First of a Kind 2023 rail competition winners announced
The Department for Transport (DfT) and Innovate UK are delighted to announce the winners of the First of Kind (FOAK) 2023 competition. Winners will receive funding to help develop novel technology that will improve Customer Experience, Reliable and Easy to Maintain Assets, and Optimised Train Operations and High Speed Rail Partner Systems Installation.
To demonstrate and highlight the UK Government’s continuous commitment to improve and transform rail travel for passengers, we will be announcing the winners below, with projects focused around Customer Experience, Reliable and Easy to Maintain Assets, and Optimised Train Operations.
FOAK has been funded by DfT and managed by Innovate UK, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK KTN, since 2017/18 to help overcome barriers that can make it difficult for new entrants to bring novel technologies to the rail market. Funding is provided through competitions, with successful bidders partnering with rail industry bodies to develop and test products that can then be offered for sale.
Mike Biddle, Executive Director for Net Zero at Innovate UK, stated:
The innovations receiving support through this competition are set to foster a more accessible, inclusive railway system within the UK and to develop demonstrators that offer innovations in customer experience, reliable and maintainable assets, optimised train operations and high speed rail system installations. The objective is to endorse a wider array of innovations that focus on enhancing railway accessibility for all passengers, ensuring a more equitable travel experience while creating easy to maintain assets and optimising train operations and innovations which deliver efficiency in high speed rail system installations.
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- SPINKO LIMITED – EcoSeat – The World’s First 100% Recyclable Rail Seat without Polyurethane Foam
- GAZOOKY STUDIOS (IMMERSIVE STORYLAB) LTD – ChapARone: No-code Augmented Reality CMS with location-based WebAR/AR for Stations
- COMMS DESIGN LIMITED – National Request Stop
- FUTURE TRAVEL STUDIO LTD – DreamSuite: Redefining Train Travel with Unprecedented Versatility
- SPOKEN INK LIMITED – AccessRail- empowering the untapped market of disabled rail passengers to travel independently
- SIGNAPSE LTD – Using AI to transform the Deaf customer experience: a mobile solution
- GOMEDIA SERVICES LTD – Luna: your personalised BSL guide
- TELEVIC UK LIMITED – Real-time on-board transcription of live audio announcements in trains
- CFMS SERVICES LIMITED – Rapid Creation of Optimised Train Timetables Rail Demonstrations
- PLASMATRACK LIMITED – The Leaves on the Line Track Sensor – RAMAN 4 the Railways
- INCREMENTAL SOLUTIONS LTD – SPEED – Speed Profiling & Enhanced Efficiency Determination
- DISTRIBUTED ANALYTICS SOLUTIONS LTD – DataSim: A Machine Learning-powered simulation tool for rail timetable optimisation
- ATMO TECHNOLOGY LTD – FOAK 23 | Atmo Smart Depot & Asset Savings | Creating a digital twin tool to identify under-performing assets
- ONE BIG CIRCLE LTD – DepotMATE – Multi-sensor Automated Train Examination
- INSTRUMENTEL LIMITED – Wireless sensing for rolling stock condition monitoring
- COMPLETE CYBER LIMITED – Demonstration of Vault IoT for rail
- MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY CENTRE – Automation of Tenanted Arches NDT Inspections using Robotics and Machine Learning
- ZIPABOUT – Now and Next | Providing passengers with just the right information, at just the right time
Download complete list of DfT winners
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- MOBIBIZ LTD -Simplifying ERTMS Installation – ATLAS Solutions by Enable My team
- MIRAGE LTD – Induction Forge Rail Welding for Slab Track
- I3D ROBOTICS LTD – Digitally Assured Tunnel Assets Installation System (DATA-IS)
- Geokod Rail s.r.o. – HS2 pre-cast trackslabs: Panel Rectification System
Download complete list of HS2 winners
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First of a Kind 2022 Winners Announced
The Department for Transport and Innovate UK are delighted to announce the first set of winners for the First of Kind (FOAK) 2022 competition. Winners will receive funding to help develop novel technology which improves rail freight services and lowers carbon emissions from trains.