September 2008 Archives
By Matthew Hidderley and Eve Gaut, Aston Science Park
Eve at LEDs 2008 - made it to San Diego!
Hearing the alarm clock ringing at 4am? Setting the alarms off at Aston Science Park en-route to the airport? Flying to New York only to wait around for 8 hours for a connecting flight? Sitting on a cramped internal US flight with no edible food? A total travel time of 26 hours from home to San Diego - and what for? All in aid of visiting LEDs 2008, which promises to offer a comprehensive overview of the LEDs market.
We lost track of the number of times we asked ourselves "is it really going to be worth it" during our grueling journey over here. But we can safely say after our first full day here in San Diego - yes it certainly is!
We kicked off the day with a visit to the world-renowned San Diego zoo whilst waiting for the conference to begin. We got to see plenty of rare and endangered species, including polar bears and giant pandas. We certainly recommend it if you are ever in the area with a few hours to spare.
Giant pandas at San Diego zoo
After visiting the zoo, we made our way back to base at the Sheraton Hotel on the marina, which is also the venue for LEDs 2008. An excellent cheese and wine reception gave us the perfect opportunity to meet up with old friends, such as Chris Jolly from Diodes Incorporated, formerly Zetex Semiconductors, and also network with many others.
We are now looking forward to a very busy and exciting day tomorrow as the fun really begins at LEDs 2008. We will be joining the breakfast sponsored by Dow Corning at 7am, followed by the welcome from the Advisory Committee. As for the rest of the day - you will just have to wait until tomorrow's blog to find out.
Matthew Hidderley (left) and Eve Gaut will be blogging from LEDs 2008 in San Diego
San Diego, US, will be the temporary home of many major players in the solid-state lighting industry this week as two conferences and exhibitions roll into town.
For Matthew Hidderley and Eve Gaut of Aston Science Park's marketing and communications team, it's the perfect opportunity to gauge the market and see how UK businesses can exploit any emerging trends and commercial opportunities.
First, over 500 delegates and 80 exhibitors are expected at LEDs 2008 which is billed as the "world's most compelling business meeting and exhibition dedicated exclusively to the high-brightness LED industry". The event runs from September 29 through to October 1 and will bring together players at every level in the food chain to discuss technology developments and emerging revenue streams.
Hot on the heels of this event comes LEDs Measurement and Standards 2008, which will deal with controversial questions such as a common way of measuring quantities such as lifetime and efficiency. No doubt there will be a lot of discussion on October 2 and October 3 as to the best way forward for the industry. Everyone knows that standards are essential to promote wider adoption of LEDs, but finding the common ground isn't easy.
Matthew and Eve will be attending both of these events and sharing their findings on the optics.org blog. It will be a busy and fascinating week but the long-haul flight from the UK will be worth it to hear about new markets, short and long-term opportunities and technical breakthroughs.
By Jacqueline Hewett
Kodak's wireless OLED picture frame
Photokina, billed as the world's largest photo and imaging trade fair, rolled into Cologne, Germany, this week bringing with it a barrage of press releases detailing new innovations.
For me, one of the highlights was Kodak's new wireless picture frame which uses organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology. OLEDs are just beginning to break into the mainstream (one of the biggest announcements to date is Sony's XEL-1 OLED TV) so Kodak's news is another positive step along the path to making OLEDs not only commercially available but also commercially viable.
The frame has a 7.6-inch diagonal panel which does not require a backlight, making it exceptionally thin. Kodak also says that the product has a 180 degree viewing angle and an ambient light sensor that adjusts the brightness based on the surrounding light. Other specifications include a contrast white-to-black ratio in excess of 30,000:1, an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a resolution of 800 x 480.
The built-in wireless technology means that the frame can access videos and music stored on a home computer. Kodak even goes as far as saying that the wireless feature "enables connectivity to online photo and video sharing sites and Internet content portals for news, weather, sports and more. In addition to spectacular image quality, the new frame's Wi-Fi connectivity delivers a richer experience to the consumer, enabling them to connect to their favourite social sites and view their personalized content online."
The Kodak OLED Wireless Frame will retail for US $999 (MSRP) and will be available at kodak.com from November 2008, with additional online and retail distribution to be announced later in the year.
