European project PhotonicRoadSME - Trends in Photonics Research and Development, Product and Application Visions
Development of technology roadmaps for photonic technologies, analysis of technological trends regarding their market development
The European project „PhotonicRoadSME“ develops individual technology roadmaps in the field of photonics for supporting small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The demands on forthcoming photonic products shall be identified at an early stage. Analysis of relevant international research and development results concerning photonic materials, fabrication technologies, and photonic devices and components shall help the SMEs to react to these emerging requirements. This roadmapping process will contribute to SMEs investment decisions and to the design of successful business models in medium term. For this, the project is divided into three phases:
Phase 1 - Market driven and technology driven approach
The needs and market requirements of SMEs will be analysed by conducting interviews, surveys, and SWOT-analyses (strength/weakness/opportunity/threats analysis). Furthermore, national and international research activities and research publications in the scope of photonics will be investigated and evaluated branch-specifically. A newly developed dynamic database will contain all these information and will be used for developing industrial sector specific and SME specific roadmaps.
Phase 2 - Industrial sector specific and SME specific technology roadmaps
The results of the analyses in phase 1 will contribute to the development of technology roadmaps for the four industrial branches
- information and communication technologies (ICT)
- environment
- health & well-being
- safety & security.
The identified trends within each of these sectors will highlight products and their application fields that possess high potentials for solving current social, ecological, and economic problems. The three different SME types “developer”, “producer”, and “user” will be analysed separately.
Phase 3 - Integration of the roadmaps into the industrial context
These individual technology roadmaps developed in phase 2 will be validated by conducting case studies and implementation workshops at the SMEs. Thereby, strategies for products development will emerge, enhancing the global competitiveness of these SMEs. The interaction between research facilities and SMEs shall be improved and the training of professionals in the photonics sector shall be facilitated.
The project is co-funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme for a duration of two years. It comprises 9 partners from 5 countries.
Project duration: 05/2008 - 04/2010
Countries: Finland, France, Germany, Poland, Spain
Contact:
Dr. Anthony Salingre, Tel. 0721 93519 16
Email: salingre@steinbeis-europa.de
Dr. rer. nat. Jonathan Loeffler, Tel. 0721 93519 12
Email: loeffler@steinbeis-europa.de