What is GeoTech?

By

,

GeoTech is Geovation’s shorthand way of referring to start-ups which use geospatial data to create innovative solutions.

With the support of our GeoTech sponsor, Ordnance Survey (OS), Geovation looks for start-ups innovating in the following areas to join our Accelerator Programme: Resilience & Protection of Life, Environment & Sustainability, Transport, Health & Wellbeing and Energy.

Does my startup fit into these sectors?

To give you an idea of the start-ups we’ve supported before, and what we’re looking for this time, here are the GeoTech startups on our current cohort and where they fit:

Resilience & Protection of Life

OS’ Protection of Life segment supports emergency services and other government agencies with the responsibility for preparing, preventing, and mitigating for potential events of concern to public safety and responding to emergency incidents. The goal is to deliver maximum value to users across the community.

Blue Light Maps provides navigation for emergency services with the aim of improving response times and catering for the specialist needs of first responders.

Environment & Sustainability

Under the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA) OS are developing and delivering a wide range of data enhancements over the next few years that will benefit customer’s environmental and sustainability use cases. Enhancements to land cover, land use and water data, and providing field boundary data to customers for the first time, supports long-term monitoring and reporting of how natural features change over time, which is key to meeting net zero and environment policy targets.

By providing a consistent baseline of detailed and accurate data in OS National Geographic Database (NGD), OS has a key role as a trusted provider of authoritative location data to enable informed decision-making by our customers to help solve the challenges faced within the Environment Sector.

Geovation, with OS’ support, look to support startups using, or planning to use, geospatial data to help meet net zero and environment policy targets.

Naturebound is on a mission to help farmers to leverage biodiversity data. Their observability platform integrates agricultural and biodiversity data from an open ecosystem of scalable monitoring providers with the latest remote sensing and AI technology. Their ML models optimize yield, use of agrochemical inputs and biodiversity uplift, enabling a swifter more profitable transition to sustainable agriculture.

Verna provides data and software to help people manage land in the best way for the environment. Their products currently support customers with tree-planting programmes and biodiversity net gain. They work with a broad range of customers, including government bodies, corporates, and private estates.

Transport

OS’ vision for transport is to ‘Decarbonise transport and mobility for inclusive and sustainable growth’. Transport can be considered a set of access corridors most of which we think of as man-made but also include natural desire lines across a wide geography including urban and rural areas. These corridors provide an ecosystem of bio-diverse areas, networks, infrastructure and restrictions for vehicles and citizens to traverse for the safe movement of people, goods, and services across GB.

Digital Taskforce for Planning seeks to apply and develop cutting edge digital research and technology into mainstream spatial planning to tackle the grand challenges for public benefit.

Optimal Cities provides digital companions harnessing up to date spatial data and AI to boost healthy growth for People, Planet and Portfolios.

Still not sure if you’re eligible to apply to the GeoTech track?

If you’re a start-up using, or interested in using, geospatial data we’d love to receive your application! For queries on whether you fit into these areas please contact Maeve.

More information on the benefits of the accelerator and how to apply can be found here.