Five of the biggest tech stories across the South East in August

OXSIGHT, Occuity, imageHOLDERS, Ascenti, and Slough Town FC are the entities to look at this month when it comes to technology. The sector in the South East continues to build on a strong start to 2021 and the efforts to rally following the easing of the pandemic and its restrictions.

August saw new product launches, awards, and fundraising from companies across the region.

Here are the technology stories you need to be across this month:

OXSIGHT launches smart glasses for visually impaired

Oxford start-up OXSIGHT is launching its latest smart glasses for the visually impaired.

The smart glasses, called OXSIGHT Onyx, could help up to 80% of the two million people in the UK who have central vision loss.

Previous trials of the smart glasses have found that 86% said reading ability significantly improved, 78% could identify objects and details in an image much more easily and 77% could recognise faces and facial expressions better.

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Occuity raises £1.8m in crowdfunding campaign

Reading-based MedTech start-up Occuity has successfully raised more than £1.8 million in a crowdfunding campaign.

The company – which had previously developed and patented contactless optical technology to obtain precise measurements from the eyes – ran their funding campaign through Seedrs asking investors to help “develop revolutionary non-invasive diabetes screening and monitoring devices”.

The campaign has now achieved its funding goal, with more than 270 investors pledging the full amount.

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imageHOLDERS launches touchless self-service kiosk

Dorset-based company imageHOLDERs (https://www.imageholders.com/) is launching its first gesture-controlled, touchless kiosk.

The newly launched touchless self-service kiosk is powered by a hand tracking camera, and users can type, select, scroll and navigate a kiosk display using mid-air gestures and without having to touch the screen.

CEO Adrian Thompson said: "Our mission for this touchless kiosk was to instil confidence in the general publication and in turn galvanise multiple industries to be able to get back to full strength in a post-Covid world."

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Ascenti wins digital experience award

Physiotherapy provider Ascenti picked up a bronze award at the International Digital Experience Awards 2021 in the ‘Best Digital Response to the Crisis – Large Company’ category.

The Fareham-based company was honoured following their speedy transition from in-clinic to online appointments and the operational challenges posed by the closure of its clinics and offices during the pandemic.

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Slough Town F.C. signs cryptocurrency sponsorship deal 

National League South team Slough Town F.C. has signed a sponsorship partnership with Koda Cryptocurrency.

The agreement will see the Koda logo displayed on the front of the club shirt, as well as a unique QR Code on the arm – for the next two seasons.

James Gale, CEO of SummitBC and Koda Cryptocurrency, said: "I am extremely excited about this new partnership, not only because Slough Town is a local football team who I have followed for many years but also because it represents a huge milestone in the Koda journey, which is still only three months old.”

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