By Jacqueline Hewett
Zeiss laser rangefinder binoculars
When I was searching for news this week, I stumbled across a new product release that caught my attention: Zeiss has just launched a set of binoculars that features an integrated laser rangefinder. With Europe's defeat in golf's Ryder Cup still receiving media attention here in the UK, I wondered if this product could be an extravagant way for golfers to find out the distance they have to go to the pin.
A quick look at the specifications however and it is quite clear these binoculars are not for golfers. They are in fact for hunters. Here's a quote from the Zeiss website:
"The Victory 8x26 T* PRF is the world's first premium monocular with digital laser rangefinder, LED display and integrated Ballistic Information System (BIS). This monocular is ideal for hunters who demand optical excellence, precise rangefinding and accurate holdover information from a single, compact unit."
The binoculars come equipped with a 904 nm laser and can measure distances between 10 and 1200 m with an accuracy of 1 m to 600 m and 0.5% beyond 600 m. All it takes is a single press of the "rangefinding" button on the binoculars and they will calculate the distance to the target in around 1 second.
And as for the BIS, this bit of technology helps the hunter visualise their bullet's trajectory and will give guidance such as "aim 30 cm higher". But as the disclaimer on Zeiss's website says: "the BIS merely helps to support and increase reliability and does not replace your own assessment and experience as a hunter. We would recommend you to make some trial shots."
With all that information on hand, I wonder if we will one day see a golf version of these binoculars that say "you have this number of yards to go to the flag, use this club". Surely that takes the fun away from the game though?
By Tim Hayes
The Toshiba Fellowship Programme aims to strengthen UK-Japanese understanding through R&D activities in an industrial context. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, it was the first scheme of its kind to be run by a private company, and several Toshiba Fellows have gone on to become professors and leaders of research groups.
The Programme is open to PhD-level researchers of EU nationality, currently studying or working in a UK academic institution.
The successful candidate will take part in leading-edge research activities in one of Toshiba's R&D centres in Japan. They will gain up to two years' experience, and will be able to develop their chosen specialist research area whilst receiving relocation assistance and other benefits.
This year the Programme focuses on fifteen research topics of interest to Toshiba in materials, software and media technologies. One of them is the development of organic functional materials for future displays.
Alternatively, applicants can suggest their own topics, demonstrating their knowledge and commitment to R&D.
The closing date for applications in 12th December 2008.
If you want to find out more, visit the Toshiba Fellowship Programme web site.
Good luck!
By Hamish Johnston, editor of physicsworld.com
Exactly one month ago on 16 August Usain Bolt sprinted to gold in the 100 m dash at the Beijing Olympics, setting a new world record of 9.69 s. But could he have gone faster?
Many people think so because after the first 80 m of the race, when it was clear that he would win, the Jamaican appeared to stop trying and begun celebrating.
Now, four physicists in Norway have analysed video of the race and concluded that he could have covered the 100 m in as little as 9.55 s (plus or minus 0.04 s) if he had maintained his pre-celebration acceleration.
In a second calculation, the physicists argue that if Bolt had started to flag in the final 20 m, but still matched the acceleration of runner-up Richard Thompson, Bolt still would have finished in 9.61 s (plus or minus 0.04 s).
Cynics have suggested that Bolt held back so he would have a better chance at cracking the world record again, but the world's fastest man remains silent on exactly why he appears to have stopped trying.
By Richard Farmer, Product Development Manager ATG Airports
Now that I am back in the UK following the Photonics KTN mission to China, I have had a chance to reflect on my various visits to LED companies in the Shenzhen region.
Everywhere the mission visited we were treated with enthusiasm and openness and we felt that we were witnessing a fast moving and vibrant manufacturing community.
However, what was also clear was that the initial impressions perhaps gained from the exhibition, literature and the one-to-one interviews did not always match the experience from the site visits.
At the exhibition, some of the LED companies gave a good impression from their literature, products on display and also in the one-to-one interviews and when the relationships were explored further with a site visit, in the majority of instances, we were often pleased to find well organised and progressive companies. However on the odd occasion, some of the organisations we visited did not always match our expectations completely. Some companies where in a state of re-organisation and for these, a future visit would have been important to gain a true in-sight into their capabilities.
