“What can I say – we have worked alongside colleagues at Interface since 2019 with over 20 different projects under our belt. Each project has sharpened and nudged us forward. This genuine relationship has also led to a long‑term partnership with UWS and connections with multiple universities. From immersive tech to engineering, sustainability and now social robotics, Interface has helped us open ourselves up to fresh, innovative thinking with real impact. It’s a win‑win‑win.”
Mike Benson, Director, The Scottish Crannog Centre

Background

The Scottish Crannog Centre, located on Loch Tay in Perthshire, is an award‑winning museum and living history site dedicated to caring for, researching and sharing the stories of Scotland’s Iron Age crannogs. Through reconstructed dwellings, experimental archaeology, traditional crafts and immersive interpretation, the Centre brings to life how people lived, built and engineered over water some 2,500 years ago.

Since the original Interface‑supported project, the organisation has undergone a period of profound change. Following the devastating fire in 2021, the Centre relocated to a larger, better‑situated site at Dalerb on Loch Tay. This move accelerated its transformation from a successful but ageing visitor attraction into a values‑driven, museum‑focused organisation with social justice, sustainability and community at its heart. The Centre has since more than tripled its income, doubled staff numbers and embarked on a £6m redevelopment programme, including the construction of a new, full‑scale crannog using predominantly Iron Age techniques and materials.

All of this growth has been underpinned by long‑term collaboration with universities across Scotland, brokered and supported by Interface.

The Challenge

As the Centre evolved, it faced multiple, interconnected challenges:

• Modernising interpretation and exhibitions while retaining the authenticity and emotional power of hands‑on, outdoor heritage.
• Demonstrating the sophisticated engineering, sustainability and ingenuity of Iron Age building techniques in ways that are accessible to diverse audiences.
• Embedding social impact, community participation and sustainability into the DNA of a new national museum.
• Rebuilding resilience, capacity and confidence following the loss of the original crannog.

Meeting these challenges required specialist academic expertise, fresh perspectives and the capacity to experiment – resources that are difficult for a small cultural charity to access alone.

The Journey and Interface’s Role

Interface has played a sustained, strategic role since 2019, acting as a trusted connector between the Scottish Crannog Centre and academic expertise. Innovation Engagement Executive Lorna Watson worked closely with Director Mike Benson and the wider team to understand evolving ambitions and identify the right academic partners at each stage of development.

Rather than a single intervention, Interface enabled a portfolio of collaborations that grew alongside the organisation, spanning technology, engineering, design, sustainability, social impact, marketing and robotics. Over 20 projects have now been delivered, many supported by Scottish Funding Council Innovation Vouchers and follow‑on funding.

Key Collaborations and Developments

Immersive Technology and Interpretation (University of the West of Scotland)

The original Innovation Voucher project with UWS laid the foundations for a step‑change in interpretation. It delivered:

• A feasibility study for immersive and mixed‑reality heritage experiences.
• Designs for augmented exhibition spaces.
• Prototype VR and mobile‑based experiences.

These outputs informed the creation of a new gallery and continue to shape the Centre’s approach to storytelling, helping collections to “sing” to different audiences. The partnership has since expanded to include branding, marketing, student placements, VR development and sustainability‑focused projects, forming a long‑term strategic relationship.

Artefacts, Design and Creative Media (UWS & UHI)

Follow‑on projects that brought unseen artefacts to life and enhanced The Crannog brand include:

• A 3D printed replica of a rare Iron Age musical instrument bridge that visitors can handle.
• A student‑designed comic book aimed at educating children on Iron Age Scotland, the artefacts found on the excavation site and how they relate to life in 500BC. An authentic and meaningful project, the comic book is still sold in the centre today and the storyline drives the puppet show delivered to families throughout the season offering a great way to engage with younger audiences.  
• An important piece of work involved the rebranding of The Crannog prior to the launch of the new site in 2025 following a £6 million development.  Ewan Smith, a design student with UHI Perth developed the branding, delivered workshops to staff and volunteers, tested and honed the design coming up with the complete branding both physical and online for the opening of the new site at Dalerb. 

Engineering the Iron Age (Heriot‑Watt University)

As part of the move to Dalerb, Interface connected the Centre with Heriot‑Watt University engineering students to explore the structural ingenuity of crannog construction. Working alongside craftspeople, archaeologists and engineers, students designed interactive model crannogs made from sustainable materials reclaimed from the main build.

