At STARTUP WORLD - part of the LASER World of PHOTONICS trade fair in Munich - winners have been announced in the two categories of the first-ever PHOTONICS Award. Both are from Switzerland.
The competition seeks to recognise the best product innovations from up-and-coming companies in a broad spectrum of optical technologies. The products entered by start-ups from all over the world this year address an array of application fields, from biophotonics and medical technology to optoelectronics and additive manufacturing.
The prizes for the competition's outstanding product innovations were presented by Dr. Ronald Mertz,Head of the Innovation, Research, and Technology Office of the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Media, Energy, and Technology to Yann Cotte, CEO Nanolive (picture left) and to Nicoletta Casanova, CEO Femtoprint (picture, middle).
FEMTOprint 3D printing for glass microdevices wins 3D Printing Award
An innovative and promising 3D production system for glass microdevices took home the top prize in the 3D Printing Award category presented by Messe München International. This compact tabletop instrument offers 3D printing functions for manufacturing nanostructures in microsystem components using glass or other transparent materials. The technology involved uses precision lasers to assemble complex 3D microstructures, such as those needed for advanced medical equipment.
Nanolive's 3D Cell Explorer takes home Photonics Technology Award
The first prize presented in the Photonics Technology Award category of the PHOTONICS competition went to Nanolive SA, a start-up based at the EPFL Innovation Park (Switzerland). Founded in 2013, the company has developed a revolutionary microscope - the 3D Cell Explorer - which makes it possible to examine living cells in 3D without damaging them. For the first time, scientists will now be able to observe the inner workings of cells, including their nuclei and organelles.
The second and third place in the category 3D Printing Award went to the Swisslitho AG – another Swiss start-up - for NanoFrazor and the polish Sandmade for the LS ONE printer; and in the category Photonics Technology Award to the danish Norlase ApS for the AuroraOne laser and the US company 8tree LLc for dentCHECK.
STARTUP WORLD debuts at LASER World of PHOTONICS
The winners and finalists in the PHOTONICS Award competition had the chance to exhibit until 25 June at STARTUP WORLD, the new marketplace for innovations at LASER World of PHOTONICS. Through this new trade fair platform and its corresponding innovation competition, Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen and Messe München International are giving young companies the chance to raise their profiles at leading global events.
"In its very first year, STARTUP WORLD has already been a complete success," declares Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer. "We're glad to see it resonate so well with people and are looking forward to implementing this new trade fair format along with AZO and our other technology conference partners."
"The impressive quality of the products submitted underscores just how innovative young companies can be," adds Thorsten Rudolph. "In cooperation with Messe München, we believe we're taking the first step towards establishing an international marketplace for high-tech start-ups at the world's top trade fairs."
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