Scaling Innovation

What the project is about?

Scaling Innovation is a programme that will provide funding to industry partners for a suite of individual projects to test and develop improvements to transport for disabled people.

a residential street with trees, parked cars, a green sign showing the road is open to bicyclyes, wheelchair users, skaters and pedestrians. Two yellow lines painted on the street. One large wooden plant box placed on either side of the road opening.

What it seeks to do?

This programme of projects will test and provide evidence of the Centre’s process to deliver applied research and product development.

It will offer the opportunity for disabled people to be at the heart of defining and designing research and product development initiatives that address their specific transport needs.

How it seeks to do it?

The ncat Scaling Innovation Programme offers any organisation, individual, or entrepreneur the chance to tackle evidence-based challenges identified through ncat’s research, as well as an open call for those working on accessibility innovations in the transport sector. There programme will deliver a series of funding calls throught the next few years. In the first call up to 15 participants will be selected, with funding of up to £150,000 available per applicant. The focus and challenges for future calls will build on findings from the first set of projects, and further ncat research outcomes.

What we’ve done so far?

We held an Accessible Transport Summit in September 2024 which looked at bringing together all of the research findings of ncat’s own initial projects, to understand what the key challenges are that disabled people face that could be then be focus of our first funding commission.

On October 24, we launched the first funding programme, and provided a webinar video on YouTube which gave guidance for any prospective applicants. Applications closed in December 2024 and the first projects were awarded in March 2025.

Projects responded to one of two challenges, or the ‘open call’:

  • Physical Barriers in the Street: Developing solutions to overcome obstacles that disabled people encounter in the street environment.
  • Interactions with Other People: Improving interactions between transport staff, the public, and disabled people.
  • Open Call: Inviting ideas that enhance transport accessibility for disabled people beyond the specified challenges.

The first set of projects

Projects were selected based on their potential to address these challenges and their scalability, with an emphasis on making a significant impact and extending beyond the initial scope. Additionally, projects that demonstrated meaningful involvement with disabled people and a deep understanding of end-user needs were prioritised.

Types of Supported Projects:

  • Proof of Concept
  • Pre-Demonstrator
  • Trial Projects

This approach enables ncat to support new products at all stages of the product development lifecycle, identifying and removing barriers to the adoption of new technologies and delivering new products directly to users.

The programme is delivered by ncat consortium partner Connected Places Catapult, ensuring that our programme participants receive tailored business and growth support, peer-to-peer learning, networking, and showcase opportunities.

Selected Projects are:

  • BRISTOL BRAILLE TECHNOLOGY CIC: Bristol Braille Technology is developing tactile maps of British public transport using uniquely British-made Canute Console Braille displays, enabling blind people to better navigate and understand the transport network.
  • BRUNEL UNIVERSITY LONDON: Brunel University London has developed a proof-of-concept intelligent vehicle that integrates head movement control, eye tracking, Bluetooth connectivity, and ultrasonic obstacle avoidance to enhance accessibility, autonomy, and safety for users with mobility impairments—paving the way for future smart wheelchair applications.
  • LIVING OPTIONS DEVON: Living Options is developing an accredited Disability Awareness Training module for bus drivers to improve interactions with disabled passengers.
  • OSTRUM TECH LIMITED: Ostrum Tech Limited’s trial aims to help airports and airlines better understand the challenges faced by disabled people, enhance their confidence in disability awareness, and improve support for disabled travellers.
  • OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY: The School of Engineering at Oxford Brookes University is developing an economical and lightweight power add-on device for manual wheelchairs. It is compact and modular, enabling use in constrained spaces and eliminating range anxiety, empowering users and giving them autonomy
  • PODARIS LIMITED: Podaris is developing A+PTAL (Accessible Public Transport Access Level), an advanced accessibility metric that helps transport planners and authorities better understand, measure, and improve network accessibility for disabled people through detailed scoring instead of binary assessments.
  • REACT ACCESSIBILITY LIMITED: React Accessibility is developing an ‘at-the-bus-stop’ bus request feature, enabling blind and visually impaired passengers to automatically request their bus to stop, making boarding and onward travel easier.
  • SUPERSMITH LIMITED: Supersmith has developed the 3Scooter to address challenges faced by disabled people in accessing shared micromobility schemes, including issues with incompatible street environments and vehicles. Its design aims to increase accessibility for a wider range of users.
  • THE DISABILITY POLICY CENTRE LIMITED: The Disability Policy Centre has created a Street Transformation Execution Plan to address barriers to street access for disabled people. Their research will define these barriers to develop a national policy blueprint for accessible streets.
  • TRANSPORT FOR ALL: Using insights from disabled research participants, Transport for All and Ross Atkin Associates are developing a nationally applicable digital tool that helps design accessible streets by identifying the impact of street features on the diverse needs of disabled people.
  • VIRTUAL TOUR EXPERTS: Virtual Tour Experts is developing an interactive virtual tour platform, supported by British Sign Language, to help deaf and disabled people confidently navigate Exmouth’s transport hubs and public spaces. The platform offers accessible pre-journey planning and intuitive wayfinding tools.
  • XRAI LIMITED: XRAI has developed an AI speech app that transcribes and translates in 140 languages. The new ‘XRAI Rugged’ appliance will help passengers access announcements and staff communications in their preferred language, improving accessibility for all.

As individual projects commence we will be sharing more detailed projects plans and updates on these project pages.