These hands‑on models, launched in spring 2025, allow visitors to experiment with forces, stability and construction strategies, translating Iron Age engineering into playful, contemporary learning. For students, the collaboration reframed engineering beyond industrial contexts, highlighting sustainability, logic and longevity.

Measuring Social Impact and Sustainability (University of Glasgow)

A 2023/24 student placement focused on articulating the Centre’s societal impact. This work examined:

• Mentoring and work experience for local young people with additional support needs.
• Partnerships with organisations such as Glasgow Association for Mental Health, Maryhill Integration Network and UNESCO Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts.
• The Centre’s four pillars of sustainability: people, partnerships, place and landscape.

The project helped evidence a sustainable museum model based on growing materials, skills, partners and audiences, supporting award submissions and future funding.

Film, Storytelling and the Rebuild (Edinburgh Napier University)

A filming placement documented the reconstruction of the new crannog, capturing traditional skills, community participation and the ambition to create a national museum with activism and inclusion at its core. This content supports interpretation, fundraising and digital engagement.

Looking Ahead: Social Robotics (University of Glasgow, 2026)

The next phase of innovation will explore human‑centred social robotics. In a co‑design research partnership, researchers will work with staff and visitors to prototype robots that enhance public engagement, for example, supporting tours or multilingual interpretation while reflecting the Centre’s values of inclusivity and care.

Impacts on the Organisation and Community

Organisational Growth and Resilience

• More than tripled income and doubled staff since relocation.
• Strengthened brand identity and national profile.
• Increased capacity to attract funding and deliver complex capital projects.

Innovation and Visitor Experience

• New galleries, interactive models, VR and tactile exhibits.
• Interpretation that connects ancient engineering, sustainability and contemporary challenges.

Community and Social Impact

• Deepened engagement with local communities, refugees, mental health organisations and young people with additional support needs.
• A co‑created museum shaped by “a thousand fingerprints and voices”.

Skills, Learning and Talent Pipeline

• Real‑world learning opportunities for students across engineering, design, media, computing and social sciences.
• A two‑way exchange where academic insight and lived heritage practice inform one another.

Academic Benefits

Academic partners have gained access to a rich, real‑world testbed for applied research and teaching. Students engage with authentic challenges, while universities strengthen their civic mission and visibility. Relationships have extended into advisory roles, placements, curriculum enrichment and long‑term research collaborations.

Moving Forward

The Scottish Crannog Centre demonstrates how sustained academic collaboration – enabled by Interface – can transform a small heritage organisation into a resilient, innovative, community‑centred national museum. Geography has proven no barrier to excellence; instead, partnership, curiosity and shared values have driven growth, impact and ambition far beyond the loch shore.

A one-day event where you’ll hear inspiring impact success stories, meet potential collaborators from other Scottish universities, and explore funding and training opportunities to kick-start your own impact-focused projects.

The IAA Impact Festival is organised by the five Scottish universities with EPSRC Impact Acceleration Accounts (IAAs): Edinburgh, Strathclyde, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt and St Andrews.

Speakers

This year’s keynote speaker is Fran Scott. Listed in The Progress 1000 London’s most influential people, Fran is the Science Content Developer at the Royal Institution as well as being the only female science presenter on CBBC. A scientist by training and an engineer at heart, Fran uses her knowledge to entertain and excite audiences of stage and screen. She is best known for her playful (and often fiery) demonstrations on the CBBC show Absolute Genius with Dick and Dom. With her own production company, Great Scott! Productions, she writes and produces high-octane shows for clients such as Google for Education, Mishkat Science Centre, Siemens and National Grid. Balancing entertainment with education, Fran manages to inject her demonstrations with narrative and humour to make them as enjoyable as they are informative.

You’ll also hear lightning talks from impact leaders at the five organising universities, sharing insights into their projects and the value of partnering with industry, government, and the third sector.

Networking sessions

Meet other researchers from across Scotland and creatively explore opportunities to collaborate through facilitated, structured networking sessions.

Exhibitors

In the exhibition space, you will meet funders and innovation hubs that can provide support for your impact activities. Interface are exhibiting at this event.

The Global Research Institute in Health and Care Technologies was established to accelerate the advancements of research and is dedicated to facilitating the development of new technologies. Through collaborations with healthcare industry experts, stakeholders, charities and academics it has begun addressing critical global health challenges. Through a collaborative approach, their goal is to continue delivering innovative and sustainable healthcare solutions.

This Showcase event will shine a spotlight on The Global Research Institute in Health and Care Technologies and the research underway designed to address some of the most pressing challenges in global healthcare.