In gathering information about organisations, it was clear that at least one site visit would be essential to determine the suitability of a potential future relationship. Therefore to make a success of 'doing business' in these territories you will always need commitment, a vigilance and a dedication of resource.
My experience of the exhibition combined with site visits presented opposing views, a committed commercial relationship may present even further challenges.
I think that all those on the mission would agree that we expected something, but not what we saw. I look forward to returning to the area in the near future and seeing the result of their growth.
My experience of Shenzhen will always stay with me and would like to thank Alistair Wilson, Glenn Barrowman, Photonics KTN, Vince Chinye UK Trade & Investment and all those supporting our Chinese adventure.
Contact: Tel: +44 (0) 1788 566 203
Email: Richard.farmer@atgairports.com
By Richard Farmer, Product Development Manager ATG Airports
Richard Farmer of ATG Airports in a one to one meeting with John D'albragio of McGeoch Technology and LED manufacturers
During the CIOE exhibition, I had several one-to-discussions, which progressed to site visits.
The first of these visits was to a young company situated on the outskirts of Shenzhen, which occupied a complete building with four separate floors in a dedicated, industrial complex. The company had the advantage that in addition to producing discrete LEDs, it was also integrating them into finished products, mainly for traffic signal and lighting applications.
The visit started with a demonstration of the two types of luminaires used for internal illumination of a 10 x 15 m room. The General Manager demonstrated that these products could produce either cool or warm white.
In the next room, the group was shown a comprehensive array of traffic-type products from conventional traffic control signals to a pedestrian indicator, which consisted of a mass of LEDs that were programmed to give the effect of an 'running man'.
The General Manager explained that all of the products had been designed and developed in-house and were produced on the other floors of the building. The activities included individual manufacture of electronic modules and discrete LEDs that were then soldered by hand on the lower floors and subjected to life testing after final assembly. Finally, the LED packaging unit complete with clean room equipment was demonstrated.
All the LEDs and secondary optics had been designed and manufactured in-house. The manufacturing operation could produce up to 7000 units a day with a workforce capacity of 100 workers. The company seemed organized, though with little automation clearly relied on its workforce for most activities.
Richard Farmer of ATG Airports in the reception of Bang Bell
My next visit was to the "Research and Development" sector of Shenzhen. I was very excited about meeting this company and was looking forward to viewing a potential market leader of the future.
The recently constructed facility had an impressive foyer and polished product demonstration gallery. The area was surrounded by high-rise buildings, luxury cars and smart cafes - it could have Boston or Silicon Valley!
This company had a heritage that dated back 50 years and had an array of lighting, industrial and electronic entertainment goods. Their Managing Director was also a "party" member, whom they felt gave them considerable advantage in their home market.
Our discussions focused on their sales targets, soft loans, key blue-chip customers in the West, increased capitalization and their favourable company structure. However, the company's manufacturing unit had been damaged by the recent earthquake and it was in the process of relocating the unit to the new premises in Shenzhen.
Product development however had a more pioneering spirit with two rooms dedicated to the construction of prototypes and another to works-type R&D for the development of chips.
The rest of the floor which the LED department occupied was in limbo. Desks were being constructed and the Marketing Director explained that they were waiting for funds to be released to complete the work.
The company was in a state of flux and subjecting itself to ambitious targets for the future. We left hoping that it would overcome its current difficulties and meet its ambitious objectives for the future.
I had lost several hours in my schedule but after some phone calls and the now familiar battle with the rush hour traffic, I arrived at a medium-sized multi-floor manufacturing unit in a more robust area of Shenzhen just outside the Economic Zone check points.
Although most of the staff had left for the evening some had stayed behind for our tour. I was treated to a comprehensive demonstration of an organized and clean unit that had fully embraced modern quality control issues and contemporary manufacturing disciplines.
I was shown every process from the careful handling of raw materials to the final photometric inspection and sorting of the final products. All processes were completed in a clean environment with machines purchased from Japan and Taiwan.
Although the product scope of supply was perhaps narrower than the other companies we had seen, they had decided to concentrate and excel in one particular area rather than dilute their efforts across many different activities. In conclusion, I was impressed with the scope and expertise that I had seen.
