Welcome to the new year!
2023 was an exciting year for us. The network launched, held its first funding call, forged new connections, and laid foundations for an ambitious path ahead. As we plan for what comes next, we do so while envisioning a future where producing digital devices in low-volumes is easier and more accessible to everyone.
Learn more about what’s coming up for the network in 2024.
Upcoming funding call: Infrastructure for Device Production
Our next funding call is themed around infrastructure for the production of digital devices. Currently, creators of electronics encounter challenges as they refine and scale prototypes, a process that multiplies their interactions with external stakeholders like specialist designers, manufacturers, and end users. Maintaining these interactions across many stakeholders in various disciplines requires tools, techniques, standards, and platforms that facilitate success. The new funding call seeks exemplars that demonstrate how infrastructure beyond traditional production manufacturing can play a role in overcoming barriers to refining and scaling device prototypes. This may include asynchronous or synchronous technologies, advances in ubiquitous computing, XR/AR/VR, the Internet of Things, data aggregation and AI, and computer-supported collaborative work.
Details of this call will be released at the end of February. Keep an eye on our social media channels and future newsletters for further updates.
Featured member: Emma Powell of Air Giants
What can an artist bring to the table when designing and manufacturing robots? As we learned by speaking with Emma Powell of Air Giants, there’s a great deal that people from diverse backgrounds, including the arts, can contribute to the production of incredible electronic devices.
Air Giants are a Bristol-based creative robotics studio. You can connect with them and others in the member’s area of the pro² website.
Events
Join us for a pro² online workshop – 5 Feb 2024
Are you interested in prototyping with emerging technologies and materials? If so, join us on the 5th of February for an interactive online workshop hosted by leading academic and industry experts in the field.
Innovative interactive devices are often built on emerging technologies and materials that are not traditionally part of the prototyping process, such as responsive materials that change their shape or flexible electronics. There are numerous tools and processes for ‘traditional’ prototyping (e.g. CAD, circuit board layout, etc.). However, we lack the equivalent resources to effectively prototype and replicate devices with emerging technologies and materials.
At this workshop, we will come together to explore how best to take this field forward. Spaces are limited, so we encourage all with an interest in this area to register now at the link below.
Registration
Further details about this event can be found on our events page, including a list of speakers. The agenda will be shared on the website closer to the date. For any questions, please contact admin@prosquared.org.
Community
Upcoming events:
– Royal Academy of Engineering: Artificial Intelligence – a critical technology for a critical time? (30 January, online)
– Redefining Sustainable Innovations: the Circular Economy Exchange (8 February, Birmingham)
– Make UK: National Manufacturing Conference (27 February, London)
News:
– Applications open for micro:bit Champions 2024
– Austrian government launches repair scheme for electronic goods
Share your news or event with us!
Got an upcoming event or an exciting news item you’d like to see featured in our next newsletter? Send it to us at admin@prosquared.org to reach our growing membership base of entrepreneurs, researchers and innovators.
Follow pro² on social media
Connect with us on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn and Instagram to stay up-to-date on all things pro², including events, funding calls, and networking opportunities.
Recent news from our social media:
– Three pro² funded research projects kick-off this autumn
– pro² Steering Group member Steve Hodges gives talk at Cambridge