Keynote speakers include Professor Sir Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Medical Adviser and Head of the Public Health Profession for the UK Government, and speaker David Dent, a previous member of the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps, Honorary Professor at Stirling University Business School and Executive Director for Paraxel Biotech. You will hear from Dubai representatives and also have the opportunity to engage with interactive demonstrations and network with academics from within the Global Research Institute in Health and Care Technologies.

The day will feature research breakthroughs and technology demonstrations, including photonics solutions enhancing clinical precision, next-generation smart health sensors driving real-time diagnostics, and advanced microfluidics revolutionising biomedical workflows. You will also have the option to join a tour of the Immersive Suite, featuring a state-of-the-art patient simulator and a dynamic projection system. This cutting-edge facility can recreate a wide range of environments, serving as a powerful hub for co-design and testing.

The event will offer networking opportunities, allowing you to connect with researchers, industry leaders, and stakeholders driving impactful change in healthcare. ​

If you would like to find out more about The Global Research Institute in Health and Care Technologies, please visit Health and Care Technologies | Heriot-Watt University

Amelia Whitelaw, Director of Interface will be attending this event.

On Wednesday, 2nd October 2024, Heriot-Watt University is staging the Health Ageing Showcase an afternoon dedicated to research that promotes health and wellbeing as we age.

The Healthy Ageing Showcase offers an opportunity to hear from the people leading and participating in a range of research projects. These include developing and trialling new and innovative technologies that support and enhance healthy lifestyles, to the ways our homes and urban environments can be designed to encourage opportunities for healthy ageing, to robotic and assistive devices enabling people with different needs to live independently for longer.

The event will be opened by Professor Linda Bauld (Chief Social Policy Advisor to the Scottish Government), followed by researchers representing the breadth and depth of activities in healthy ageing at Heriot-Watt. The event will also include a special session led by Katherine Crawford (Chief Executive Officer of Age Scotland) celebrating the involvement of people in shaping research.

Event Schedule: Main Programme Commences: 14:00 in the James Watt Auditorium

During the event, there will be an extended break to allow participants to engage with interactive demonstrations and stands. These will cover research from Heriot-Watt as well as opportunities to meet with our community and charity partners. Refreshments will be provided during the break.

The event is being hosted by Heriot-Watt’s Health and Care Technologies Global Research Institute. The institute’s goal is to deliver innovative, sustainable, and user-inspired solutions through a co-creative approach. To learn more about Health and Care Technologies at Heriot-Watt, visit https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/research/health-and-care-technology.htm.

Join Heriot-Watt University and Interface on 9th October for this Industry-Collaborative Research Breakfast.

With connections into all Scotland’s universities, colleges and research institutes, Interface is based regionally to support businesses by building collaborations with academia.

Louise Arnold and Howell Davies of Interface will share how the Interface team works with Scotland’s universities, colleges and research institutes to encourage and support academics to undertake knowledge exchange activities with businesses.

Interface can help you navigate the business landscape, find business connections and enable access to industry and sector groups. In addition, the team manage funding calls on behalf of Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Government and can identify funding in support of new and sustained academic and business innovation collaborations.

If you are seeking to progress your research by applying it to important social, commercial, and environmental challenges, looking for industry partners for collaborative R&D or seeking insights about industry needs and challenges, need support in finding opportunities to engage your students or help identify collaborative funding programmes Interface can support you.

A one-day event for academics from the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, St Andrews, and Strathclyde. Hear impact success stories, find a collaboration partner from another Scottish university, and access funds for impact collaborations.

The festival will be held on 4 September 2024 at COSLA, Edinburgh Haymarket and will support you to:

• find out more about the opportunities, funding and training available to you to create impact from your research
• become a future impact leader
• network with like-minded researchers from five Scottish universities with EPSRC Impact Acceleration Accounts (IAAs)

Interface will be exhibiting at the festival please come along and say hello!

The Business & Enterprise Breakfast Briefing being held at Heriot Watt University Scottish Borders Campus is a unique opportunity for industry leaders and businesses to engage directly with one of the UK’s leading universities in fostering innovation and enterprise.

Why Attend?

• Networking Opportunities: Connect with business leaders, innovators, and academics to expand your professional network.
• Insight into Cutting-Edge Research: Gain insights from pioneering research in sustainable design, medical technology, advanced photonics, and more, showcasing how these can translate into tangible benefits for your business.
• Tour of Innovations: Post-event, take the opportunity to visit the school’s degree showcase.