Contact: Tel: +44 (0) 1788 566 203
Email: Richard.farmer@atgairports.com
By Jacqueline Hewett
Frank De Winne on board the ISS doing acrobatics in space during the Odissea mission. Credit: ESA
For many of us, venturing into space is simply a dream that will go unfulfilled. So how about this as the next best thing? The European Space Agency (ESA) has today announced a competition to name its next long-term mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
In May 2009, ESA astronaut Frank De Winne will fly to the ISS for a six month mission. But that mission doesn't have a name, yet. If your entry is selected, it will become the official European name of the mission and you will receive a framed version of the mission logo signed by European astronauts.
If you're now screaming "I know, I know" at your monitor, here are the all important rules and regulations (which do complicate things a bit).
ESA says that the name has to reflect the following things:
Europe is exploring space
Humans are explorers by nature. Europe has a legacy in exploring Earth and will live up to the expectations in exploring Space.
Europe has its own Columbus laboratory permanently in Space
Europe uses its Columbus laboratory on the ISS for science, technology and education for the benefit of life on Earth.
From space our planet looks blue because of the water
Water is the basis of life. Clean water is the basis for healthy life of all humans on Earth.
To enter, you need to write a proposal containing your suggestion and explaining its relevance. This has to be submitted by e-mail to mission.name@esa.int by 15 October 2008. The competition is only open to citizens of the ESA Member States. You can find the full terms and conditions of the competition on ESA's website.
By Jacqueline Hewett
Day 1 at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) created nothing less than a media frenzy here in the UK. In fact, I think the last event to rival the coverage was the turn of the century and the Y2K problem where reports suggested that all our computers were going to go into total meltdown.
Thankfully, there was barely a glitch in 2000 and here in the UK at least we haven't been sucked into a much publicised black hole. Tomorrow we'll be back on track with optics news, but for today, if you would like to catch up with all the events at the LHC, our colleagues on our sister website physicsworld.com can bring you up to speed.
Physicsworld.com reporter Jon Cartwright was at the LHC for yesterday's historic switch-on. Here is an extract from his coverage:
Tonight the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) operations team can go home happy in the knowledge that they completed both their "principal" and "personal" goals. The principal goal - the one for the benefit of the world's media - was completed at 10:24 am CET (9:24 am BST) by sending a proton beam clockwise all the way around the LHC's 27 km-long ring. But later today, at 3:02 pm CET, the team's secret hope came true as it successfully repeated the exercise for the anticlockwise direction.
The time taken to complete both these feats - just under an hour for the first, and precisely an hour for the second - has come to be known as the two "golden hours".
In an interview with physicsworld.com after the day's events, Robert Aymar, director general of CERN, the European lab hosting the LHC, maintained he was confident all along that the team would achieve beam circulations in both directions. "We were prepared, and anything could happen," he said. "But there was always a risk."
"It is proof that we are now ready for new physics," he added.
You can read more of Jon's coverage by following these links:
Home run complete, LHC set to repeat it backwards
By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park
Glenn Barrowman and Richard Farmer of ATG Airports at Bang Bell
On the morning of our final day in Shenzhen the mission group headed off to see the LED manufacturing facility of Shenzhen Bang Bell Electronics Co Ltd. Here we were given a tour of the showcase demonstration area mocked up as a street to display the highway luminaries and peripheral signage.
We were then invited to full inspect the final products, and see the production and electronic packaging areas.
Finally, we went to the office of Mr Li Jian, Vice General Manager to explore whether there were areas for collaboration between McGeoch Technology, ATG Airports, the Photonics KTN, euroLED Conference and Exhibition and the Carbon Trust.
John D'albragio of McGeoch Technology making a close inspection
The Carbon Trust was delighted to be able to piggy-back on this visit as it is in China to source major LED manufacturers for specifying to UK industry and to secure the adoption of LED and other green technology solutions. It will be interesting to see whether Bang Bell will form part of its recommendations.
The production process at Bang Bell is labour intensive with over 1000 employees operating from this facility on full production. It was interesting to see an almost segregation of employees by sex with the intricate circuit board forming being done almost exclusively by the female staff.
