CHiTA is involved in several types of projects that are promoted, supervised, or supported by its
IOF Technology Developer. Below some illustrative examples are given.
Contract Research
CHiTA is continuously involved in research projects, together which its industrial partners. Bilateral research agreements control important contractual arrangements, in particular the IP rights.
As a reference we mention some partners that benefit from our knowledge, which is transferred to them by means of contract research:
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Agilent Technologies and CHiTA work together on the development of new EDA (Electronic Design Automation) software.
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CHiTA aids Melexis during the design stage of their products, focusing in particual on their new IC's EMC-behavior.
European projects
CHiTA is also a member of some large European consortia. Together with our European partners, both industrial and academic, important breakthroughs in the field of high-frequency technology are realized. As an example we mention:
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PROeTEX: In this FP6-IST-project textile and fibre based integrated smart garments
for emergency disaster intervention personnel are developed.
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GoldenGates: This is a new CATRENE-project (see www.CATRENE.org), dealing with EMC for ICs, which is currently filed and awaiting for CATRENE's approval.
IWT projects
The
IWT is the Flemish Public Authority that encourages scientific and technological innovation in Flanders through funding. CHiTA enjoys several of the IWT's funding possibilities: doctoral grants, subsidies for R&D projects with large companies, subsidies for studies and projects with SMEs, subsidies for strategic basic research with long term objectives together with commercial partners, etc.
Consultancy and service contracts
Next to actual projects, which mostly have as a goal to create IP, CHiTA also assists its partners by means of consultancy and provision of services. Some examples:
- OMP (Orban Microwave Products) makes use of our anechoic antenna chamber to perform their antenna measurements, as well as our thorough expertise in antenna design.
- We also perform electromagnetic field measurements in industrial warehouses and production facilities, e.g. to improve wireless ERP systems. Recently, CHiTA investigated the WiFi-installation at a Beaulieu-site (Beaulieu is a large international textile group).
Valorization and licensing
CHiTA is indepentently working on many research projects which often lead to patents. The IOF makes it possible for CHiTA to create its own IP portfolio and to start up valorization projects. For example:
- We are developing technology to conceive planar antennas on flexible foam substrates. Flexible foam antennas can be used in many applications, such as intelligent textiles and garments, for integration in dashboards of cars, in space technology, the e-health-sector, etc. This technology is patent pending.
- Multivariate systemmodels: these models are of high importance for design purposes in many sectors. Here, of course, the focus is on EDA. Our newest technology is developed in collaboration with the IBBT and is patent pending.
- Our SUMO (SUrrogate MOdelling) Toolbox is an in-house developed set of software tools for modeling, simulation and optimization of complex physical systems,
with applications in different fields of science and engineering, such
as: telecom, electronics, mechanics, physics, chemistry, metallurgy... The SUMO toolbox can be dowloaded from the website of the SUMO lab , upon completion of the license agreement.
