Photonic sensor will be the eyes, ears and nose of driverless vehicles. The thousands of miles driven by demonstration vehicles show the AI algorithms are ready for the streets, major investment is going into battery and motor technology to make the next generation of vehicles clean. But driverless vehicles cannot leave the parking lot unless…
A record breaking Photonics West 2018 saw packed aisles and UK exhibitors thriving last week in San Francisco. Significant interest in sensing for autonomous vehicles combined with lasers for manufacturing and virtual reality solutions to drive increasing numbers to the show with most exhibitors reporting heavy traffic. The support of the Department of International Trade and…
2017 was a record breaking year for the global laser industry, growing by 26% to $4.3billion according to latest analysis by David Belforte at Industrial Laser solutions. Fibre lasers (up 34%) and diode lasers (up 56%) were reported to be the hottest growth areas. The increasing importance of high power fibre lasers in modern manufacturing…
The Defence and Security accelerator open call is once again open for new proposals. Two streams Emerging innovations to progress from TRL 2/3 to 3/4. £30-£90k, 3-9 months for defence applications more and longer for security. Rapid Impact Innovation expected to have impact in <3 years. Up to £250k with trial or pilot project…
The latest Emerging and Enabling Innovate competition is now open. Projects are invited from £35,000 to £2 million, lasting 3 months to 3 years. Total budget £19m shared with health and life-sciences. Projects should be in one of 4 priority areas: Emerging technologies, which have either recently developed or are starting to come out of…
Innovate_UK latest Emerging and Enabling competition will open on 22 January. Traditionally the home for many #photonics applications Emerging and Enabling will form strand 2 of a joint call with Health and Life Sciences (strand 1) sharing a budget of £19million. Application deadline is 28 March 2018. Projects must show significant innovation in one of…
New measures to be introduced in the UK include increased customs checks to ensure imported laser pointers meet laser emission safety standards- currently many of the lowest cost laser pointers available in online market places emit far more laser power than is necessary, or safe, for presentation applications and/or are incorrectly labelled as lower emitting…
The Grand Challenges for UK photonics to be addressed in 2018 are highlighted by PLG Chief Executive, John Lincoln in the 50th anniversary edition of Electro-Optics discussing current and future industry trends. It has been 350 years since Sir Issac Newton developed the reflecting telescope in the UK and our capacity for applying photonics innovation…
The KTN and PLG has worked with Department for International Trade to support UK companies going to Photonics West in 2018. The KTN have created a matchmaking tool specifically for the event which will allow UK companies to contact participating US companies, book meetings, make your outreach smoother and connect you with more buyers. It’s…
Finding the best new graduates that fit with your business is increasingly difficult. One of the best solutions is to take final year students on for short-term graduate placements.