British PM gives Internet of Things a £ 45 mln push

British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that his government would make available £45 million in funding for research on the emerging field of the Internet of Things (IoT), as well as a £1 million European grant fund to support startups working in the space.

The pledge more than doubles the funds available to UK technology firms working on everyday devices that can communicate over the Internet.

The Prime Minister said at the CeBIT conference in Hannover, Germany that he saw the Internet of Things as a huge transformative development — a way of boosting productivity, “of keeping us healthier, making transport more efficient, reducing energy needs, tackling climate change.

Many analysts believe the announcement of the funding has come at the right time because 2014 is generally expected to be the year of the IoT. The extra investment announced at the Hannover event, of which the UK is the official “partner country”, will take the total being made available to £73m.

Sir Mark Walport, the government’s chief scientific adviser, will now carry out a review into how these new technologies can be best exploited.

– Advertising Message –

Leave a Reply

Click here to opt out of Google Analytics