IoT Belfast 32: R&D in IoT

Join us for an evening of insights, innovation, and networking as IoTBelfast heads to the Invest NI Building for our May 2026 “R&D & IoT” meetup.

This month, we’ll explore the world of IoT research and development, focusing on how organisations are moving from early-stage innovation to real-world deployment. We’ll look at the challenges of scaling, the role of secure and resilient systems, and how emerging technologies are shaping industrial readiness across sectors like smart cities, transport, and connected infrastructure.

Whether you’re an engineer, technologist, data scientist, product leader, or simply interested in IoT, R&D, and emerging technologies, you’ll come away with practical insights and inspiration from local experts working on real-world applications.

About the Speakers & Topics

Barry McSorley | ANGOKA
Bio: Recently taken up the role of Director of Engineering at ANGOKA, based in the Titanic Quarter, after a career in telecommunications with Cable & Wireless and more recently Vodafone Business. Barry leads the hardware, software, and cloud teams at ANGOKA, building technology platforms for safer, more connected future transport systems and cities.

Title: Escaping Pilot Purgatory: Scaling IoT R&D for Industrial Readiness
Description: At ANGOKA, the mission is to secure the digital foundations of the modern world, embedding trust, resilience, and safety into the communication and data networks that underpin smart cities, autonomous systems, and future aviation. Based on experience across emerging technology projects, this talk explores how evolving customer needs move from prototype to production, with cost and time-to-market as constant considerations. We’ll discuss common barriers in R&D, practical solutions applied at ANGOKA, and a recent case study demonstrating how the R&D process is brought to life in a real-world scenario.

Nektarios Georgalas | BT Ireland Innovation Centre (BTIIC)
Bio: Nektarios Georgalas is an Innovation Principal (Data & AI) at BT and Industrial Principal Investigator at BT Ireland Innovation Centre (BTIIC - btiic.com), where he leads the translation of AI and IoT innovation into scalable, commercially viable capabilities. His focus is on embedding AI into live platforms, enabling operational impact, and exploring new value creation through innovation commercialisation across complex enterprise environments.

Title: Autonomous and Sustainable Internet of Moving Things: From Scale to Commercialisation
Description: This talk will explore the Internet of Moving Things, the new generation of IoT with autonomously moving sensory devices such as drones, robots, autonomous vehicles, with challenges and opportunities it presents, technically and commercially for industry 5.0 environments. Nektarios will present how AI-driven intent-based orchestration, assurance and sustainability optimisation can help Communication Service Providers turn moving IoT complexity into scalable, resilient and monetisable digital services.

Speaker 3: TBC
Details to be announced.

Agenda

6:30 PM - Informal networking & grab some food
7:00 PM - Welcome & introductions
7:15 PM - Talks begin
Nektarios Georgalas - Autonomous and Sustainable Internet of Moving Things: From Scale to Commercialisation
(15 mins + 5 mins Q&A)
Barry McSorley - Escaping Pilot Purgatory: Scaling IoT R&D for Industrial Readiness
(15 mins + 5 mins Q&A)
Speaker 3 - TBC
(15 mins + 5 mins Q&A)
8:15 PM - Networking & chats
8:30 PM - Event close (and maybe pints nearby 🍻)

Event Details

Venue: Invest NI Building, Bedford Square, 1 Bedford St, Belfast BT2 7ES
Date: Thursday, 28th May 2026
Time: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Host: Invest NI

Light bites and beverages will be provided

*Upon arrival, attendees should wait in the reception area of the building to be directed to the conference room where the event will take place.

This event is facilitated by Martin Naughton & Galvia Digital. If you have any questions about the event, or if you're interested in speaking or hosting a future meetup, please get in touch.

Want to host or speak at an upcoming IoTBelfast event? Register your interest today.