Date Created: 25 August 2011
Some of Scotland’s 100 defence and security companies will be at the DSEi show in September showcasing the products that have shaped their success. Many also hope to launch new products and will use the show to seek customers and build new partnerships.
The biennial Defence and Security Equipment International show is the biggest of its kind and attracts 25,000 trade visitors and 1,200 exhibitors, all keen to predict the future of the sector.
Organisers have seen companies diversify in recent years to meet changing defence budgets and an increased demand for innovative products. Though exhibitors choose to showcase under land, air, naval or security themes, the progressively more diverse range of products have seen a blurring of boundaries between these divisions.
Dreampact showcase
Attending this year is Dreampact, an Edinburgh company with expertise in RF, analogue and digital hardware, digital design, and software.
For the three former telecoms research and development engineers that founded the company, DSEi will be the place to showcase their camera stabilisation technology and introduce their I-Ball surveillance device to potential military and civilian customers and partners.
Four years in the making, the I-Ball is a hand-held, twin fisheye lens wireless camera that can be thrown like a grenade or cricket ball into hazardous combat or emergency situations to provide visual images and boost situational awareness.
The I-Ball concept appealed to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), whose support has led to Dreampact winning contracts from the Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE).
Paul Thompson of Dreampact said, “We were given a contract by the CDE to develop something very similar to the I-Ball – it was basically a stabilised camera with a single lens and it may have various applications. One might be vehicle mounting and one might be unmanned aerial vehicles.
Thompson discussed how Dreamscape was preparing for the show, “We’re working on prototypes, pretty advanced prototypes, and we’ve a bit more work to do to take them to product. Hopefully, by the time we get down to DSEi, they’ll be very representative of what our final product will be.”
“We’re very conscious we’re a small company, so a licensing or partnership arrangement with a larger manufacturer would be an optimum outcome for us from the show.”
Join the Scottish companies attending the DSEi show