Keeping tabs on your mobile phone

Keeping tabs on your mobile phone



Innovation ideas

SPOTLIGHT ON A CURRENT PROJECT



#014



Opportunistic thieves could soon find it’s not so easy to swipe a forgotten mobile phone, thanks to a gadget currently being developed by experts. The i-migo, which alerts users if they get 10 metres away from their phone and can then lock down the phone completely, is a device which could revolutionise mobile phone security. And it’s getting closer to mass production, having won a development contract under the Government’s SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) scheme to bring new ideas and technology into the public sector...



www.innovateuk.org



Mobile phone security is a huge challenge both for operators and consumers, and as technology has advanced it has become ever more important that what you have stored on your phone cannot be accessed by anybody else. Nobody wants family photos, contact details or email content to be picked up by opportunistic thieves who strike when the phone is left unattended. And finding a solution to the problem – as well as trying to find ways of making mobile phones less likely to be mislaid in the first place – is something Londonbased Data Transfer & Communications is determined to do. Its developers are now working to meet the Home Office and Design Council’s challenge to improve mobile phone security – refining the technology on the i-migo, a Bluetooth device which can be wirelessly connected to any mobile phone model or other electronic equipment. The company is currently carrying out market research and has high hopes of a massive take-up once the product is launched, potentially as early as next year, particularly in the corporate world where security breaches can be devastating. The Home Office will also have the option to purchase the product as part of the SBRI programme.



‘This development contract has allowed us to build the device ready for production and get the right partners involved, including people from the mobile phone industry.’

SABAN DEMIRBASA, DATA TRANSFER & COMMUNICATIONS



COMPETITION



Hot Products

The Home Office, Design Council

Four billion people worldwide have mobile phones - twice as many as have credit cards - and 80% of us carry information on our handsets that could be used by criminals to commit fraud. Sixteen per cent of us already keep our bank details on our phones. The Hot Products SBRI competition is part of Design out Crime, an initiative from the Home Office Design & Technology Alliance Against Crime and the Design Council. They were looking for designers and technologists to work together to design solutions across three areas: • making mobile phone handsets harder or less desirable to steal • making the data stored on mobile phones harder or less desirable to steal • making future m-commerce transactions secure and fraud proof. The competition attracted 53 applications and three companies were awarded contracts to develop their technologies.



The SBRI scheme is one of the tools that the Technology Strategy Board uses to drive innovation. SBRI competitions use the power of Government procurement to: • provide innovative solutions to public sector challenges • and business opportunities for technology companies.



KEY FEATURES

• Competition is demand driven by a defined challenge • Stimulates the creation of innovative new products or services • Operates under EU pre-commercial procurement guidelines • Fully-funded development contract – not a grant • Fast-track, simplified process • Particularly suitable for small and medium-sized businesses • Government department acts as the lead customer • Intellectual property is retained by the company



The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led executive non-departmental public body, established by the Government. Its role is to promote and support research into, and development and exploitation of, technology and innovation for the benefit of UK business, in order to increase economic growth and improve the quality of life. It is sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). T: 01793 442700 www.innovateuk.org



T09/092 October 2009