Key Features:

• Explore the Global Research Innovation Discovery (GRID) ecosystem, Heriot-Watt’s answer to making our university accessible and easy to work in partnership with.
• Hear from some leading academics and researchers on how the university is driving global innovations from across our campuses.
• Discover partnership opportunities across talent and skills, research and development and consultancy IP and licensing. Find out about Graduate Apprenticeships, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), and bespoke consultancy services that can propel your business forward.
• Learn about unlocking government-funded initiatives and how these can benefit your business operations and growth.

Who Should Attend?

This briefing is ideal for Chief Officers, Directors, Business Owners, R&D leaders, and anyone interested in the successful intersection of academia and industry. Whether you’re from a start-up or an established company, you’ll find valuable insights and opportunities for collaboration.

A“Cane to Cask” rum producer with a commitment to sustainability and a focus on high-quality raw materials, Matugga aims to leave an indelible mark on the international drinks marketplace.

Background

Husband and wife team, Paul and Jacine Rutasikwa, co-founded the Matugga Distillery in 2018, and were one of the first in the UK to produce rum from scratch. Based in Livingston the Matugga Distillery produces a multi-award-winning range of handcrafted spirits with distinctive character and flavours which are distributed across the UK and Europe.

The company is also developing a sugar cane estate on family land in Uganda that will employ and train local agricultural workers. By harvesting cane from its family land and converting it into high quality distilling molasses the company will become a “Cane to Cask” rum producer. With a commitment to sustainability and a focus on high-quality raw materials, Matugga aims to leave an indelible mark on the international drinks marketplace.

Matugga’s initiatives detailed below, supported by Interface’s introductions to academia and various funds, showcase the distillery’s commitment to sustainability, innovation, and social responsibility.

The Challenge – Pot Ale Utilisation

A pressing issue for Matugga is the management of liquid by-products, a challenge since their inception in 2018. Facing escalating disposal costs and a potential surge in liquid volume due to expansion plans, Matugga partnered with Heriot-Watt University. Through the Food & Drink Net Zero Challenge Fund, they explored sustainable alternatives for pot ale, including potential uses in animal feed and biogas, offering additional income streams.

The Solution

Heriot-Watt University’s research looked into characterizing Matugga’s pot ale, proposing solutions that added value while considering the environmental impact. The exploration encompassed biogas, feed/food applications, and new product feedstock potential. The goal was to create a sustainable value chain for pot ale, akin to Scotch whisky distillers.

The research led by Heriot-Watt University provides Matugga with a sustainable solution for pot ale, aligning with their commitment to environmental responsibility. This breakthrough has far-reaching implications for both Matugga and the wider Scottish rum distillery community.

The Benefits

A potential path has been identified which can enable Matugga to return their pot ale into the value chain similar to how Scotch whisky distillers can, ensuring sustainability.

This not only benefits Matugga’s expansion plans but also holds promise for other current and future Scottish rum distilleries.

Overall Impact

Interface have been instrumental in assisting Matugga Distillers with several other research and development opportunities which include:

• A major collaborative project with Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), supported by the Healthier Products Innovation Fund.
• A group project with University of Edinburgh MBA students to look at strategic marketing of spirits for a younger generation.
• A collaboration with Queen Margaret University centred around diversifying their rum portfolio and offerings, funded by an Innovation Voucher.

Matugga’s initiatives, supported by Interface’s introductions to academia and various funds, showcase the distillery’s commitment to sustainability, innovation, and social responsibility.

Matugga Distillery’s journey is a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and sustainability in the spirits industry. Through strategic partnerships and leveraging Interface’s support, Matugga has not only overcome challenges but has emerged as a leader, setting new standards for environmentally conscious and socially responsible distilleries in the UK.

The Net Zero Food & Drink Challenge Fund

The Net Zero Food & Drink Challenge Fund was launched in FY2022/23 by Interface and the Scotland Food and Drink Partnership to support businesses to accelerate their journey towards Net Zero utilising the knowledge base across Scottish Academia. It funded 17 projects of up to £10k each.

Projects were carried out between businesses and academia to improve their environmental credentials through the sustainable measures and learnings taken as a result of their projects. Type of impacts have varied from CO2 Capture, CO2 reduction, Energy Reduction and renewable energy benefits, alternative uses and adding value to waste, and sustainable farming techniques.