The factory temperature became hotter with each floor. The reception was fully air-conditioned and, whilst the principal production areas were not oppressive, they serviced by fan only.
The products produced were certainly of interest and detailed confidential discussions on supplying lighting units continued with two of the mission companies. Shenzhen Bang Bell Electronics Co Ltd will explore attending and exhibiting in Europe at euroLED 2009 on June 2-4 in addition to Light and Build in Frankfurt, Germany.
The female workforce at Bang Bell
So off to Beijing for one last night and then a leisurely departure for the airport. Its been interesting to see that the costs of everything have been increasing as we progress from Chongqing to Shenzhen and then finally to Beijing, each a magnitude higher. But tonight we probably had our finest meal out - no external clients - and as we had eaten wonderfully, we were able to chose only our favourites and this came to just over £10 a head.
Several of the group will be back in Beijing for the aerospace B2B event 26-28 November. Until then, my mind is starting to think about the UK and I suppose Photonex 08 will be upon us all to soon.
This year I know that Photonics Cluster is hosting a community breakfast on the first morning before the exhibition and is delivering a Technology and Investment seminar programme. Have a look at www.photonex.org for precise info.
Until next time.
By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park
Today Alistair Wilson, the Director of the UK Photonics KTN, attended the CEO Summit and we are delighted to bring you a few insights from the seminar. Fortunately this activity was in simultaneous translation.
Alistair thought that the importance of Asia-Pacific in the global optoelectronics market was emphasised at the CEO summit by a presentation from US company Finisar, one of the leading data networking equipment companies in the world with its headquarters in Northern California.
Mission party with translators on the way to one-to-one meetings at CIOE
Finisar, with greater than $600M per annum in revenue and 4500 employees worldwide, has 85% of its suppliers in the Asia-Pacific region and has located its International Purchasing Office (IPO) in Shenzhen, China. This location has enabled Finisar's purchasing personnel to be within 4 hours travelling time of 85% of its supply base.
Finisar believes that locating its IPO in China allows it to create a "real-time supply base" and enables the development of strategic long-term relationships with its suppliers, which in turns brings many benefits to for products.
Gas Sensing Solutions signing distribution agreement
UK companies on the Photonics KTN/UKTI mission are seeing first hand the benefits of having supply relationships in China and, within the short timescale of the mission, have identified a number of partnerships that should generate mutually beneficial relationships.
The Chinese government and its regional governments are very keen to do business with UK companies, as we have discovered this week. With the support and assistance of UK Trade & Investment and the influential China British Business Council, UK companies have a wealth of experience and know-how to draw upon in establishing these relationships.
Meanwhile, the UK mission was having one-to-one meetings with companies selected from their specific requirements. The good news is that the UK companies thought Kevin Leung did super background research in organising this and the young translators completed their task with enthusiasm and skill.
Tonight was fun, with an excellent dinner followed by a 10pm site visit to view highway luminaries in situ! Tomorrow are visiting an LED manufacturer, then checking-out of our hotel flying back to London via Beijing.
All that remains to say is thanks to all who have assisted us. There are way too many to mention, but I do know that the mission has been a resounding success.
By Hamish Johnston, editor of physicsworld.com
You would have to be living under a rock in the UK not to know that the Large Hadron Collider will be fired up this week at CERN in Geneva. BBC Radio 4 is dedicating an entire day of programming to the LHC (called Big Bang Day), and this is being promoted with great fervour across the corporation's many TV and radio outlets.
This morning Chris Llewellyn Smith,former director general of CERN, was on Radio 4's Today Programme to reassure listeners that the world will not be destroyed by a black hole - or turn into a "strange goo" - when the LHC is switched on.
Meanwhile over on Radio 5 Live, CERN physicist John Ellis was chatting about his new paper 'Review of the safety of LHC collisions' with host Nicky Campbell. This is surely the first time that an article in the Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics has been deemed to have the same news value as the latest exploits of Newcastle United's ex-manager Kevin Keegan.
Indeed, one could be forgiven for thinking that the LHC is 'brought to you by the BBC'. In today's Times, gossip columnist Adam Sherwin suggested that the LHC start-up date was pushed back to 10 September because BBC superstar Andrew Marr - who will be presenting live from CERN on the day - is on holiday this week. The BBC has denied exerting undue control over the world's largest physics experiment.
