Frontier IP Group (LON:FIPP) said one of its portfolio companies, Fieldwork Robotics, has received a £145,000 grant from the Sustainable Innovation Fund.
The grant, which has been supplemented by a further £30,000 from Fieldwork, will help the company accelerate the development of its current robot, helping to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company by allowing engineers to work remotely during lockdown periods.
Frontier IP, a specialist in commercialising intellectual property, holds a 26.7% in Fieldwork.
The move marks a deepening in Fieldwork's relationship with industry partner Bosch, which will be supporting the company on the development of a digital simulator of Fieldwork’s robotics technology.
The Sustainable Innovation Fund grant follows the award of an £84,000 Innovate UK continuity grant to support work through COVID-19 in September 2020. Fieldwork's costs, including those for raw materials, have risen during the pandemic, Frontier said.
"In these difficult times, we have seen the best of British business innovation. The pandemic is not just a health emergency but one that impacts society and the economy,” said Ian Campbell, the chair of Innovate UK.
"Fieldwork Robotics along with every initiative Innovate UK has supported through this fund is an important step forward in driving sustainable economic development. Each one is also helping to realise the ambitions of hard-working people,” he added.
Neil Crabb, Frontier’s chief executive officer, said Innovate UK has been a consistent supporter of Fieldwork Robotics and observed that Bosch's work on the simulator marks “a further step up in the relationship”.
