NEWS28 July 2022
Boom-Time (a member of the Research Park’s Incubation Hub, powered by SETsquared Surrey) have recently won an Innovate UK grant which they will use to develop a new mountain bike computer. This innovative computer will measure ‘height of jump’ as well as more traditional metrics and will integrate into a live streaming competition timing system with the aim of launching across other adventure sports such as Kite Surfing. To ensure success, David Bacon of Boom-Time collaborated with Aaron Mason of GrantUp, a specialised team of grant funding experts and a previous SETsquared member.
Boom-Time is a stage one business seeking seed-funding to take their already validated proof of concept, built by Bristol University and validated by the National Physics Laboratory, and build a first prototype Mountain Bike Computer. The concept was born from Kite Surfing where an existing product was frustratingly poor but had clear potential. As Boom-Time developed this concept it was clear that there was scope to access a wide array of ‘gravity influenced sports’ where jumping plays a role. Driven by the potential market scale, Boom-Time have selected Mountain Biking as the start point.
David Bacon comments,
“With so many of my Kite Surfing peers complaining about poor data, I thought it worth exploring if I could do something better. After a couple of years of testing sensors we have found a viable solution which positions us to bring exciting and disruptive technology to market, starting with mountain biking but with the desire to reach more ‘gravity influenced’ sports. The Innovate Grant award is another validation of our concept and we look forward to working with our partners and investors to bring this British innovation to market.”
Boom-Time’s new computer will provide data on jumping which is not currently available, and includes other standard metrics such as speed and distance. With no matching technology in this space, Boom-Time have identified an unmet need, enabling amateur riders to measure, view and compare their activity with friends. On the racing side there are plenty of computer tools focused on physical optimisation. Boom-Time plan to match these solutions, however in racing, ‘airtime’ is often slow time and Boom-Time will be first to market, providing a solution to allow racers to better understand this part of their riding.
Boom-Time are also planning to integrate the bike computer into a new ‘live stream’ competition timing system. Unlike all other existing mountain bike competition systems, race teams, audiences and broadcasters will be able to see live streamed data of a racer’s performance including jump height. This will be game changing, especially in the big freestyle events such as Red Bull Rampage.
David is now looking to match-fund the grant and is keen to collaborate further with SETsquared Surrey mentors and angel investors who are looking to invest and take advantage of the tax breaks associated with the Seed Enterprise Investment scheme (SEIS/EIS).
David comments,
“The aims for Boom-Time over the next year are very simple: Immediately secure private funding to allow access to the Innovate grant, build, and validate a prototype computer, and prepare for the next round of fundraising including further grant applications – we are hugely excited to bring this innovative technology to market as fast as possible and realise the rewards for our partners and investors.“