Thoughts and insights on the business of technology transfer
Thoughts and insights on the business of technology transfer
Posted on 26 April 2013 in Defence and Security
A solar-powered refrigeration cooler, invented by a US high school freshman, could potentially have military applications
Posted on 12 April 2013 in General
A device designed to deliver oxygen to troops without the need for electricity now looks set to have a wider use and could help save children in the developing world.
Posted on 05 April 2013 in General
Developments in the robotics field could lead to new medical and military technology, researchers have revealed.
Posted on 02 April 2013 in Defence and Security
The military is using virtual worlds, such as those seen in Second Life, in an increasingly wide range of ways
Posted on 21 March 2013 in General
A large hybrid airship that was designed by a British company for the US Army is currently developing commercial applications for its transport technology.
Posted on 08 March 2013 in General
The European Space Agency (ESA) programme is offering global firms the opportunity to make use of space technology to advance their own medical product offerings.
Posted on 06 March 2013 in General
A new lightweight, shock-absorbing training shoe has been released by military technology firm Skydex Technologies, aimed at both the military and commercial markets.
Posted on 22 February 2013 in General
The US Department of Defense has committed to developing smartphones with Smart Mobile Identity (SMI) technology, allowing physical features such as fingerprints to be scanned in order to verify the user’s identity.
Posted on 14 February 2013 in Defence and Security
The University of Massachusetts Lowell has announced it is to launch a new initiative aimed at developing innovations designed to improve the safety of troops.
Posted on 07 February 2013 in Defence and Security
A diagnostic tool which could protect soldiers from bioterrorism is amongst the inventions that are being developed as future commercial projects by Arizona State University.
Posted on 23 January 2013 in DSTL
BBC Radio 4’s Quentin Cooper recently interviewed DSTL’s programme leader for support to operations, Nick Barrett, about his role on the front line. The BBC’s Material World programme was keen to find out more about the role of defence scientists who follow troops on deployments and Nick was happy to give listeners an insight.
Posted on 11 January 2013 in General
On 3 January 2013, President Obama revised the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which, since 1999, has classified satellites as weapons.
Posted on 04 January 2013 in Defence and Security
A Canadian camouflage specialist has invented a cutting-edge material that could make soldiers invisible, by bending light around them. The new technology could also have some commercial applications if it works as the creator describes.
Posted on 17 December 2012 in Defence and Security
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has held its inaugural ‘Marketplace’ event to try to stimulate more relationships between small and medium sized businesses looking to design products for the armed forces that could have commercial applications.
Posted on 11 December 2012 in General
How the department’s innovations have helped to make the concept of the first AIDS-free generation a reality.
Posted on 11 December 2012 in General
The first mind-controlled prosthetic leg, originally developed for the US military, is being widely welcomed into the civilian market, helping those who have lost limbs to walk, climb and play sports again.
Posted on 20 November 2012 in General
The ongoing innovation in the bone conducting headphones market illustrates how technology developed primarily for use by the armed forces can prove popular and beneficial to civilian consumers.
Posted on 13 November 2012 in Defence and Security
The US Army Research Laboratory’s liquid body armour, for use inside Kevlar vests, means much lighter, more flexible armour that could particularly benefit female soldiers.
Posted on 02 November 2012 in General
One of the most promising new vaccine development projects being led by military researchers is to treat breast cancer and the trials have produced some very encouraging results so far.
Posted on 26 October 2012 in Defence and Security
A recent report from the European Commission (EC) and support from police minister, Damian Green, suggests that law enforcement agencies and commercial enterprises could soon be regularly using military-style drone technology.
Posted on 19 October 2012 in Defence and Security
The families of football players all over the US are welcoming new helmet modifications that use military-grade concussion reduction technology (CRT) to reduce the severity of head injuries suffered by sports men and women.
Posted on 10 October 2012 in General
Materials developed for military use can have some extremely valuable benefits to sportsmen and women, once licensed for commercial use. A great example is the new Connect Power Control (CPC) material used by Prologo in their latest saddles and gloves for cyclists.
Posted on 03 October 2012 in Defence and Security
The global market for infrared (IR) imaging is growing all the time and some developments have the potential to save millions of lives. However, the US’s decision to review export laws on such technologies could threaten the commercialisation of military-developed IR innovations across the Atlantic.
Posted on 25 September 2012 in Defence and Security
A US investment company has signed ground-breaking agreements with a number of state-run technology development centres, forming the first public-private partnership aimed at commercialising the Defense Department’s research and development resources.
Posted on 19 September 2012 in General
Increasingly, private sector companies are closely following the innovations and breakthroughs being made in public sector research, crossing international boundaries to look for new solutions to commercialise and bring to market.
We came across an interesting example with the Health Protection Agency (HPA)
Posted on 13 September 2012 in Defence and Security, DSTL
The Defence Management Journal (DMJ) are running a very interesting article following an interview with Graham Farnsworth from Dstl’s IP Group, highlighting the value of the Intellectual Property that Dstl produces and Ploughshare manages commercially.
Definitely worth a read: ‘Serve and Protect’
Posted on 08 August 2012 in
Super Bainite Steel was recently profiled on thenakedscientists.com you can listen, probably better than watching, to the podcast on:
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/show/20120708/
Posted on 20 June 2012 in SME
Yesterday I was delighted to be able to present at a Materials KTN event entitled “Commercialising Hidden Technologies”. The event focused on uncovering research that was developed for defence and security but had uses in other markets.
Posted on 24 May 2012 in General
Imagine being able to complement your R&D department and effort with the output of over 2500 scientists.
The requirements of the Ministry of Defence range across a variety of sectors and something once developed for a clear defence purpose can deliver new opportunities for companies in civilian applications and sometimes in quite diverse areas to their origins.
Posted on 24 May 2012 in Defence and Security
What seems like a counter intuitive development is part of a new armour system developed by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and licensed to Tata Steel UK by Ploughshare Innovations.
Posted on 10 May 2012 in DSTL
Meeting the demands required for military equipment and support could definitely be considered to be driven by the expression ‘necessity is the mother of invention’. Meeting this need is the Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the Ministry Of Defence’s Science and Technology experts. The resulting pool of innovative technology is being made available to a wider audience by Ploughshare Innovations.
Its company title and ethos is inspired by the Biblical reference in Isaiah 2:4 of ‘turning swords in to ploughshares’ but Ploughshare has brought this up to date in providing technology transfer services to industry for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), find out more…