Investment in Florianopolis sees city become a 'technological powerhouse'
Date added: 6th October, 2009 at 09:24
(view all articles from October, 2009)
Categories: Economy, Florianopolis
State investment in Brazil's scientific industries is ten times higher than levels seen in other South American countries, an expert has said.
A report from the BBC's flagship technology show Click looked at recent innovations and investment in Florianopolis, a southern Brazilian city looking to become the region's technological powerhouse.
Jose Eduardo A Fiates, the executive director of Sapiens Parque, a $1.3 billion (£819 million) science park investment in Florianopolis, described the money being poured into the city and the rest of the country.
Mr Fiates said: "When we talk about the amount of money that Brazil is investing in science, technology and innovation… compared to the other countries in South America, we are talking about ten times more."
The region of Santa Catarina, of which Florianopolis is the capital city, used to be famous for its picture postcard looks and popularity with sun seeking tourists.
But investment has been flooding into Florianopolis of late, with the recent announcement of a $1 billion shipyard to service the Latin American country's flourishing oil industry.
All this government and private spending on science and technology has seen the southern city produce a number of innovative products aimed at tackling very Brazilian problems.
One such problem has been that of drink driving: engineers at Sapiens Parque have produced the Bafometro, a device fitted to cars which prevents them from starting unless the driver can pass a breathalyser test.
Fitted with a camera, it alerts the police if the driver is unfit for the road.
It means that not only can the police catch over-the-limit drivers before they have ever hit the road, but thanks to the camera it also removes any doubt that the person tested was the one behind the wheel.
Another innovation released to the whole of Brazil by inventors in Florianopolis is an electronic voting machine designed to prevent electoral fraud, protecting against a return to the country's more corrupt political days.
It was rolled out to the whole country in 2000 and after being used in the Bush versus Gore US election debacle, it was the piece of technology that arguably first alerted investor attention to the city.
Experts believe that having secured investment in Florianopolis, the city now needs to look further afield if it is to succeed in becoming a major world player.
"The companies of Florianopolis need to begin to think globally," said technology journalist Rodrigo Lossio.
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