The Imperial College Centre for Cryptocurrency Research & Engineering (IC3RE) has collaborated with blockchain investment group OutlierVentures.IO to undertake a 3-year R&D program focused on the convergence of industrial blockchain with other ‘deep tech’ technologies like IoT, machine learning and autonomous robotics.

First conceived in mid-2016, the program each year will focus on a single unifying theme, set by a joint committee of IC3RE and Outlier Ventures staff. According to the official release, the 2017-2018 program theme will be Industry 4.0, with key topics including securing industrial 3D printing for spare parts, IoT and automation of robotics.

The program will feature collaborations with a number of leading European manufacturers, IT and ERP providers. In particular, corporate partners from Outlier Ventures pioneering venture platform will be invited to collaborate with students through applied research to deliver solutions that meet their strategic business needs. The ones with most potential will be spun out into startups financed by Outlier and its partners.

“From day one we want to align all stakeholders needs; from students to the large corporations they want to work with, as well as us as investors to make sure startups can quickly establish product market fit, secure investment and win key partners and clients in order to rapidly scale into trading businesses’’, Jamie Burke CEO of Outlier Ventures said.

The program aims to help academia and corporations move rapidly from proof-of-concepts to scaling commercial businesses. It will work across all key academic cycles throughout the year with both undergraduate and postgraduate students working on briefs from Outlier Ventures and its partners, allowing them to access some of the brightest minds from both Imperial’s student body and IC3RE’s directors including Prof William Knottenbelt, Professor of Applied Quantitative Analysis in the Department of Computing; Dr Catherine Mulligan, Research Fellow in Imperial College Business School; and Dr Robert Learney, Dyson Fellow in the Department of Bioengineering.

The release further stated that innovations expected to emerge from the program include machine-to-machine payments, cryptographically unique and secure digital assets as well as legally enforceable smart contracts.

“We share Outlier Venture’s vision of the potential benefits of the convergence of blockchain technology with deep tech. We are looking forward to our joint exploration of this exciting space”, William Knottenbelt, Co-Director of IC3RE said.