A record of Virtual Workgroups' completed R&D projects ā from award-winning electronics innovations to regional technology infrastructure. These projects collectively secured over £1.4M in funding and resulted in multiple patents assigned to major international companies. Click any document link to preview it inline, or open in a new tab.
ChipRack ā 3D Interconnection System
Development and patenting of a three-dimensional interconnection system for electronic components ā one of the most significant projects in the company's history, attracting major industrial investment and winning multiple prestigious awards.
- Funded by Dowty, Harwin, SMART (DTI) and 3i Group
- Winner: SMART Award (DTI Small Firms Merit Award for Research & Technology)
- Winner: Internepcon Award
- Winner: ECN (Electronic Components News) Innovative Engineering Award
- Winner: EDN Readers' Hot 100 Products of the Year
- Winner: Electronics Weekly Most Innovative Electromechanical Product
- Patents granted in UK, USA, Japan and Europe
- Patent assigned to Dowty, Harwin, McMurdo and Lodgenet Entertainment Inc (USA)
- £250,000 invested by Dowty alone
Awards & Recognition
Press Coverage & Articles
Funding & Investment
Patent Assignments
Technical Documents
DIL Power Back Up ā Dual In Line Power Unit
Development and patenting of a Dual In Line (DIL) power back-up unit for microelectronics applications. The unit provided battery backup in the DIL package form factor, compatible with standard IC sockets.
- Patent initially assigned to Racal Microelectronics
- Patent subsequently assigned to Dallas Semiconductor Inc (USA)
- Featured in the BBC Horizon programme
- Smartsocket patents granted in UK and USA
Patents & Assignments
Press & Documentation
Automated Display System (ADS)
Development of an automated information display system for hospitality environments. The system was adopted commercially by GEC Reliance for hotel information displays.
- Adopted by GEC Reliance as the GEC Reliance Hotel Information System
- Deployed in hotels across the UK
- Featured on BBC Horizon programme
Product & Press Documents
Innovation Centre
A major regional development initiative to establish and operate an innovation centre supporting technology businesses in the Eastern region.
- £372,000 awarded for Innovation Centre establishment
- All available space let ā targets of £300,000 met and exceeded
- £110,000 awarded for DEVICES work innovation project
- £200,000 awarded for DEVICES Building on the Best programme
- £180,000 awarded for CLIP project
- £43,000 awarded for CLIP expansion
Funding & Awards
DEVICES Programme
CLIP Project
Visits & Events
Team & Clients
ERTC ā Eastern Region Technology Centre
Establishment of the Eastern Region Technology Centre, providing support infrastructure for technology businesses across the Eastern region of England.
- Bedfordshire Branch established
- Small Firm Help Service established
- Technical Action Line established
Other Projects & GutterGrow
Additional completed and historical projects include:
- Software Training Centre in Poland ā establishment and operation
- Intellicam Project (Hughes Microelectronics) ā camera intelligence systems
- LADMAN ā Local Area Network development
- GutterGrow ā vertical growing system (see current project page for ongoing development)