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17 Jun 2002
A new European network promises to promote the applications of lasers in industry.
Courtesy of Opto & Laser Europe (OLE) magazine
The Austrian Bureau for International Research and Technology Co-operation has launched a network to promote laser applications in industry, as part of the European Union's EUREKA programme.
By operating as an umbrella organization, it is expected that the European Laser Applications Network (EULASNET) will provide a platform that will stimulate research, development and technology-transfer in the field of laser applications. Emphasis will be placed on aiding co-operation between industry and academia.
Network coordinator Philippe Loward told OLE: "This project follows a former EUREKA project called EUROLASER, which was orientated more towards basic research. There are approximately 100 projects dealing with laser technologies in the EUREKA database, but more than half of them have never reached the market. EULASNET plans to change this."
The project will develop R&D in laser technologies as well as applications in metallurgy, non-metal technologies, transport, biotechnologies and the conservation of art works and monuments.
EULASNET, which already has 23 members from 12 countries, is currently in phase one of a three-phase plan. It is now conducting a series of workshops and information seminars to attract and inform potential partners to the network. From January 2002 to June 2003, phase two will concentrate on networking and growth, while by phase three it is hoped that some of the technologies that have been generated by the project will be exploited.
EULASNET should not be confused with the European Network for Laser Applications (ELAN), set up by the UK's Association of Industrial Laser Users. ELAN is an informal network with similar aims to EULASNET.
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