Highlights of Electronics Announcements in 2009

Scotland is home to over 2,000 companies and a large number of research institutions working in a wide range of areas, with particular strengths in microelectronics embedded software, optoelectronics/photonics, nanotechnology, informatics and games.

New innovations

Some of Scotland’s best-known electronic companies were in the news during 2009, both in developing new markets and new technological breakthroughs.

Wolfson Microelectronics, a leading global provider of mixed-signal semiconductors based in Edinburgh, increased its presence in Japan by opening a new Semiconductor Development Centre in Yokohama. This is to support the company’s continued growth in Japan, one of the world’s most advanced consumer electronics markets.

Back home, Wolfson unveiled its ‘revolutionary’ WM2000 chip that cuts down noise on mobile phone calls made in busy places which will now be built into the Wolfson myZone noise cancellation system.

The world’s smallest TV receiver

There were two firsts for Livingston-based Elonics, the radio frequency semiconductor company. It produced what it believes is the world’s lowest power DVB-T/H terrestrial broadcast radio frequency tuner and world’s smallest TV receiver.

The E4000 tuner is unique as it has the ability to be reconfigured to support additional standards in VHF, UHF and L bands – enabling manufacturers to use a single tuner across the globe leading to reduced development times and costs.

Elonics teamed up with designer Vencor to create the ultra-miniature DVB-T USB dongle for Hama, the global consumer electronics company. The Elonics tuner allows easy-to-access TV reception on all laptop, desktop and netbook windows based PCs.

On the back of winning a silver medal in the 2009 Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards, Livingston-based Touch Bionics, developer of the world’s first multi-articulating bionic hand, gained further international recognition with the launch of ProDigits, the first bionic finger.

Investment in new potential

Despite the downturn in the economy there was activity from investors in the sector. Livingston-based Optocap went through a management buy-out from Scottish Enterprise (SE) after six years of continual international growth and a turnover exceeding £1 million. Optocap was initially set up by SE to address the gap in packaging and assembly services in the optoelectronics and microelectronics supply chain.

The Edinburgh-based infrared technology company Pyreos also beefed up its balance sheet by £1 million to boost development of its IR sensor aimed at the security and petrochemical sectors after securing long term contracts and £8 million in initial orders.

A smaller but significant funding was secured by NXVision in Dunfermline for the development of its ‘place-shifting’ technology which allows users access to audio and video content anywhere in the world from a mobile devices including laptops and cell phones over an internet link.

Games expertise cluster in Dundee

Dundee’s gaming ‘cluster’ performed well with Realtime Worlds, the leading independent video game developer, expanded its offices in Dundee to 300 as it readies to launch its latest project, All Points Bulletin, which is being heralded as a huge step forward in multi-player online gaming.

Realtime Worlds topped the year with the ‘Hottest Prospect’ award at the Tech Media Invest 2009 (TMI) awards in London. TMI showcases outstanding technology and media companies in the UK and Realtime Worlds was praised for the “innovative technology behind its games, the quality and vision of its management and the sheer energy and enthusiasm of their employees”. RWT has created some of the world’s best selling video games, including Lemmings and the multi-million seller Crackdown.

Big push behind informatics

Another important growing technology sector in Scotland is in the area of informatics, which encompasses software engineering, artificial intelligence and neuroscience – and spearheaded by the Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA) which comprises 10 universities. SISCA launched a £29 million, five-year project to turn Scotland’s best computing talent into the next generation of technical entrepreneurs.

The University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics is considered one of Scotland’s national scientific assets and one of the world’s top five locations for computing science and information related research at its £42 million purpose built research facility in the city.

Another new area which is flourishing in software development for ‘apps’ – particularly for the iPhone phenomenon. A ‘grass roots’ group of software developers called the ‘macMacDevs’ has been established which hold regular meeting to discuss ideas, share code and show prototypes of new apps.

Cautious optimism in the IT industry

In the general IT sector most companies were ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the outlook for 2009 with 61 per cent of those interviewed by trade body ScotlandIS expecting their companies to grow during the year. More business from law, accountancy, energy and utility companies and the public sector was expected to offset the decline in demand from financial services, and the trend towards replacing ageing computer and telephone equipment and installing more energy efficient machines to save business during the recession.

Other large infrastructural projects to benefit the industry came from BT’s plans to spend £1.5 billion by 2012 on a superfast broadband scheme, which would target Glasgow and Edinburgh among the first cities in the UK.

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