Daughter company installed in the Unicamp Scientific and Technological Park develops solutions for the global data center market
The partnership between Grupo Idea! and the State University of Campinas in the field of optical communications began more than five years ago. The group, installed in buildings in the Scientific and Technological Park under the management of Inova Unicamp, already provided X-ray detection technology for the Sirius particle accelerator. Now, he is embarking on space research, focusing on communication between low-orbit satellites.
The new R&D agreement signed with Unicamp (“High-Speed Optical Interconnection between Low Orbit Satellites Using Coherent Optical Detection”) seeks to develop a simulator capable of considering the effects that impact the sensitivity of receivers on satellites operating at 450 km and 550 km from Earth, in order to reduce noise and increase the communication capacity of these systems.
According to the project coordinator, professor Darli Mello, from the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering (FEEC), this is a high-speed optical interconnection between satellites in large constellations, such as those from SpaceX, Amazon, OneWeb and Telesat. It is planned to implement large high-speed communications networks, such as fiber optics, but wirelessly and in space. “Idea is one of the few companies developing high-speed optical transceivers for fiber optic systems and intends to leverage its expertise for optical systems in space. Our team at Unicamp has been supporting Idea! in the evaluation of transmission techniques in the space context, taking into account particular effects of intersatellite communication”, he comments.
The project is part of the CNPq Promotion Program for Academic Masters and Doctorates for Innovation (MAI/DAI), which encourages innovation in scientific, technological and innovation institutions (ICT) in partnerships with industry.
High speed internet data
The Idea Group is the main Brazilian player in the manufacture of microchips and has been expanding the local hardware ecosystem. To maintain the technology at the state of the art, it signed another R&D agreement with the University, which it seeks to develop, in partnership with the Computing Institute (IC), software and hardware architecture techniques for high-speed optical data transmission systems.
Among the lines of investigation are the integration of microprocessors, the optimization of processes with numerical precision to improve performance and energy efficiency and the optimization of disaggregated computing to integrate solutions from different manufacturers. “In a comparison with a car, it's as if we made the engine talk better to the transmission”, says Lucas Wanner, researcher at Unicamp's IC.
The professor, who supervises the project “Software and hardware optimization for optical transport systems based on disaggregated architectures”, explains that the optical communication systems developed by Idea! They process data quickly, but they consume a lot of energy to do so. One of the objectives is to reduce this expense. “We work with Idea engineers! to discover the points where the system could be more efficient and develop techniques for optimizing performance and energy. It is not always clear which are the most important parts for optimizing a system, which is why our work includes this profiling of tasks”, adds Wanner.
The partnership allows specialized training for students in an area of high demand, in addition to generating publications and developing jointly owned techniques and intellectual properties that can be integrated into the systems developed by Idea!.
Agreements encourage expansion of the Idea Group!
Founded in 1997 by former students of the University, Idea! Sistemas Eletrônicos is a daughter company of Unicamp. In 2017, it underwent a complete transformation, incorporating BrPhotonics and Pi-Technology, forming the Idea! Group, focusing on optical communications. Currently, it occupies one floor in the Core Building and two floors in Soma Building, both based in the Unicamp Scientific and Technological Park. The group is also preparing to put into operation a new manufacturing plant for the production of optoelectronic devices and high transmission capacity tranceivers.
According to Idea! Group's Microelectronics director, Jacklyn Reis, 90% of the group's value depends on intellectual capital and intellectual property. Unicamp is one of its main partnerships. “Cooperation projects with Unicamp are fundamental for the company’s technological consolidation. We highlight the training of human resources in technological topics aligned with our roadmap, the opportunity to cooperate with research groups, including top professors and students in Latin America, and the possibility of quickly meeting market needs with creative solutions”, summarizes Jacklyn.
The new agreements with Unicamp last for 24 months. The group will invest in the purchase of materials and equipment for laboratories. Around 15 people, including company employees, professors and university students, participate in the projects.
About the Unicamp Scientific Park
The Unicamp Scientific and Technological Park is located on the Unicamp campus in Campinas. There are 100 thousand m² urbanized, designed to host R&D laboratories with research projects in partnership with Unicamp and startups.
Admission is carried out by submitting proposals in a continuous flow notice available on the Park's website for startups or companies that wish to install their research laboratories within Unicamp
- Discover the infrastructure and buildings of the Unicamp Scientific and Technological Park
- Check out the spaces available for startups and company R&D labs
- Find out how to bring your company to Unicamp’s innovation ecosystem
- Access the Annual Report of the Scientific and Technological Park in the Inova Unicamp library
Original article published on the Unicamp Inova Innovation Agency website