Another 'quality daily', The Independent, ran the headline 'It's sex and drugs and particle physics as D:Ream star recreates the Big Bang' earlier this week. For those too young to remember, the article refers to Brian Cox, who is sort of a Liam Gallagher of particle physics and one of the many stars that the BBC will be rolling out next week.
And leave it to The Sun to say: 'End of the world due in nine days' ...unless Andrew Marr decides to extend his holiday, of course.
How has the press covered the LHC switch-on where you live? Has there been a media frenzy like what we have here in the UK?
By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park
The CIOE exhibition has over 2000 exhibitors
We meet over breakfast in the hotel and handed out the exhibition passes secured in advance by UKTI. The China International Optoelectronics Expo exhibition and Conference (CIOE) did not disappoint with the companies all delighted to have taken the decision to visit. The show is massive in terms of exhibitors and visitors with over 2000 exhibitors and 85000 visitors.
I have just finished a really useful meeting with Mr Yang Xiancheng, Managing Director, and Nancy He, International Project Manager of the show organiser China International Optoelectronics Expo, and I will be exploring how to best support the internationalisation and non-Chinese representation in the coming months.
An invitation has been extended to Mr Yang and Nancy He to use euroLED 2009 as a springboard for securing non-Chinese participation in the China International Optoelectronics Expo event.
Zeeko at CIOE
From an exhibitor perspective, I spoke with Richard Freeman of Zeeko and his colleague Avni Sondagar. Both were delighted that they had taken the decision to exhibit in their own right following several years selling their products via distribution agreements.
Avni commented that the show was proving useful in securing clients within established markets and interestingly for generating completely new markets such as jewellery for their ultra precision polishing machines. Certainly when I visited their stand the booth was full of potential customers.
Tonight we will meet as a group and tomorrow with our own individual interpreters we are back at the exhibition with the group having dedicated one to one meetings with carefully selected Chinese companies based on matching their respective requirements.
By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park
The mission will visit the massive CIOE exhibition being held in Shenzhen
Well, the group survived a long last day in Chongqing visiting one research establishment and two companies before heading to the airport and catching a delayed internal flight to Shenzhen.
There was a little scare for both myself and Des Gibson when we arrived at the check-in to find that Des wasn't booked on this flight. Fortunately there were seats available and at price of only £65 so all worked out fine.
We arrived at just before midnight in the Marco Polo Hotel. The room rate here was almost double the Hilton in Chongqing but still only £75 per night. You do get complementary internet and we all got upgraded rooms at no extra cost.
We are joined in Shenzhen by McGeoch Technology, LED UK, ATG Airports, Zeeko and BJR Systems.
By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park
Chongqing skyline by night
The mission is being welcomed in Chongqing by all manner of regional officials and companies. All the free-time built into the programme by me to relax, chat to the client companies, and even file copy for this blog has been absolutely exhausted with invitations.
This welcoming nature of the Chongqing district is something to behold and I am becoming their number one fan. I am already a willing ambassador for the benefits of doing business in this region on my return.
We have just been treated to the sights sounds and aroma of Chongqing at night from the highest surrounding point. The smell of jasmine coupled with native Chinese flowers provides an intoxicating combination surpassed only by stunning views of Chongqing at night. Our hosts for this experience were from the Nan'an District and thanks to Liao Yanying for her delightful company and for her persistence in ensuring that I tasted every local delicacy.
Chongqing Changjiang Industrial Zone is planning on a grand scale
Before sunset, we traveled to the Chongqing Changjiang Industrial Zone. This is master planning on a grand scale, covering 21 square kilometres, effectively creating a new business district location with retail, offices, residential, business space and recreational facilities. The concept is all about sustainable living combined with business opportunities.
The highly desirable residential accommodation can be purchased off plan for circa £25000 for an 80 square metre 2 bedroom apartment. Interesting for European investors, even this is expensive in Chongqing terms with it equating to a premium of about 40% on local Chongqing residential costs for areas not part of such a major master planning and infrastructure project.
