CIE Components in Electronics
RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents, the global distributor for engineers, is supporting the launch of an Innovation Development Lab with a donation of equipment that will help to inspire the development of commercial Internet of Things (IoT) products.
The Innovation Development Lab is being launched on 24th April by Reading-based GROW@Greenpark, a Connecting Thames Valley Tech (Connect TVT) innovation hub, which helps startups and entrepreneurs collaborate in a creative environment. The lab aids the development of products by bringing in industry experts as mentors to run workshops and hands-on sessions.
The £5,000 donation of test equipment, tools and a 3D printer by RS will create a working lab environment that can be used by startups to help develop their applications.
Pete Wood, DesignSpark community manager at RS, said: “The Internet of Things is gathering pace and is more than just a futuristic vision. From IoT ‘devices’ such as vehicles and appliances to the explosion in wearables such as the Apple Watch, which will no doubt be on everyone’s wish list when it launches this month, IoT is set to become much more mainstream. Encouraging development of further commercial products is important and will open up many opportunities for businesses, so we’re delighted to support the Innovation Development Lab at GROW@Greenpark.”
Louize Clarke, Connect TVT co-founder, said: “The aim of the labs is to be able to offer startups access to products that can be prohibitively expensive, but are essential to driving their business ideas forward. The labs are still evolving and changing and will no doubt continue to do so, in line with user feedback and suggestions – which of course we welcome in the spirit of creativity and encouraging innovation. By creating a collaborative environment that encourages creativity we firmly believe more startups will happen as a result of the space.”
