ECU researchers at the centre of photonics hub

IT was the expertise of two Edith Cowan University researchers that prompted PanoramaFLAT to make Perth a major base for a planned global roll-out of its microphotonics products, currently under development.

According to PanoramaFLAT Australian operations manager Ian Spenceley, the company, which used American intellectual property, has a formal research contract in place with the university.

“ECU are doing all the R&D and working in conjunction with companies in North America and in Europe, and ECU is at the centre of that virtual network of research that the company is developing for consumer application,” Mr Spenceley told WA Business News.

While Mr Spenceley could not disclose information regarding products under development, he said ECU received a research consulting fee and the university and its two researchers had equity in the company.

“There is incentive to develop the company,” Mr Spenceley said.

“The more IP and patents we get the better off they are, and I think it’s a good development method.”

According to ECU commer-cialisation manager Neil Grice, the deal with PanoramaFLAT is the first significant research contract for the university.

While he could not confirm the dollar value, it is worth more than the $6 million ECU received in government grants to establish the National Networked Tele-Test Facility for Integrated Systems.

“It’s the biggest research contract we’ve secured,” Mr Grice said.

Microphotonics includes the use of optical technology in IT.

Mr Spenceley said if the R&D was successful the market for its products could yield many billions of dollars

“The company was formed purely to develop the IP into a commercial product,” he said.

Mr Spenceley said the company recently attended a consumer electronics show and received positive feedback about pre-licensing deals.

PanoramaFLAT was formed a little more than 12 months ago from an idea hatched by Mr Spenceley and the PanoramaFLAT chief executive officer Sutherland Ellwood.

“I’m a film producer and Sutherland works in the film industry [and is based in New York].

“He’s an inventor and we both have an engineering background and he discussed this idea with me and I said we could do that,” Mr Spenceley said.

“Then we looked around for how we would deal with it and, out of serendipity, at ECU there were a couple of guys who were leading researchers in photonics.”

Mr Spenceley said they had met with other universities but felt the expertise at ECU would deliver better results.

It’s a deal that will deliver significant benefits to ECU, both in terms of dollars and by further development of its research hub.

Mr Grice said ECU researchers Kamal Alameh and Adam Osserian – both involved in gaining multi-million dollar funding to establish the Centre for Excellence for MicroPhotonics Systems last year, and the researchers who attracted PanoramaFLAT to strike a deal with ECU – are continuing to build collaborative links all across the globe.