Steatite joins Worcestershire’s commercial technology accelerator, BetaDen as an industry expertise partner

Steatite is delighted to announce that it is to work with Worcestershire’s commercial technology accelerator, BetaDen as an industry expertise partner for its fourth cohort of business.

BetaDen is based at Malvern Hills Science Park, midway between Steatite’s computing and communications facilities. Cohort 4 is a nine-month accelerator programme for early stage technology businesses. Successful participants will have access to a programme of support worth around £50,000 including 30 hours of access to Worcestershire’s 5G test bed. The application process is now open and the programme will begin in March 2021.

As a global provider of cutting-edge bespoke technology within the computing, communications and power sectors, Steatite has invaluable expertise and will be providing mentoring support to the cohort 4 members for the duration of the programme. The company is particularly looking forward to helping drive forward emerging technology with a particular focus on edge AI systems, remote monitoring and sensing, image processing, robotic automation, and self-organising sensor networks.

Matthew Richards, Managing Director of Steatite comments: “BetaDen has supported 22 early stage technology businesses to date, helping to develop successful routes to market, creating new jobs, and securing hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment. As BetaDen enters its 3rd year, we are proud to be offering our support and experience as an industry expertise partner for the upcoming cohort 4 programme. The objectives of BetaDen, Steatite, and no doubt the successful cohort 4 participants are aligned. New tech ideas today are tomorrow’s SMEs.”

Linda Smith, founder and CEO of BetaDen, said: “In Steatite, we’re delighted to welcome an industry partner who can offer cohort members the benefit of their unrivalled experience and connections in the field of high-value add manufacturing, in particular computing, secure communication systems and antennas. With our focus on 5G, Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Robotics for applications across a range of industrial supply chain markets for Cohort 4, Steatite’s expertise will be invaluable to Cohort members looking to develop their technologies in these areas.”

Companies interested in applying for BetaDen cohort 4 can visit www.beta-den.com/apply-now/ and most submit their application by Friday 18 December. Short-listed applicants will be invited to interview in early 2021, with successful applicants joining BetaDen in March 2021.

Steatite secures Innovate UK funding to develop a zero-emission powertrain solution for Non-Road Mobile Machinery

Steatite is delighted to announce it has secured funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, for the development of its battery powertrain solution for Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM). 

The company’s Power business unit will develop a modular battery pack with a tailored Battery Management System (BMS) which will be combined with a British sourced bespoke electric motor, providing a scalable, modular, zero emission power train solution. This powertrain will initially be installed woodchipper manufactured by Greenmech Ltd, Europe’s leading woodchipper manufacturer with the aim to be the first UK manufactured zero emission industrial woodchipper. The initial development process is expected to take 3 months.

In the longer term the 100% UK designed and manufactured off-the-shelf powertrain using scalable modular batteries, will be available for a multitude of light industrial plant equipment.

Matthew Richards, Steatite’s Managing Director comments: “With the UK government’s commitment to achieve a net zero carbon emission economy by 2050, many highly polluting sectors are now falling under the spotlight, such as small plant equipment. The move from fossil fuels to electric battery power will render these machines carbon neutral, aiding the reduction in pollution, particularly within the urban environment where many of these machines are operated. Steatite is once again driving world-class British innovation and playing our part in the net zero goal. The Innovate UK involvement has enabled us to accelerate our research and development in this sector supporting British jobs.”

Find out more here https://www.steatite-batteries.co.uk/electric-powertrain-drivetrain/

Introducing the GVR5 dual band radio for ground vehicles from Persistent Systems.

We are pleased to announce the upcoming release of the GVR5 (Ground Vehicle Radio 5) enabled with Wave Relay® technology from Persistent Systems
 
The GVR5 is a modular dual-band high-bandwidth MANET radio designed to benefit vehicles with the networking capability of the highly acclaimed Wave Relay® enabled MPU5 radio. Providing up to 120Mbps of throughput for voice, data and video, the GVR5 is ideally suited to applications with complex vehicle LAN architecture, or a need for a Communication Plan based on PACE (Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency).
 
