Exeter tech company first to get £1m loan from Innovate UK
An Exeter tech company is the first to get a million pound loan from Innovate UK after receiving support for their concept for several years. The loan is intended to fund the development of a device that helps drivers drive better, safer and in a more fuel-efficient manner. Let’s learn about Lightfoot as a company and why the government is incentivizing their product development.
An Overview of Innovate UK’s Initiatives
The loan is the first awarded through the Innovate UK’s Innovation Loans programme, a pilot programme that offers low interest loans to proven new technologies and business models. The programme is intended to provide financial support to fast-growing, pioneering businesses. Innovate UK says that they offer different types of funding support depending on how close the projects are to reaching the market. Up to 50 million pounds will be available for business innovation projects through Innovate UK.
An Introduction to Lightfoot
The “Lightfoot” concept initially arose from the realisation that a high-tech vehicle isn’t efficient if the driver’s habits themselves are wasteful. Lightfoot is a car technology company that seeks to reward better drivers. Their current product has been called the Fitbit for cars, tracking the driver’s performance and making recommendations to improve the vehicle’s efficiency. The product isn’t a theoretical prototype, though; it is already being used by twenty thousand fleet drivers across the United Kingdom.
The company’s workforce doubled recently, and they’re planning on moving into a larger Exeter facility later this year. They expect revenue to double in the next year.
An Overview of How Lightfoot Works
Lightfoot’s monitoring device plugs in to the engine via the on-board diagnostics (OBD) port. Lightfoot’s technology warns drivers when their driving habits go outside that “sweet spot” in real time by flashing red or amber lights and making a warning sound when it senses particularly aggressive driving. It provides performance information via their app.
Lightfoot incentivizes better driving habits by offering them a variety of discounts, deals, perks and giveaways through a rewards platform accessed through their app. Elite driver status lets you enter competitions for prizes, with eligibility based on one’s driving scores for that week. (A score of 85% or higher is Elite.) That is aside from the fuel savings and environmental benefits. The Government Centre of Connected and Automated Vehicles funded the rewards platform itself used by Lightfoot owners.
The Future Commercial Version
Lightfoot will also be using the loan to create and release a better version of the product, planned roll-out in the fall of 2018. This smarter device won’t just give feedback on driving habits but will carry tax records and estimates of the vehicle’s value, provide service alerts, and report potential problems with the vehicle and track mileage. We could even expect major parts suppliers like motor factors company Spartan carrying it as part of their selection.
The company hopes to come up with a version that can talk to drivers instead of flashing lights and buzzing. Insurance companies are already reporting that the technology is associated with a lower rate of accidents by users. Within fleets that tested the device, they saw accident rates and claims decline by as much as forty percent. That alone is a strong selling point for the company’s products.
Self-driving cars are still years away. However, connected-car technology enabling smarter cars that can help drivers drive better, safer and more efficiently is here. This could completely change how drivers approach the road and could also be used to incentivize sound driving practices.
