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THE MARKET | SUMMER 2012

Noticeboard
A
new range of handheld
elecfronic magnifers
for fhe visually impaired has
earned fechnology company Ash
Technologies and ifs indusfrial
designers Dolmen of Naas
anofher presfigious RedDof
award.
The awards, esfaLlished in
1jj Ly fhe Design Zenfrum
Nordrhein Vesffalen in
Germany, puf Ash on a
comparaLle sfanding, in design
ferms, wifh Siemens, Apple,
BMV and a hosf of ofher qualify
producf manufacfurers.
If`s always nice fo win
an award from a presfigious
German insfifufion lile Red Dof.
Germany is our Liggesf exporf
marlef and we disfriLufe fo
ofher European counfries from
fhere," said Ash Technologies MD
Hugh Maguire.
The Ash Crysfal + and XL are
handheld magnifers wifh push
Luffon confrols for adjusfing
magnifcafion while reading or
wrifing.
The Crysfal XL refails for c6
and is seen as a greaf value af fhaf
price in European marlefs, says
Maguire, Luf in Ireland some
people perceive if as expensive.
Hearing aids cosf fhree fimes
fhaf amounf and qualify for
governmenf suLsidies Luf, I
would argue, visual aids lile
fhese give a much greafer level of
independence. Vifh a magnifer,
an old person doesn`f need
someone fo read fheir medicine
prescripfions, deal wifh fheir
household Lills or consulf Lasic
informafion lile Lus fimefaLles."
Previously, Ash and
Dolmen won a RedDof
honouraLle menfion in zo1o
for fhe Quicllool z Elecfronic
Magnifer, a reading and wrifing
aid wifh an addifional camera for
magnifying oLjecfs in fhe middle
disfance. The company, founded
in 1|, is now a leading player
in lowvision indusfries. Af
presenf, fhe US accounfs for zo%
exporfs and lasf year furnover
grew fo aLouf c.jm
A lof of our R&D has Leen
focussed on aids for fhe visually
impaired, Luf fhis year our R&D
focus will Le on developing
new visual aids for indusfry,"
said Maguire. Ve are geffing
increasing numLers of enquiries
from indusfry wanfing fo use
our producfs for inspecfion
and fesfing, from componenfs
on a circuif Loard fo Liological
samples in a laLorafory.
Ve`ve a numLer of new
producfs in developmenf,
including somefhing Leffer fhan
a fradifional microscope; if won`f
give you eyesfrain or Lacl pain
and if will aufomafically record
images for sharing wifh ofhers.
Ve see a lof of opporfunifies in
indusfry."
[Cian Molloy|
Design kudos for Ash
Technologies with RedDot
award
F
abless IC rm Powervation,
headquartered in Cork,
has successfully launched its
rst mainstream product, the
PV3012, a dual-phase digital
DC/DC controller for use in
networks and complex IT
applications where loads are
imprecise, and/or variable,
and where the power supply
parameter drifts over time or
with changes in temperature.
Already, the PV3012
controller is being used as a
component by Murata Power
Solutions, the worlds biggest
supplier of board-mounted
power. Muratas Product
Marketing Manager Henry Lee
said: We are developing the
rst total-system solution,
a true Plug-and-Power
digital DC/DC converter
with 0.50% output voltage
reporting accuracy and that
supports PMBus commands.
Powervations real-time adaptive
loop compensation technology
makes things simple and
reliable it works straight out of
the box.
A spin-out from the Circuits
& Systems Research Centre
(CSRC) at University of Limerick
in 2006, Powervation has 20m
of investment riding on the
success of its products. The
companys VC backers include
the Taiwanese semiconductor
foundry TSMC, a world leader in
IC manufacture.
Powervation rst gained
access to TSMCs services via
the Europractice IC programme,
run by IMEC at the University
of Ghent. The programme
allows fab-less IC companies
to produce small batches
of prototype chips in a cost-
effective way by sharing IC
wafer space with each other.
[Cian Molloy]
Worlds biggest supplier
of board-mounted power
chooses Powervation