A new Scottish Government-funded programme will be available to up to 16 Highlands and Islands businesses to support the development and application of Internet of Things technologies. CENSIS, Scotland’s innovation centre for sensing, imaging, and IoT technologies, aims to help key sectors of the economy such as renewable energy, manufacturing, food and drink, tourism, and health and wellness. The Internet of Things Evolve initiative, funded by the Scottish Government and the development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), will run until August 2023.
It consists of three strands. The first is concerned with commercial impact, specifically challenges involving product development, process improvement, meeting net zero targets, and improving employee well-being or creating new jobs. The following strand aims to help businesses using IoT reduce their carbon footprint. The third step is to conduct research on global trends in IoT and how they can be applied to the Highlands and Islands economy. The program’s goal is to encourage and assist rural businesses in capitalising on available opportunities as the region’s businesses adopt more digital methods of operation.
Alistair Longmuir, business development manager at CENSIS, stated: “There’s a growing awareness of IoT, but many companies are still unsure how they can benefit from it. This programme will open up new possibilities to further the development of IoT and start a conversation in the Highlands and Islands around what is needed to support adoption. More companies should discover the business benefits IoT can deliver. The IoT Evolve programme is about helping companies explore how they might become more productive, efficient, sustainable and competitive through the use of digital technology, helping the Scottish ecosystem to become more connected. We are looking forward to assisting more businesses to take the next steps towards IoT adoption, whatever their experience level with the technology.”
