Hi-tech military gadgets showcased 27.03.12
8Cutting-edge defence technology has gone on display at the Department for Business, Skills and Innovation in London.
The state-of-the-art gadgets are being showcased by the Ministry of Defence's Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE).
The innovations include a bike that can be customised to help injured soldiers undergoing rehabilitation at Headley Court.
An imagery-based system to locate hostile forces from the air is also being displayed.
The 2d3 Sensing has had four CDE contracts totalling £240,000 and has been combining conventional GPS with a new vision-based tracking system.
Also on show are e-textiles, which allow electrical power and data to pass through material.
Surrey-based Intelligent Textiles Limited, which is developing the 'electrical' fabric, holds the Guinness World Record for the 'most advanced soldier system uniform.'
Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Peter Luff said:
"It is essential that small and medium-sized enterprises have their own platform within the defence industry. Championing these firms requires us actively to encourage and drive greater pull through of innovative ideas into applications and contracts.
"The Centre for Defence Enterprise will mentor smaller companies, guiding and helping them to maximise opportunities for exploitation on the international stage. The Centre for Defence Enterprise will be a promoter - giving these firms the opportunity to present their innovations to leading defence and other suppliers and users."
Defence Minister Peter Luff also announced an additional £2M funding for SMEs working on defence research. The funding, from the Department of Business, Skills and Innovation's Small Business Research Initiative, will help further support SMEs to develop their ideas.
Head of CDE, Jonathan Byrne, says:
"At CDE we reach out to the widest range of possible innovators, provide funding to prove the value of innovative concepts, and now, through our planned 'marketplace' events, champion the most successful outputs across both MOD and the established defence industry."
The Centre for Defence Enterprise was established in 2008 to overcome traditional barriers to innovation within the defence sector and encourage the rapid delivery of cutting edge research and development in support of frontline operations. Since then it has provided funding of more than £23.5M, 43% of which has gone to SMEs.