Press Release 18/11/03
break-step productions wins DTI 'SMART' Award
break-step productions MD Patrick Andrews receiving the award
break-step productions ltd,
developer of the Foveola robotic vision software, today
announced that they have won a Grant for Research and
Development (formerly part of the SMART Awards programme).
The Award from the UK
Department of Trade and Industry
will
fund a year-long project to create a handheld, assistive
tool for visually-impaired people. This Foveola-based
system, dubbed 'Speaking Eye', is intended to help generate
clear verbal descriptions of all types of shape-based information
such as labels, icons and signs within the cluttered,
ambiguous visual environment.
Managing Director, Dr. Patrick Andrews commented, "This Award
provides us with an opportunity to accelerate some very
exciting applications of the technology and to achieve more
effective patent protection for our intellectual property".
"Winning a SMART Award provides both financial support and
official recognition of the quality of innovation.
Inevitably competition is stiff for such awards and we are
delighted to have been successful".