Using existing RF modules designed for use with the MPU5, the GVR5 supports two RF modules concurrently, allowing for communication in any combination of L-Band, S-Band, Lower C-Band and Upper C-Band frequencies. An upcoming firmware release will allow the GVR5 to connect directly to an internet backhaul such as an LTE hotspot or Satcom access point via Cloud Relay®.
 
Designed from the ground up to be a military-spec rugged radio, the GVR5 is shock-mounted to protect the radio from any impact damage when traversing difficult terrain or when subject to ballistic and gunfire shock.
 
Due for release in November 2020, the GVR5 will be qualified for vehicle specific test including gunfire shock and MIL-STD-1275 vehicle power systems.

Click here to find out more about the GVR5.

Steatite delivers first battery module to power NOC’s latest Autosub

Steatite has delivered the first battery module for the National Oceanography Centre’s latest autonomous research submersible, Autosub 2KUI.

Steatite is a partner at the NOC’s Marine Robotics Innovation Centre and has been working collaboratively with the NOC for several years. The Autosub Long Range, more affectionately known as Boaty McBoatface, is already powered by Steatite battery packs.

The Autosub 2KUI is designed to house 48 of the 1.25kWhr modules at a time, with each module designed to operate at depths of up to 6000 metres where pressure is over 600 times greater than at that at the ocean surface. This crushing pressure, along with low temperature, presents a number of complex design issues for battery packs and associated electronics.

Equipped with state-of-the art sonars and camera systems to enable scientists to create detailed maps and establish habitat characteristics of the seafloor, the new AUV has under-ice navigation capabilities so it can operate underneath vast areas of sea ice or glaciers.

The battery packs are designed to provide constant power to the Autosub for extended duration operation.

Crewkerne battery facility signage change

Our battery pack manufacturing facility in Crewkerne, Somerset has had a change of signage to bring it in line with the other Steatite buildings in Redditch and Leominster.

In 2016, Steatite acquired Creasefield batteries and centred the entire battery business unit at the new site in Somerset. This facility houses everything from design, engineering and manufacturing, to distribution and associated office functions all at the one location, thereby creating a single site centre of excellence for our battery business.

The change in exterior signage is a major step in the integration of the facility into the Steatite brand. Interior branding elements, including wall panels and Steatite polo shirts, further aligns the site with our other facilities.

As a nod to the former branding, the illuminated ‘plus’ and ‘minus’ elements of the old signage have been retained and will be re-located within the building.

Range of new videos released

We have recently released a number of videos designed to outline our capabilities across our core areas of computing, power and communications.

At no more than one and a half minutes in length, these are short, easy to watch videos.

To learn more about each of these areas, why not take a look now? The videos can be accessed by clicking on the following links.

Steatite computing
Steatite batteries
Steatite antennas

NEW Industrial 8 Core GPGPU Workstation

We are excited to announce the release of our brand-new industrial grade GPGPU workstation, the GW-2000. Compact, powerful, and reliable, the GW-2000 has been designed with high-intensity graphical applications in mind.

Our in-house design and engineering have allowed us to combine the latest 8th & 9th generation (8 core) Intel® Core™ series processors with the latest graphics technologies to ensure that GW-2000 can conquer the most demanding of workloads.

Click here to find out more about the GW-2000

ALR displayed at science museum

The National Oceanography Centre’s autonomous submersible the Autosub Long Range (ALR) is the centrepiece of a new exhibition at the Science Museum in London, which explores the growing role of artificial intelligence in our daily lives. The free exhibition, Driverless: Who is in control? runs until October 2020 and is expected to be seen by more than a million and a half visitors.

Power for the ALR is provided by Steatite battery packs. The Lithium primary battery packs are housed in the forward of 2 forged spheres contained within the plastic housing of the vehicle.

Designed to operate at depths of up to 6,000m, the ALR is fully autonomous and able to run unaided for weeks at a time. Reliability of the battery system is therefore of paramount importance with the batteries needing to provide a continuous source of power to the vehicle in temperatures as low as 4°c.