DASA Security Showcase focuses on security innovation
Above: Anita Friend, Head of DASA, delivers the opening keynote at the DASA Security Showcase.
Courtesy DASA
Providing security for the UK and its citizens is one of the most important and challenging responsibilities of government and is growing increasingly diverse and complex. To maintain a strategic advantage, we need to ensure the UK has capabilities to ensure public safety and deal with a broad range of challenges that disrupt our way of life.
Working on behalf of government defence and security organisations since 2016, DASA has sought ways to improve the security of the UK and has run over 30 Themed Competitions with a national security focus, ranging from tackling knife crime, to counter drone technologies and improving crowd resilience on behalf of our partners across government.
DASA also opened the Security Open Call in 2021 to harness the potential of UK suppliers to see what they have to offer and find the very best innovative ideas that benefit national security.
To showcase just some of the many relevant, unique and cutting-edge national security innovations that DASA has funded over the years, DASA held the Security Showcase on 16th May 2024. At the event, more than 40 DASA-funded innovators participated, presenting their ground-breaking projects to government partners, law enforcement, industry leaders and national armed forces.
Throughout the day, exhibitors also delivered insightful presentations on how to contribute to national security, covering vital topics such as:
- Collaboration: How innovation is a collaborative responsibility among Government, industry, and academia.
- Diversity: Why engaging with innovative entities of various sizes, ages, backgrounds, and industries is essential.
- Engagement with government: Understanding key challenges and backing innovative initiatives through collaboration with the government is vital.
- Paths to impact: Leveraging the diverse array of ideas available to the government and effectively implementing them for practical use are essential.
At the event, a diverse range of technologies and organisations were showcased, such as:
- Createc: Createc has created a crowd monitoring innovation using LiDAR technology to improve crowd safety.
- Goldilock: Goldilock has created a cyber defence solution that can physically isolate or connect networks on demand.
- Trilateral: Trilateral’s artificial intelligence web application helps organisations better understand and respond to crime.
- Flare Bright: Using its software-enhanced Inertial Navigation System (INS), Flare Bright aims to solve the problem of what happens if GPS is denied during drone operations.
Above: (clockwise from top left) DASA Security Showcase exhibitors:- Advai, Goldilock, Createc and Trilateral Research.
Courtesy DASA
Dr Jemma Needham and Dr Ben Mellors, Metrasens Ltd: "We were delighted to be invited to attend the 2024 DASA Security Showcase. We enjoyed meeting delegates from various parts of government (and the wider security industry) and we learned much about UK security needs, and in particular the differences in needs and applications between government organisations. We were able to demonstrate our unique security sensors to important stakeholders, many of whom were not previously aware of Metrasens, and we held many fruitful discussions.
"As a result, it is likely that we will develop closer engagement with some government organisations who saw, during the event, the potential for our products and expertise to help them in their roles to protect people."
Steve Brodie, Chief Revenue Officer, Goldilock Secure Limited said: "We were thrilled to attend the DASA Security Showcase this year. The high turnout was a real testament to the importance of technology innovation, and it was fantastic to connect with the brilliant minds behind some of the innovations DASA has collaborated with this year. We’re especially grateful for the ongoing support we’ve received from the DASA team over the last couple of years."
Ben Fawcett. Product Lead, Advai said: "Events like this are crucial for fostering collaboration and driving progress and we commend DASA for their leadership in this space. We’re truly excited to see what the future holds for continued collaboration opportunities.
"Advai were delighted to engage at the DASA Security Showcase and were energised by the interest in our approaches to AI Safety from the broader DASA community.
"These events are precisely the bridge that the UK’s Tech sector needs to connect R&D efforts to national drives, and we look forward to attending more in the future.
"The criticality of public and private sectors working together cannot be overstated. Not only can the public sector leverage commercial R&D, but this transparency in public sector interest provides us with a sense of confidence to undertake otherwise risky or impractical R&D."
Alex Kehoe, CEO & Founder, Vizgard Ltd said: "It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the outcomes of our recent DASA projects, both on stage and through direct engagement with end-users at our stand. As a company, we don’t tend to be too vocal about our efforts to support safer police drone operations and in assisting security system operators in identifying public safety threats. As such, we are grateful to DASA for providing us with this platform."
Dr Hayley Watson, Trilateral’s Director of Sociotech Innovation said: "The DASA Security Showcase provided us with an opportunity to present to senior government officials, how DASA has supported us in the innovation and advancement of sociotechnical methods resulting in the development and launch of CESIUM and Honeycomb designed to transform the UK’s safeguarding in terms of child exploitation, human trafficking and modern slavery.
"Support from DASA has been key to the development of Trilateral’s sociotech methods to deliver responsible AI to those public sector bodies responsible for public security. We will continue to work with visionary Senior Leaders to deliver responsible AI that can transform the safeguarding of vulnerable persons."
Dave Clark, Director Of Operations, Createc said: "The DASA security event was a fantastic opportunity to connect with new people and engage with a diverse range of potential end users and government departments. It provided the perfect platform to discuss and share our experiences, and to learn from others. The networking opportunities were invaluable, and we were able to establish many new contacts and strengthen existing relationships. Overall, the event was a resounding success, and we are grateful for the opportunity to have participated."
Above: (clockwise from top left) DASA Security Showcase exhibitors:- FlareBright, Zelim, Vizguard and MindLink.
Courtesy DASA
DASA is devoted to strengthening the UK’s defence and security supply chain by providing support to innovative SMEs. Diversity of thought is essential to identify and fund the most innovative Defence and Security projects, and DASA is committed to collaborating with all types of organisations. The DASA team looks forward to working with more SMEs and encourages suppliers of all types to get in touch.
