Norscot has been shortlisted as one of three finalists for the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards 2018 – Innovation of the Year category.
The awards, run by Interface, recognise, reward and celebrate impacts achieved through collaborative business and academic partnerships.
The Innovation of Year Award is for an innovative product, process or service that has been developed with a university, research institute or college partner, facilitated by the Interface Voucher Funding Programme.
Norscot partnered with University of Strathclyde to research and develop virtual reality show home software for mobile phones, combining advanced interactive visualisation of buildings with Building Information Modelling (BIM) data, for the first time.
The virtual show home project was initiated through customer demand as Peter Body, Norscot’s chairman explains, “We find clients increasingly asking to view a show home. But, since we specialise in supplying one-off customised kits, throughout the UK, this simply isn’t feasible. The new software will allow clients to interact with the design process and view their new home in a virtual environment, on their site, before any work commences.”
The project was facilitated and supported by Highlands & Islands Enterprise who introduced the company to Interface who, in turn, helped find an appropriate academic partner. Also, the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre in Hamilton which funded the proof of concept.
One of the judges, Dr Stuart Fancey, Director of Research and Innovation at The Scottish Funding Council, said: “The calibre of entries to this year’s awards was very impressive – as was the diversity. The shortlist reveals an exciting range of business-academic partnerships. The Scottish Funding Council is delighted to see universities and innovation centres playing such a strong role in the successes of Scotland’s businesses.”
The awards ceremony will take place in Edinburgh on Thursday, 22 February.