Danu Robotics is developing a revolutionary robotic waste sorting system to help the waste management industry significantly increase their productivity, prevent valuable resources going into landfill, boost the circular economy and clean up the environment.

Background

The world generates 3 billion tonnes of domestic solid waste annually, less than 10% of it is recycled. Worldwide, recycling sites require human intervention to pick out contaminants, which can pose health risks and is extremely inefficient.

Xiaoyan Ma founder of Edinburgh-based, clean tech company Danu Robotics, has combined her expertise in high performance computing (HPC) with her passion for the environment to revolutionise the efficiency of the recycling sector by developing an AI-powered, robotic sorting system.

She explained: “I have been a committed environmentalist since I was a teenager and always recycled my household waste, but I’d never thought about where it ended up. So, a couple of years ago, while I was studying, I decided to look into the whole process, and I was shocked at how inefficient it was.”

The Challenge

As a team of one, Xiaoyan needed help in identifying additional resources to support the development of the robotic solution. She required both experts in robotics and hardware development. She also called for help with software development and computer vision expertise. Experts in advanced data analytics and image recognition capability, would help develop a more accurate machine learning algorithm and object classification to enable the robotic system to differentiate between recyclable materials and general waste.

Following an introduction from John Hill, her student enterprise advisor at Edinburgh Innovations, Interface made several connections to different academic teams to support Danu Robotics on their journey of development.

The Solution

Interface connected Danu Robotics into the Design Manufacturing & Engineering Management (DMEM) department, at the University of Strathclyde. The DMEM students undertook a six-month project researching and developing the robotic picker equipped with a camera to identify objects and an appropriate algorithm to instruct the picker to pick out the recyclables and place them in a designated area. The robotic picker needed to meet predefined performance requirements, and in addition, the solution had to be durable, recyclable/sustainable, affordable, portable and re-programmable. Several options were considered to design robotic pickers that were fit for purpose ranging from, a custom solution where the robotic picker uses a suction and release mechanism rather than grab and release, to the modification of an off-the-shelf robot arm/picker to the combination of hard robot and soft robot.

In conjunction to this project, Interface also connected Danu Robotics into EPCC at the University of Edinburgh to develop software for identification and classification of objects and to define suitable hardware, including sensors and cameras, for the robotic picker.

The software development phase required development of a machine learning algorithm that takes image data and sensor data to differentiate recyclables from the general waste. The company had to build up a waste image database to help the system identify contaminants, the collection of the image data was supported by Glasgow City Council. Each item in this visual database was then labelled by a specialist data processing company and the updated database used to ‘train’ the machine learning algorithm to identify what can and cannot be recycled.

With initial system training complete, the software required further development to direct the robotic sorting system to remove contaminants from a moving conveyor belt as efficiently and effectively as possible. Working with EPCC’s Cirrus supercomputer resources, accelerated the development of the project, with two months of lab tests to integrate the software with the robotic hardware, followed by a three-month trial of the prototype system at Glasgow City Council’s recycling centre.

The initial collaboration with EPCC was funded by a SFC Innovation Voucher, then EU Horizon 2020 (H2020) funding which in turn helped leverage £70K in a SMART Scotland grant. They have recently secured SFC Advanced Innovation Voucher funding to continue development work with EPCC.

Other opportunities which Interface have been instrumental in assisting Danu Robotics with include:

• An MSc project for a design engineering student from Heriot Watt University interested in robotic design and kinematics to design a robotic arm that can sort waste items quickly and lift loads of up to 20kg while the entire arm assembly is moving at high speeds. An optimal design needed to consider the harsh dirty and dusty operating environment and the high speeds that the assembly needed to work in. The project provided an opportunity to produce an innovative and challenging piece of academic research, but also engagement in industrial research and product development.
• Another MSc opportunity with DMEM students at the University of Strathclyde involved the development of a control system for the waste sorting robot. Students interested in control systems, kinematics, and industrial design worked to identify a closed loop control system best suited for application in a heavy industrial robotic waste sorting system.
• A further project is underway with Design Engineering students at Heriot Watt University looking at the design and development of prototype of a new emergency stop system which needs to be designed to bring the mass to a stop in a safe manner. The robotic system uses a belt drive system driven by an industrial servo motor with no service break and currently relies on the frictional losses present to come to a stop in case of an emergency or loss of motor torque.

The Benefits

• In September 2023, Danu Robotics joined the prestigious Octopus Ventures Springboard programme and CEO Xiaoyan Ma gave a keynote at the Carbon13 conference.