Commercialisation of the world’s first iNTelligent Access Cover Technology for the protection of ALL underground infrastructure.

Project Information

iNTACT

Grant agreement ID: 728408

DOI

10.3030/728408

Project closed

EC signature date 23 June 2016

Start date 1 May 2016

End date 31 July 2016

Funded under

• Secure societies - Protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

HUGSLOCK SYSTEMS LTD
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - iNTACT (Commercialisation of the world’s first iNTelligent Access Cover Technology for the protection of ALL underground infrastructure.)

Reporting period: 2016-05-01 to 2016-07-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

In developed countries, most infrastructure is situated underground. This may be in the form of electricity, gas, water, sewerage, drainage and telecommunications. In the case of a fault or routine maintenance, this infrastructure needs to be accessed and this is achieved through the use of inspection chambers. These are very common and hundreds can be seen on the streets and pavements of any city or town. To prevent criminal damage to infrastructure and in order to prevent accidents, these chambers are covered with access covers. However most access covers are unsecure which leaves them vulnerable to criminal activity. Covers in strategic sites require daily monitoring which is performed through physical inspections which is a time intensive and costly activity but currently necessary.

Hugslock Systems have developed a solution that can secure all underground infrastructure. We have created the iNTelligent Access Cover Technology “iNTACT” system which is the world’s first remote lockable access cover. It is secure, tamperproof and provides information about its’ environment to a central system. Embedded within the cover are a range of sensors that can offer a range of monitoring capabilities such as gas, heat, water, infrared CCTV, motion, bio-hazard and seismic.
iNTACT removes the need for physical inspections, as the locks can be monitored remotely from a central server. This enables a fast response in case of a detected anomaly instead of a passive response once something has gone wrong. We have strong market interest from telecommunications provider SITEL in the Czech Republic and the UK Ministry of Defence.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

TASK 1 Market Analysis - we have undertaken CBAs and SWOTs for our target markets. We have undertaken informal interviews with a range of people across the customer base. We have established that our first target markets should be telecommunications and security/defense. We have modified our business model to take into account different requirements across different sectors.

Task 2 - IPR Strategy - we have reviewed our IP situation and put in place a company strategy to address IP issues and requirements.

Task 3 - Technical specification - we have developed a new specification for commerical scale-up and varients for different industries

Task 4 - Supply chain - we have identified and communicated with partners for manufacturing, design as well as customers for first-in-use trials across the EU. We have also developed a brochure for marketing and sales of the product.

Task 5 - Project Planning - we have drawn up GANTT, PERT and an indicative budget to take the project through to full launch

Task 6 - Business Plan - We have refreshed and renewed our business plan given the information provided in tasks 1-5

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

This is the first remote lockable access cover that provides a reactive solution to illegal entry into infrastructure. It will also monitor build up of a potential problems and allow for intervention before an incident can occur. This solution provides significant benefits in preventing criminal activity or terrorism against the critical infrastructure of a business, city or country. This should significantly reduce the current costs that are incurred trying to prevent this activity and to repair the damage incurred after an incident.

The product as it will be in use