We are leaving Chongqing pretty sure that we will come back. So now its time pack up and leave the Chonqing Hilton and head for Shenzhen. I'll continue to bring you up to speed with the PKTN and UKTI mission over the coming days.
By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park
Around 100 representatives from the Chongqing optoelectronics and lighting community attended
This seminar was opened by Mr Nick Whittingham Consul General who thanked the UK delegation for returning to China following the successful China mission to the UK in June earlier this year, and particularly its 2 day visit to euroLED held in Coventry.
Today's seminar was held in the superb venue of the Ballroom of the Hilton Chongqing. There was a full house with almost 100 representatives from the Chongqing optoelectronics and lighting community attending. With simultaneous translation, the UK party was welcomed and Professor Chen Weimin from the Chongqing LED Alliance described the Chongqing areas of expertise in Photonics. Alistair Wilson Director of the Photonics KTN then outlined UK capabilities.
Glenn Barrowman invited attendees to visit euroLED 2009
I gave a presentation on the euroLED conference and exhibition, providing the audience with an invitation to explore their active participation in euroLED 2009.
EuroLED 2009 is held over three days 2-4 June 2009.
The feedback from attendees to last year's event, such as Chongqing Tianhai Medical Equipment Co Ltd and Longstar, was excellent and they confirmed that they will definitely be taking exhibition stands again next year.
The UK companies then made excellent presentations outlining their specific technology offerings. Specifically Isocom, Applied Multilayers, Gas Sensing Solutions and Fiber Logix. Following these presentations all were inundated with requests for one-to-one meetings in addition to the 20 pre-arranged by the China British Business Council and UK Trade & Investment. There were even invitations to visit the manufacturing capabilities of their potential Chinese partners.
With the tremendous support of UK Trade & Investment, Esther Zhao has revised the schedule to allows these additional invitations to be seamlessly incorporated into the programme, only at the expense of lunch.
After today successes, tonight we are off to see Chongqing by night.
By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park
Opportunities for UK business
The publicity surrounding the mission is growing in intensity here in Chongqing with a film crew following the group as they visited a local photonics company this morning. Chongqing Huichang Opto Electro Co Ltd is involved in vision systems and optics especially for binoculars. This was a step back in time for Photonics KTN Director Alistair Wilson given his days in Barr & Stroud.
The group was back at the Chongqing Hilton by just after 13.00. This allowed Deputy British Consulate General Steven Smith to brief the party on Chongqing District. Amazingly, it is the fastest growing city in the world with over 13 million people in the conurbation and 31 million in the wider areas.
The key point I felt was the position of "number one preferred business partner" applied to the UK. This is a growing city with massive construction environmental and ICT needs and so to be the preferred partner is an opportunity the UK can grasp.
The UK Trade & Investment team was also able to brief the mission on logistics and expectations for the following day. "Showtime" as Esther exclaimed! Here the companies get the opportunity to present their operation in simultaneous Chinese/English to an invited audience of up to 70 optoelectronics great and the good. This is followed up by one-to-one meetings which have been arranged in advance by the local inward investment agency COFTEC.
Dinner with Steven Smith, Deputy British Consulate General, and Dr Johnson Lee, Director of COFTEC
We are just back from a superb dinner hosted by COFTEC Director Dr Johnson Lee and Deputy British Consulate General Steven Smith in which we were wonderfully received and, although we have only just arrived, were invited to attend again.
Fortunately it does not take 8000 km to meet the UK Trade & Investment ICT overseas advisors as they make regular visits to the UK for ICT clinics. The next one is only a few weeks away as on 17th September at Faraday Wharf Aston Science Park, Birmingham. Optics.org readers can still register for this UKTI opportunity on www.astonsciencepark.co.uk under events.
The mission managed to find time after their return to the hotel to pop out to the bar area of Chongqing. Here it became apparent that even the most basic English was not common. Fortunately, pointing to other drinkers and smiling whilst catching the Sampdoria versus Inter football match worked effectively.
Early start tomorrow so hopefully my body clock will forget it is 6pm!
