Engineering, Physical Science and Built Environment Companies
Overview
A spinout company requires a significant diversion of energy and resource, but where a technology has the potential to form the basis of a high growth business, and where there is a sound strategy and commitment behind the business, then UCL Business will do all it can to assist in making the new venture a success.
The following companies provide an illustration of some of the opportunities that have been developed from the knowledge base across the Faculties of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences and the Built Environment.
Advanced Design Technology
Established in 1998, ADT is a joint venture company with Ebara Corporation of Japan to commercialise turbo-design software developed by Professor Mehrdad Zangeneh at UCL. The company has become a global leader, with clients representing some of the leading companies in the aerospace, automotive, power generation and marine fields.
Web: www.adtechnology.co.uk
As Built Solutions
As-Built Solutions Ltd was founded in 1993 by academics from the Department of Geomatic Engineering to commercialise the Hazmap system, an automated approach to the compilation of process plant survey information. ABSL delivers solutions that have a proven track record for companies such as BP, BNFL and the Metropolitan Police.
Web: www.absl.co.uk
Bloomsbury DSP
Bloomsbury DSP Ltd is a spinout company founded from UCL’s Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. The company has developed an innovative acoustic based approach to underwater imaging that generates accurately geo-referenced sea-bed images with significantly enhanced range and resolution compared to existing side-scan sonar approaches. With applications for the military as well as for oil and gas markets, the company is currently supplying solutions to clients from major UK and international organisations including NATO.
Web: www.bloomsbury-dsp.co.uk
Complex Matters
Complex Matters Ltd has developed a software based system for optimising the design of a material’s internal microstructure to create strong but light custom designs which can subsequently be manufactured using 3D printing technology. Applications for the Complex Matters system include sporting goods, safety products and aerospace.
Web: www.complexmatters.com
Endomagnetics
Endomagnetics Ltd is a medical device company arising from the London Centre for Nanotechnology at UCL and the University of Houston. The company’s first product (SentimagTM) offers a highly sensitive hand-held magnetic sensing device which can accurately detect low concentrations of clinically introduced nanoparticles. The initial application for the device will be as an intra-operative medical device for sentinel node detection in breast cancer. Other potential applications are in cardiovascular disease, melanoma detection and in the non-destructive testing of materials.
Web: www.endomagnetics.com
EuroTempest
EuroTempest Ltd is a venture established by Benfield, Royal & SunAlliance and UCL Business in the area of quantitative weather risk services. The company’s web-based service is recognised as providing the most advanced real-time 5 day forecasts of weather risk across Europe. EuroTempest’s services are targeted at companies who may have financial exposure due to extreme and un-seasonal weather such as the insurance and re-insurance industry.
Web: www.eurotempest.com
Fiostec
Fiostec was established in 1999 out of the Department of Mechanical Engineering to commercialise a new way of monitoring and recording stress and fatigue in structures. By permanently attaching Fiostec’s miniature Stress Memory Unit to the surface of a structure, it is possible to record and remotely monitor significant events related to the integrity of the chosen structure, and this technology is proving to have applications in wide ranging industry, from rail to construction and more.
Web: www.fiostec.com
Ixico
Founded by Professor Derek Hill and Professor David Hawkes from the Centre for Medical Image Computing in conjunction with colleagues at Imperial College, Ixico provides image analysis services to the pharmaceutical industry. By coupling image analysis technology with expertise in image acquisition, the company is able to provide automated, scalable and authoritative information extraction solutions. IXICO will improve the quality and effectiveness of therapeutic interventions, both under development and in clinical use, through an automated service to extract relevant clinical information from images.
Web: www.ixico.net
Quantemol
Quantemol is the result of collaboration between the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Department of Computer Science. The company has developed a unique software tool that brings full accessibility to the highly sophisticated UK molecular R-matrix code, which is used to model electron polyatomic molecule interactions. The software has found application in academia and industry enabling technologists to calculate electron-molecule interactions more efficiently, safely, reliably, accurately and cost-effectively than through practical experimentation.
Web: www.quantemol.com
Senceive
Senceive Ltd was spun out from the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering to commercialise an innovative approach to the problem of monitoring distributed industrial environments such as railway infrastructures and underground mines. By utilising a number of small, intelligent devices that communicate through meshed radio networks, the company offers an autonomous solution that is easy for non-experts to install, maintain and use.
Web: www.senceive.com
Space Syntax
Founded in 1990 from UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture, Space Syntax Limited offers a specialist consulting service in the design and evaluation of urban areas and building interiors, based on the principle that movement and communication are essential to the social and economic success of public and private space. This evidence-based approach to property and design consulting provides clients with clear advice and creative solutions.
Web: www.spacesyntax.com
Zinwave
Founded in 2003 from the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, Zinwave aims to provide sub-systems and systems for distributing wireless signals, including those for applications such as cellular radio and WLAN in a flexible, future proof and low cost manner. Zinwave’s proprietary technology enables these applications to be serviced using low cost multi-mode fibres, giving rise to significant cost savings for system providers and installers.
Web: www.zinwave.com
