IOP BUSINESS AWARDS 2018 Innovative physics. Winning solutions.
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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
how, their brain power, their intellect, their knowledge and their creativity, will have time freed up to carry out more intellectual activities, such as research, analysis, and creation of methods or protocols. Robots, in isolation, don’t make scientific decisions. That would be the job of the artificial intelligence which would be a layer that sits over the top. Ironically, one of the greatest challenges in realising the full potential of the smart lab is investing in people. The smart lab will introduce new working practices, skills and aptitudes that previously were not relevant. A barrier to progress is likely to be the under investment in people. It can be hard for people to see this as a revolutionary approach when these technologies are already in our daily lives. The technologies themselves aren’t revolutionary in isolation. It’s the application and the culmination of combining these technologies that really provides the opportunities beyond what we see today. It’s important that these technologies get embraced by all, to avoid a monopoly and so that they can all link to each other in a way that is truly interactive and as beneficial as possible to the labs of the future. ■
The IOP Business Awards are the only awards in the UK and Ireland recognising companies that have built success on the innovative application of physics. • The Business Innovation Award recognises
and celebrates small, medium and large companies that have excelled in innovation, delivering significant economic and/or societal impact through the application of physics.
• The Business Start-Up Award recognises
and celebrates young companies with a great business idea founded on a physics invention, with a great business growth potential and/or the potential of significant societal impact.
Enter now at
www.iop.org/activity/business Closing date for applications Friday 18 May 2018
For further information, please visit: www.festo.co.uk
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