Member Article

This is how Future Cities Catapult is turning the Olympic Park into an innovation hotbed

Residents and visitors to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park could soon be benefitting from some of the most cutting-edge leisure, sport and eco technology following the announcement of five-figure funding awards to innovative UK businesses.

Capping off a flood of recent funding awards from the Catapult network, Future Cities Catapult has announced that four UK SMEs are to receive £10,000 each to develop and test their innovative technologies with the bounds of the Olympic Park in Stratford.

Technologies that visitors and residents could soon be utilising include a programme aimed at incentivising locals to engage in healthier and more eco-friendly activities; a sporting marketplace that helps residents book courts and pitches; a digital smart map to help visitors navigate the park, and a social feed targeted at locals who at risk of social isolation.

The entrants are part of the Capstone project, a collaboration between Future Cities Catapult, Intel Labs Europe, Imperial College and University College London aimed at showcasing how Internet of Things (IoT) can solve urban problems at the Olympic Park.

The companies who will now be participating include:

• Betterpoints, a reward programme that aims to incentivise positive activity such as exercise and eco-friendly behaviour
• Clerkenwell’s OpenPlay, which has developed an online marketplace to connect people with sporting facilities
• Living Map, Holborn-based digital map company that has worked with the likes of Heathrow Airport and the City of Vancouver
• The Ecological Sequestration Trust and Groundwork London, who have developed a social feed to engage with those at risk of social isolation.

Each firm’s technologies will be available across the park until the end of September, providing a testbed for their innovations and exploring their viability for other urban contexts.

Scott Cain, Chief Business Officer at Future Cities Catapult, believes the programme will help bridge the gap between technological innovation and efforts to safeguard the societal legacy of the 2012 Olympic games.

He commented: “Quite rightly, our health and wellbeing in our cities is a hot topic at the moment, and it’s about more than sport. People want to feel good and that’s why we’re working with startups and entrepreneurs to encourage healthy behaviour and human interaction.

“The 2012 Games positioned London centre-stage as a sporting and pro-active nation and in terms of legacy and urban renewal. Our work in the Olympic Park will build on this legacy, by making the park a hotbed for innovation and tech and positioning the UK as a leader in next-generation connectivity.

“Here at Future Cities Catapult we work closely with startups and SMEs to develop and test disruptive technologies, creating happy, healthy and more sustainable cities.”