Backed by £30mn (US$37.3mn) of funding, the competition is for projects to develop productivity and agility in UK manufacturing.
 
Business Secretary Greg Clark said: “We want to support companies of all sizes who want to formulate new digital capabilities, and will support projects that will help confirm the UK stays at the forefront of technological developments. Through Made Smarter and our modern Industrial Strategy we are determined to making sure manufacturers are best located to take reward of the opportunities being created by industrial digitalization and help our leading advanced manufacturing sector continue to grow.”
 
Part of the broader ‘Manufacturing Made Smarter’ challenge, the government is wanting to support the application of technology to manufacturing via technologies such as data analytics and IoT.
 
Bidding for the competition began on 22 July, with funding intended for projects ready to begin promptly with instantaneous impact. Projects must include at least one SME.
 
UK Research and Innovation Chief Executive, Professor Sir Mark Walport said: “The Manufacturing Made Smarter challenge will boost the productivity of UK manufacturing by inspiring the adoption of digital technologies across a wide range of sectors. It will ensure the long-term wealth of UK manufacturing and give to an increase in total productivity, making the UK a global leader of the 4th Industrial Revolution and delivering clean increase.”



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com