SmartNE has been named winner of the third competition run by the Innovation Martlesham cluster of high-tech firms based on and around Adastral Park.

The contest, held in association with MediaTek, BT and the University of Suffolk, is open exclusively to the membership of Innovation Martlesham (IM) and this year attracted four entries.

A team from Colchester-based SmartNE pitched to a panel of experts offering their ideas around the Smart Home concept on how such a home can make life better for those living there.

SmartNE will now have the opportunity of working with MediaTek, BT, the University of Suffolk and IM to develop its ideas.

Nicky Daniels, head of Innovation Martlesham, said: “We heard four excellent pitches and some great ideas. Our competition encourages entries that can be very early stage or more mature in concept.

“Because IM has the people, the expertise, the processes and the infrastructure within our business incubator we can take the winner on a journey from an idea that can eventually end up with them presenting to potential investors. This is quite unique in the East of England and something we at Innovation Martlesham are very proud of”.

Rob Wade from the University of Suffolk said: “All four entrants gave innovative and credible presentations in support of their product proposals. That, added to their passion and professionalism on the day, is to be commended.

“To determine a winner required strict judging criteria: a technically feasible product, an identifiable market and a close fit to the original brief. All entrants met two of those criteria but only one all three. SmartNE are to be congratulated on their success.”

Goff Hill, business development director at SmartNE, said: “We are delighted to be chosen as the winner of the Innovation Martlesham competition.

“We are already a pioneer of smart mapping and data brokering solutions with our WAI2Go product and this gives us a fantastic opportunity to extend into the area of smart homes.

“The smart homes market is forecast to grow rapidly over the next five years. It’s going to be highly competitive, but we have some great ideas and we believe we can capture a share of it. Innovation Martlesham is the right place to be to do that”.