Consortium

Digital Catapult

The Connected Digital Economy Catapult Limited

Function: Partner

Person responsible: Madalina Nazare

www.digicatapult.org.uk

Description

The Digital Catapult (DC) is a private non- profit research organization, a national centre set up to innovate at speed and with less risk, so new digital products and services can be accelerated to market. DC works with SMEs to help them grow and scale faster, and helps larger corporates in their digital transformation. It does this through programmes of collaboration and open innovation, by bringing academic leading edge expertise into the mix combined with the organisation’s own business and technological expertise.

DC works across a range of technology layers:

  1. Connected: Internet of Things, 5G, and low powered wide area networks (LPWAN).
  2. Data and Intelligent systems: machine learning and artificial intelligence, distributed ledger technologies, and cyber security.
  3. Immersive: Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Haptic and New Human-Machine Interfaces. 

Digital Catapult has an existing track record of delivering over 40 collaborative R&D projects looking to advance the adoption of advanced digital technologies, across H2020, EIT Digital, Research Councils and Innovate UK. Our team has a wide expertise and experience in development of R&D partnerships both with national and international partners. Digital Catapult expertise and commercial partnerships developed in delivery of multiple acceleration programmes such as Augmentor, Cyber 101 and the Machine Intelligence Garage.

Digital Catapult, as a neutral organisation with a long history of engagement with 5G technologies, is well placed to undertake the proposed activity. We have links to many of the major research organisations and companies operating in this area and we chair the cross-Catapult 5G Working Group. The Digital Catapult has delivered open innovations services for the past three years to major household names such as Thales, Visa, British Oxygen Company, Price Waterhouse Coopers, etc.

Role within 5G-VICTORI​

Digital Catapult will lead T2.4 activities, providing task coordination and reporting activities to ensure proper design and specification of the architecture of the 5G-VICTORI Infrastructure Operating System and its interfaces. Digital Catapult will contribute on the inter-domain architecture and interface specification of the 5G-VICTORI Infrastructure Operating System. Digital Catapult will also provide contribute to T2.3 activities providing feedback on the architecture and NorthBound Interface specification for the facility integration to the common platform. In WP3, will ensure that the implemented use cases are aligned with the platforms and interfaces of the tasks, and it will focus on packaging the implemented vertical use cases to facilitate the service on-boarding on the facility orchestrators. WP4. Digital Catapult will also contribute in developing the multi-site service management and orchestration, multi-site service interconnection and multi-site service on-boarding capabilities of the common platform. Digital Catapult will also support the trials in Bristol facility. Digital Catapult will also be involved in activities offering innovation services to vertical use cases for creating business models with beneficiary impact.

Experience

  • Designing, building and operating 5G facilities
    • 5G Testbed in Brighton (launch in September 2018) geared towards innovation activities and engagement with the innovators community
    • London Node facility (to be launched in Q1-2019) for experimentation with SDN/NFV and MEC
    • Future Networks Innovation Lab 5G showcase room where 5G related innovations have a space to be exposed to industry, investors and other innovators from the private or research world.
  • Innovation management:
    • 5G Brighton innovation programme: The 5G Testbed Innovation Programme is a 12-week programme designed to provide early stage businesses the opportunity to develop innovative products and services using 5G technologies. The main objective of the program is to offer the companies an opportunity to differentiate their value propositions by exploring the advantages of being earlier adopters of disruptive technologies. The program offers the selected organisations (i) access to the 5G testbed facilities, (ii) 5G technology support and (iii) business mentoring. These three elements of the 5G Testbed Innovation Programme are important to be delivered together because, in a complementary way, they provide to early stage business the opportunity to use and learn about a technology that is not yet available for everyone in the market with the support from 5G technologists, business and innovation experts.
    • 5G Smart Tourism project: coordination of the innovation activities with the participating Small and Medium Enterprises to ensure successful delivery of valuable use cases improving tourist experience with the use of 5G technology and immersive (VR/AR) technology
    • INITIATE : collaborative research towards a sustainable engagement model for SME community with the advanced INITIATE Internet experimentation infrastructure. DC is leading on the SME engagement with the INITIATE facility.
    • Innovation services for large corporate to deliver challenge-led innovation projects engaging with the innovators community and ensuring expected value is delivered. Digital Catapult has delivered Innovation Services in the last three years to 1646 organisations out of which 730 SMEs, over 100 large enterprises and 80 Universities.
  • Technical requirements and KPI definition:
    • DCMS 5G Urban Connected Communities: Digital Catapult has delivered a high level technical requirements specification report for DCMS 5G Testbed and Trials Programme – Urban Connected Communities based on broad consultation with the 5G ecosystem (industry, academia and local authorities), with the objective to provide technical guidance and expertise for local authorities in being 5G-ready.
    • 5G Smart Tourism: Digital Catapult was responsible in leading the definition of the technical KPIs and Use Case requirements for the project
  • Convening sector expertise and dissemination:
    • 5G Manufacturing Working Group : Digital Catapult has created a working group of Manufacturing and Supply chain as well as telecommunications industry leaders. The group is analysing the potential benefits (economical, societal, etc.) and the related barriers and challenges of the 5G technology applied to Manufacturing and logistics use cases. The group will publish a report detailing both opportunities and challenges of 5G as well as guidelines towards industry regarding the successful adoption of 5G technology
    • 5G Nation report : design and publication of the first UK report giving a comprehensive view of the 5G ecosystem in the UK
    • other dissemination activities : In the past year we have hosted over 250 events, showcased 45 startups, engaged over 2,000 SMEs, and welcomed 18,000 visitors to our London centre.
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