Luminous Show Technology Ltd. (Luminous), a leading physical special effects designer and manufacturer for the leisure and entertainment industries, has been awarded funding from the UK government’s flagship grant programme to develop a new immersive technology designed for LBE VR and other augmented attractions.
Innovate UK Smart Grants are awarded for ‘game-changing’ and disruptive ideas from UK businesses through a regular competitive application process.
The £500,000 match-funded project has been secured by Luminous following their application earlier this year. The project aims to present an alternative haptics technology for the post-pandemic VR world.
Commenting on the news, Mike Badley, Engineering Director and Co-Founder of Luminous, said “To win the Innovate UK Smart Grant is a tremendous boost for Luminous, especially knowing how competitive the application process is. This development could bring about a next-level sensory experience for VR users. We’ve worked closely with VR vendors and can see an opportunity to deliver a 4th sensory dimension in a completely new way. Our technology seeks to overcome the operational and physical challenges for VR operators. Thanks to the Innovate UK funding, we will be able to fast-track this technology.”
Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas. Smart is one of Innovate UK’s most highly competitive funds and typically less than 10% of applications secure grant funding. LUMINOUS were one of only 71 projects who secured funding out of 1072 applicants. According to Innovate UK, only the most game-changing and innovative ideas set for swift commercialisation are successful. The Luminous project will run for 15 months and Innovate UK will fund 70% of the project.
News of the grant comes during a trailblazing year for Luminous, who are expanding rapidly in response to the demand for special effects (SFX) use in live events and attraction based entertainment. Having completed the design and manufacture of a revolutionary new flame-machine set to hit the market this summer, the company are developing a range of new SFX products expected to launch from this Autumn. Alongside this, Luminous have seen their biggest year yet for custom SFX installations in the UK, Asia and North America.