April 19, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — MicroVision (Nasdaq: MVIS), ultra-miniature display technology provider, opened a research and development center at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. The research facility, located on NTU’s 200-hectare green campus, will focus on developing innovative breakthrough products using MicroVision’s PicoP Display technology.
MicroVision plans to staff the new R&D facility with up to 25 engineers by 2012 to work on advanced research and development projects, perform operational support functions, and build upon the company’s current portfolio of over 500 patents issued and pending. By collaborating with NTU, MicroVision aims to leverage the university’s strength and expertise in engineering, microelectronics, and materials science to conduct joint research and development with faculty and students. The alliance is also expected to facilitate the exchange of ideas between NTU staff and students and MicroVision personnel, as well as provide possible internship opportunities for NTU students.
MicroVision’s dedicated R&D center includes a customized laboratory at NTU’s Innovation Centre. The company will work directly with NTU’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the Division of Physics and Applied Physics.
The Memorandum of Understanding between NTU and MicroVision was signed by Professor Bertil Andersson, NTU’s President-Designate and Provost and Alexander Tokman, CEO and president, MicroVision.
Tokman called Singapore centrally located to MicroVision’s manufacturers and customers, and "a hub for exceptional technical talent and productivity," adding that the students at NTU proffer a wealth of new ideas and fresh thinking.
This is MicroVision’s first R&D center outside the United States. The company originally considered Taiwan, but decided on NTU citing expertise in engineering and computing and an excellent research infrastructure, said Andersson. MicroVision engineers will work side by side with NTU faculty and students to perform joint research into innovative imaging and display solutions.
MicroVision provides the PicoP display technology platform designed to enable next-generation display and imaging products for pico projectors, vehicle displays and wearable displays that interface with mobile devices. MicroVision has a history of collaborating with leading universities and research institutes across the globe, including Stanford and MIT (USA) and Fraunhofer Institute (Germany). For more information, visit the company’s website at www.microvision.com.
NTU has been rapidly ramping its research capabilities in the last few years and has established strong industry partners including Rolls-Royce, Robert Bosch, Thales, and Toray. A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has 33,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the colleges of Engineering, Business, Science, and Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences. In 2013, NTU will enroll the first batch of students at its new medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, which is set up jointly with Imperial College London. For more information, visit www.ntu.edu.sg
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