Øresund IT to launch Living Labs Øresund
A ‘living laboratory’ now sees the light of day in the Øresund Region. Swedish Vinnova, a state authority that aims to promote growth through innovation, has decided to co-finance the ‘Living Labs Øresund’ project. The project aims to create new mobile services, where innovation and development are based on users’ needs.
By close collaboration with users, researchers, scientists, developers, customers and suppliers, Living Labs Øresund , will focus on mobile services to solve public-private challenges based on a deep understanding of users’ needs. Starting is the project ‘mStudent’ where products sought by students will be developed, i. e. receiving a text message when a lecture has been cancelled or using a mobile for payments. More projects within healthcare, tourism and rescue services are to come.
The project is headed by Øresund IT, also participating are Sony-Ericsson, Telia Sonera, Avensia Innovation, Cybercom, Lunds University, Malmö University, Øresund University, Region Skåne, Ideon Center and the cities of Malmö and Lund. And contributing with its expertise from similar project is a network,
Living Labs Europe.
Living Labs Øresund is a two year venture. The project was selected among 25 competing projects and one of five to be awarded up to SEK 1.6 million by Vinnova. The total budget for Living Labs Øresund is about SEK 4 million.
“In the Øresund Region, world leading mobile technology is developed. Everyone has a mobile, but we still have few mobile services. We would like to communicate with our citizens in ways that are convenient for them. And it is simple and fast to get a text message via mobile”, says Ilmar Reepalu, Mayor in Malmö.”
“Anyone who has followed Sony-Ericsson’s evolvement will have noticed that we work closer to the users with undertakings in sound, image and design. And with Living Labs Øresund we will be able to come even closer to understanding our target group’s needs ”, says Mats Lindoff, CTO at Sony-Ericsson.
“Studies by Gartner Group have shown that nine of ten development projects fail because users have not been sufficiently involved in the development process. The need to become more customer focused has become an issue in all of Europe and Living Labs Øresund is one essential step in fulfilling that”, says Peter Höjerback, CEO at Øresund IT.
Vinnova is a state authority that aims to promote growth and prosperity throughout Sweden. Its particular area of responsibility is to contribute to financing innovations linked to research and development and has a budget of SEK 1.7 billion.