Accelerate@Serco

Serco is a leading provider of professional, technology, and management services.

Accelerate@Serco was set up in 2019 as a means to challenge the status quo, champion new ideas and find ways to disseminate innovation throughout the public sector.

The innovation programme aimed to identify market disruptors whose values align with Serco’s and whose products and services have the potential to create significant benefits for their customers and service users.

While the programme was designed to capture all types of innovation which could be applied to the Justice and Immigration sector, it focused on startups with solutions relating to four key categories:

• Welfare and Rehabilitation
• Behaviour Analytics
• IoT and Asset Management
• Creating a Dynamic Workforce

After scouting over 800 companies and receiving over 100 applications, Serco invited 11 teams to attend Pitch Day, 5 of which were selected to join the programme. Startup engagement levels were very high with many of the teams meeting and exceeding the OKRs that were set at the start of the programme. Demo Day represented the final day of the programme taking place on 11th November 2019.

Results

One of the three finalists (Rescape Innovation) will continue working with Serco on a contractual basis after the programme, while the other two (Creavision and Heptasense) will be introduced to other business units such as Defence where there is potential for ongoing engagement.

Rescape Innovation

Rescape has created a platform for delivering immersive therapies and solutions. Their first product, DR.VR, is a VR distraction therapy solution that supports pain management, relief of anxiety/stress and generally improves the patient experience in hospitals and hospices. Development is now underway on various verticals utilising the platform in care homes, the community and other environments where therapies, empathy and training can impact lives.

Rescape Innovation’s core objective for the programme was to develop a set of bespoke VR experiences which trainers in custodial environments can use for educational purposes.

Rescape has continued to strengthen their partnership with Serco developing VR training content. They have also created a multi-person training programme focused on empathy and lived experiences during a DNACPR (Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) notice. Additionally, they have designed training for midwives on a newborn baby test called SPENI.

Creavision

Creavision have developed a panoramic computer vision sensor for long-range passive face recognition and indoor localisation. This capability enables a range of autonomous security solutions for smart buildings, improving safety, productivity and efficiency.

Creavision set up a prototype PoC demonstration inside a prison’s administration building. The demonstration aimed to showcase that the Creavision sensor can be used to passively identify and locate individuals in real-time by using facial recognition technology which showed a 100% face recognition accuracy, an 88% recognition success rate and a 71% localisation accuracy.

Heptasense

Heptasense is a video analysis platform which adds intelligence to any surveillance camera. It allows cameras to recognise behaviours of people and vehicles and to provide alerts, reports and predictions, thus improving the security and management of the facilities. Heptasense is a SaaS platform, based on the Cloud, which can connect to any surveillance camera through an internet connection. The video analysis is done in real time.

During the programme, Heptasense aimed to showcase their software’s ability to accurately and automatically detect and count individuals in specific areas, enhancing the efficiency of manual headcounts in custodial environments. The software also aimed to identify gatherings in certain parts of a prison, trigger alerts when individuals enter restricted zones and detect attempts to throw objects over the prison perimeter.