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Advancing Innovation: Siemens Cre8Ventures Partners with PhotonFirst for Smarter Sensing Solutions

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Overview of PhotonFirst

We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with PhotonFirst, which specializes in chip-based fibre optic sensing solutions that convert light into valuable data for smarter decision-making. With over 18 years of experience, PhotonFirst offers high-quality data and advanced sensing technologies, making their solutions valuable across various industries. Their key technology advantages include:

  • Resistance to harsh environments: Sensors and interrogators can withstand extreme conditions.
  • Immunity to Electromagnetic Interference (EMI): Ensures accurate data in challenging environments.
  • Multiple sensing points in 1 cable: Reduced cabling, components, and weight
  • High sensitivity: Enhances precision in measurements.

PhotonFirst offers chip-based Fibre Optic Sensing solutions for high-precision data gathering. Their unique fibre optic sensors are used across industries due to their ability to function in harsh environments and their immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI). PhotonFirst serves markets such as:

  • Aerospace & Defense (Structural Health Monitoring for military drones, helicopters and spacecraft),
  • Railway (Wheel defect detection and weigh-in-motion for rolling stock),
  • Energy (Blade sensing for wind turbines and leakage detection in power transformers),
  • Process Industry (Prevention corrosion under insulation for pipeline infrastructure)
  • Medical (Haptic feedback systems for surgical tools), and more.

Their Unique Selling Proposition (USP) lies in their chip-based Fiber Optic Sensing technology, which offers high-precision, multi-point measurement in harsh environments with significant Cost, size, weight, and Power (SWaP-C)reductions due to advancements in Photonics Integrated Chip (PIC) technology.

Overview of Siemens Cre8Ventures & PAVE360 Digital Twin Marketplace

Siemens Cre8Ventures operates as a collaborative venturing arm that supports semiconductor startups through its PAVE360 Aerospace and Defense Digital Twin Marketplace. This platform enables partners to integrate physical and digital twin models, offering a comprehensive simulation environment that helps companies achieve:

  • Proof-of-Technology: Validating the technical feasibility of innovations.
  • Proof-of-Concept: Ensuring compatibility and efficiency within real-world systems.
  • Proof-of-Value: Demonstrating market readiness and scalability to customers and investors.

By leveraging this marketplace, startups and industry partners can access the digital twin ecosystem to fast-track their route-to-product, route-to-funding, and route-to-market efforts.

Partnership Potential: Why Siemens Cre8Ventures & PhotonFirst Should Collaborate

PhotonFirst’s advanced sensing technology complements Siemens Cre8Ventures’ Digital Twin Marketplace. Together, they can create an integrated solution where PhotonFirst’s fibre optic sensors enhance the accuracy and sensitivity of physical-world simulations in various industries, including semiconductor sectors. Their high-sensitivity, EMI-resistant sensors can bring unique value to the PAVE360 Digital Twin Marketplace by offering reliable, real-time data collection across various environments.

An example of potential collaboration is the integration of PhotonFirst’s fibre optic sensors into Siemens’ digital twins of Aerospace and Defense systems . These sensors can monitor real-time structural integrity, pressure, accelerations and temperature in airborne assets, improving the precision of predictive maintenance models within the digital twin. This integration would create more accurate simulations of in-flight conditions, benefiting OEMs and enhancing asset safety.

Strategic Benefits for Target Customers

  1. Enhanced Data Precision: PhotonFirst’s sensors provide high-quality, multi-point data that can be integrated into PAVE360’s digital twins for more precise simulations.
  2. Smarter Decision-Making: By utilizing real-time data from fibre optic sensors, customers can optimize systems such as maintenance schedules, and structural health, and extend their lifetime.
  3. Faster Product Development: Combining Siemens’ Digital Twin Marketplace with PhotonFirst’s sensing technology accelerates the path from concept to market, enabling more efficient product testing and validation.

Our collaboration would address critical challenges in asset management, energy efficiency, and aerospace and defence system reliability, aligning with Siemens Cre8Ventures’ vision of driving innovation through digital twinning.

For more information about Dream Chip and Siemens’ Cre8Ventures, visit our website or contact Carson Bradbury, Director – EU Chips Act & Co-founder Cre8Ventures (carson.bradbury@siemens.com)

Carson Bradbury
Director - EU Chips Act & Co-founder Siemens Cre8Ventures

I'm passionate about fostering growth in deep-tech startups and corporate ventures. With a background in both corporate and entrepreneurial environments, I've successfully led initiatives across diverse regions, including the UK, Europe, Israel, and India. My focus is on connecting technology ecosystems and driving strategic partnerships that align with Siemens' vision of shaping the future through innovation and collaboration.

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This article first appeared on the Siemens Digital Industries Software blog at https://blogs.sw.siemens.com/cre8ventures/2024/12/02/advancing-innovation-siemens-cre8ventures-partners-with-photonfirst-for-smarter-sensing-solutions/