98 AI projects are taking a share of £32m in the UKRI and Government’s attempt to boost the economy and improve the lives of working people
UKRI and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have announced 98 AI projects are receiving a share of £32m to improve various aspects of industry.
The announcement comes as part of ‘taking the brakes off Britain,’ as it was put in the King’s speech, being part of a raft of bills and investments into growing industry.
The construction industry will benefit from the boost
Construction is one of the top growth-industries being targeted by the bill, especially in terms of funding AI projects in staff safety training, railway construction, and cutting emissions.
V-Lab Ltd has received over £165,000 to fund their project into training construction staff, using VR to simulate construction spaces and ensure the staff know and follow safety protocols and risk assessments.
Hack partners have also received funding to support an AI project in railway maintenance, developing an autonomous maintenance system. The system will automatically identify problems or defects with rail infrastructure, allowing for quicker, safer, and preventative maintenance.
Robok Limited have received funding for their SeeGul AI tool, which works to monitor and improve efficiency and resourcing, through the identification of warehouse and storage bottlenecks. This will improve construction supply chains and build efficiency.
The Government commented on the bill
The minister for digital government and AI, Feryal Clark, said:”AI will deliver real change for working people across the UK – not only growing our economy but improving our public services.
“That’s why our support for initiatives like this will be so crucial – backing a range of projects which could reduce train delays, give us new ways of maintaining our vital infrastructure, and improve experiences for patients by making it easier to get their prescriptions to them.
“We want technology to boost growth and deliver change right across the board, and I’m confident projects like these will help us realise that ambition.”