By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park
It took the group 22 hours and two flights to reach Chongqing
Well, it has just turned 3rd September here in China. The group from the UKTI & Photonics KTN mission arrived safely in Chongqing after an average individual travel time of 22 hours from a variety of departing regions throughout the UK (Scotland, NE, Midlands and London). Our journey has involved two Air China flights and the various trains, planes and automobiles that took the individuals to Heathrow before heading east as a group.
At the moment, we are 5 in number with mission initiators UK Trade & Investment and Photonics Knowledge Transfer represented alongside Isocom and Fiber Logix. Tomorrow we are joined by Applied Multilayers and Gas Sensing Solutions.
After checking in to our hotel, the number one priority was to find out if the internet worked - and it does in the superb Hilton Chongqing at about £7 per 24 hour access. Reasonable enough, except that the mission rate for this 4-star hotel room is an exceptional £40 per night.
After that much needed shower and freshen up, we met up for beer in the lounge before heading for dinner in the hotel. This is where I think I fell into the Chinese "yes" really should mean "no" trap. When I asked if they were open, I got a cordial "yes" but after almost an hour the first dish appeared and the others followed in 10 minute intervals until we were all served. The first two diners had finished before the final one had even started.
Made it to Chongqing
As always on outward missions the informal chat between the group throws up great opportunities. I mentioned in passing to Shafiq of Fiber Logix that he had the opportunity of coming back to China for an aerospace and space supplier B2B event known as Sidereus and facilitated by Hertfordshire Business Incubation Centre. This event is over 3 days with over 300 companies attending 26-28 November in Beijing.
"That's a yes - count me in," said Shafiq. How many phone calls or emails would normally be required to secure a definite yes?
One local tip suggested by the companies was to secure local SIM cards to make local appointments. This seems sensible and easy to do.
Keeping up to date with news back at the base, I also got an invitation to meet up with Arden Photonics this week. David Robinson the MD wanted to introduce me to his new sales executive. This recruitment comes shortly after Arden took up larger facilities at its Aston Science Park base.
By Pauline Rigby, editor of fibresystems.org
This August marked the anniversary of a key milestone in optics and telecommunications. It has been 50 years since the publication in Physical Review of the scientific paper that described the concept and design of one of the greatest modern inventions - the laser.
The ideas in "Infrared and optical masers" by Arthur Schawlow and Charles Townes of Bell Telephone Labs, as it was then known, underpin the core technology in all of today's fibre-optic networks, although it wasn't until glass fibres with very low loss appeared that laser-based communication became a valid alternative to copper wires.
To mark the 40th anniversary of the laser, Lucent Technologies, the parent company of Bell Labs, issued a press release and threw a party in honour of scientists who had made significant contributions to the development of the laser.
This time around, not only did the event pass without comment, but it turns out that Alcatel-Lucent is pulling out of basic physics and semiconductor research altogether.
Nature reported the news initially, which was picked up by Wired in this stunning but rather sad photo story. Read it and weep, as Bell Labs becomes just another corporate R&D division, with research aligned to product development.
By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park, supporting partner to the UK Photonics Knowledge Transfer Network
Glenn Barrowman of Aston Science Park will be blogging about the UK Photonics KTN mission to China
During 3-10 September, the UK's Photonics Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) and UK Trade & Investment are leading a mission to China. Representatives from ten UK photonics companies will be participating with the aim of exploring technology brokering and international trade opportunities between China and the UK.
The first stop on the whirlwind tour is Chongqing, a significant industrial area and fast-growing metropolis in Western China which lies about 2.5 hours flight away from Beijing. Here, the representatives from the UK will make corporate presentations to an invited audience, have one-to-one meetings with local companies and the chance to discuss any potential opportunities for collaboration.
The next stop is Shenzhen and a visit to the China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE) which runs from 6 - 9 September. This is the exhibition's 10th anniversary and organisers are predicting a staggering 85,000 visitors will attend over the four day period.
All sectors of the optics and photonics market will be represented, with exhibitors being classified in the following categories: optical communications, laser technology, optics, LED lighting and displays, infrared applications, optical sensor and measurement technologies, and imaging.
Needless to say it will be a busy eight days, but I am sure the mission will give all of us a fantastic insight into the Chinese optics and photonics market. During the mission, I will be posting our experiences to the optics.org blog. Keep checking back to see how we are getting on.
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