Engineering news
A small Cambridge software company has clinched the most prestigious national prize for engineering innovation.
RealVNC, which was set up by some of the inventors of remote computer access software and has gone on to work with global technology giants such as Google, Apple, Intel, Sony, Jaguar Land Rover, was revealed as the winner of the MacRobert Award at a royal ceremony in London last night.
Ian Shott, one of the MacRobert Award judges, said he believed that the company could become a billion dollar business within the next five years.
RealVNC's software is being used to improve consumer products and develop gadgets of the future. Its technology is now used on over a billion devices worldwide, and VNC protocols have even become an official part of the internet. Its technology gives computer, smartphone, and other device users the power to ‘take over’ another device remotely from anywhere in the world. This means IT workers can solve problems on people’s computers or smartphones without having to leave their own desk, for example.
The ceremony, where RealVNC was presented with the MacRobert Award gold medal and £50,000 cash prize from the Royal Academy of Engineering, took place in one of the world’s most iconic buildings representing great British engineering, Battersea Power Station. The judging panel said the company was selected for the award in recognition of its outstanding innovation, commercial success and contribution to society. Pipped to the post were two finalists, Concrete Canvas and Oxford Instruments.
Unlike competitors, RealVNC’s technology uses algorithms to send data only about the parts of a screen that are changing, rather than all of it, which minimises the amount of data sent and ensures that sharp images are sent quickly. This streamlined approach means the technology can be embedded in all kinds of third-party products and licensed out for new services.
It is now being recognised as a way of harnessing the power of smartphones and computers in an array of other products, including TV set top boxes and even household objects like fans and lamps.
RealVNC is working with Google to provide remote access capabilities for its Chrome products, and a partnership with Jaguar Land Rover is also bringing all the benefits of our smartphones into car infotainment systems. This will be inside new Jaguars and Land Rovers rolling off the production line this year.
RealVNC is also being built directly into millions of Intel chips so laptop users don't even have to download the software, and computers can be controlled remotely even if they are faulty and unresponsive or hibernating. Most distributions of Linux contain VNC technology, while Apple incorporates the software in its Remote Desktop Tool.
John Robinson FREng, chair of the MacRobert Award judging panel, said: “RealVNC was selected for the MacRobert award because of the engineering excellence and tenacious entrepreneurship required for them to have opened the door to countless new markets for new product and services. For a relatively small UK company with no external investors to have grown to work with the world’s biggest technology companies is truly inspiring.”
Ian Shott, who was on the judging pane, said: “The sophistication of engineering behind RealVNC’s technology has given them a game-changing proposition. The company is now on the cusp of fully exploiting this, and I fully believe they could be a billion dollar business with the next five years. RealVNC is an asset to the UK’s exceptional crop of innovative businesses, and the company’s ability to take this innovation and compete on a global scale really sets it apart.”
Visit www.raeng.org.uk/prizes/macrobert to find out more about the award.