U>P brand and have resulted in Nectis achieving the following: 

• An SE SMART grant of £92K to continue the collaboration with Edinburgh Napier University as a result of the AIV scheme.  Total investment £160K 
• Accepted onto the UK Cyber Accelerator – one of only 3 Scottish companies to do so 
• Proof of concept for Scotland IS Cyber 
• Proof of concept for Scottish Government 
• Plan to raise £500K investment in forthcoming year 
• New patent application – Patent is for a distributed key system so individuals have a say in how their data is managed 

About Opportunity:

Glasgow Caledonian University has developed a novel optical concentrator capable of providing gain on two planes.  Such a concentrator can be used in a non-tracking wall mounted BIPV system. 

The concentrator provides higher optical gains than alternative optical elements, thereby reducing the amount of PV cell (and silicon) required.  Additionally, carefully selected FOVs (Field-of-Views) contribute to capture solar radiation throughout the day and all year round, removing the requirement for electromechanical tracking.

Further, the optical structure has been designed to take into account the fact that the sun’s path deviation from summer to winter is far less than the deviation from sunrise to sunset and the entrance aperture and concentrator profile have been optimsed to redirect sunlight to the exit aperture and to the PV material.

A concentrator PV-array based on this structure is also capable of providing ambient light to building interiors. 

The reduction of PV material can be particularly important in applications using Gallium Arsenide PV cells.

The optical element can be used not only for solar energy systems (solar PV and solar thermal), it also could be used to collect visible and infrared radiation in applications such as sensing and optical wireless communications.

Key Benefits:

• Reduction in cost of BIPV systems
• High optical gain
• High electrical power output
• Optimum collection of light at a variety of angles of incidence
• No electrical tracking required
• Provides illumination as well as energy generation
• Reduction in CO2 emissions

Applications:

• BIPV Systems
• Optical sensing
• Optical wireless communications
• Lighting

IP Status:

The technology is protected by a granted GB patent and international patent application (Priority date December 2011), now in Regional/National phase.

Small prototypes have been built and tested with extremely positive results. Larger prototype array units have now been completed and initial results have confirmed these impressive results with high levels of optical gain generated.