business support funding, matters & growth
august/september december/january June/July june/july 2019 2018 2021 business edge
Success for BRITE innovation programme as Brighton tech startup pilots hyper-accurate GPS Naurt’s satellite technology is 150 times more precise than current GPS capabilities, measuring within 10 centimetres Innovation programme BRITE has announced Brighton tech startup Naurt is trialling its new hyper-accurate satellite location technology on the roof of the Plus X Innovation Hub. The pilot will gather data for a new form of GPS which could see the fledgling company achieve a world-first. Naurt is one of the high-growth Sussex businesses supported by the BRITE programme – a one-stop shop to support business leaders wishing to be part of an innovative, collaborative community. Local entrepreneurs Jack Maddalena and Nicolas Slack, both in their twenties, founded Naurt in April 2020. Since then it has grown to a team of eight people, secured £500k in funding. Naurt’s technology is 150 times more accurate than current GPS tracking. It can provide an exact location within 10 centimetres anywhere in the world, either indoors or outside. It’s supported by five key innovations in the tracking space, including sensor fusion, all delivered in a simplistic ‘plug-and-play’ web application. The satellite aerial now installed on top of the Plus X building, measuring just 30 cm in height, is gathering 25 lines of constellation data a day at 14 times the speed of sound. The sheer volume of information made possible by the installation will help refine the Naurt product while allowing the company to rapidly expand its customer base. The duo are currently working with travel company TUI to enable travellers to follow their journey in real-time from door to airport, airport to taxi, taxi to hotel room. Other clients include Sofology and The Roads and Transport Authority. Naurt’s CEO and co-founder Jack Maddalena says: “We asked companies what their primary pain point was and the responses we received were almost unanimous: matching customers up at different points on their journeys, like drivers and passengers at an airport”.
Further potential applications include enabling the safe use of aerial drones for doorstep deliveries, and far greater accuracy in the energy and telecoms sectors to locate underground pipes and wires. “People that have had their smartphone lost or stolen might have used the ‘Find My Phone’ feature. With Naurt’s precision, we could distinguish what pocket it’s in!” adds Nicolas, Naurt’s co-founder and chief technology officer. “Gathering all of the data using the equipment installed at Plus X is a big step on our road to making that a possibility”. The team has been supported by the BRITE innovation programme – a £10.5million initiative part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund that’s led by Plus X in partnership with the University of Brighton. The programme is helping ambitious Sussex businesses like Naurt to scale.
“People that have had their smartphone lost or stolen might have used the ‘Find My Phone’ feature. With Naurt’s precision, we could distinguish what pocket it’s in!”
BRITE’s Programme Manager, Samantha Harland, commented: “We welcomed Naurt into the Plus X building and BRITE cohort in summer 2020. Naurt had strong ambitions to scale their business and create jobs for locals including graduates from the local Universities. By accessing expertise and support from the BRITE team, Naurt has been able to scale at a rapid pace”. Jack adds: “Being a part of BRITE has been a key factor in our success so far. Taking advantage of the experts in the programme, academics at the University of Brighton, the fully funded workshops – even simply feeding off the ideas of the other businesses in the Plus X building – has been and will continue to be a real gift for our business. I grew up a stone’s throw away on the hill in Fiveways, so it’s been amazing to make this all happen so close to home”. Samatha concludes: “Historically, Brighton and the surrounding area has lost a lot of local talent to nearby London as people search for jobs for scaling innovative companies. Our aim with the BRITE project over the next 2 years is to help more local businesses scale their vision and in turn that will provide more opportunities for local talent. We’d love to see more businesses stepping forward to access this support”. www.briteinnovation.co.uk
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