Archive for category: Safety & Security

Hotspot for drones

One of the Unmanned Valley Valkenburg projects concerns students from the Leidse Instrumentenmakers School (LiS) who will develop drones and unmanned technology that will be tested at Unmanned Valley Valkenburg. The school, specialised in precision engineering, is based in Leiden and Unmanned Valley lies just around the corner.

‘Great opportunity’

It offers a ‘great opportunity’ for the school, director Dick Harms tells the daily Leidsch Dagblad. “Students can learn the most if the setting resembles a real environment.” One of the first drones the school wants to develop is a fire-fighting drone: machines that can detect fires in an early stage. The teachers are enthusiastic about the collaboration. “I think Unmanned Valley will become very popular”, one of them says.

Several companies have settled in Unmanned Valley Valkenburg, like the RoboValley startup Aerovinci. Drone Center Valkenburg opened its doors as well. Located nearby major cities like Rotterdam and The Hague, it is a great place to host an event as well. In February, the first edition of DroneClash took place in one of the hangars.

2,000 jobs

It is expected that the development of Unmanned Valley creates around 2,000 jobs and will give the regional economy a boost. “The hotspot of drone companies already based in Valkenburg really takes off”, alderman Jan Klaas van der Bent from the municipality of Katwijk says. To drive the further development, Katwijk and Delft University of Technology have launched the Unmanned Valley Valkenburg Foundation.

The foundation has set up a three-year programme together with 17 partners from government agencies (Rijksvastgoedbedrijf), knowledge institutions (Hogeschool Leiden, Leidse instrumentenmakers School) and the industry. RoboValley is one of the partners as well. Amongst other things, the foundation makes sure the fieldlab meets all safety requirements and the testing of drones doesn’t have a negative impact on the living environment.

Research

Delft University of Technology will use Unmanned Valley for scientific research, the dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering Henri Werij says. “It is extremely valuable to have a good testing location for drones nearby. Not only for students and researchers of Delft University of Technology. A great part of the space sector is located in the Province of Zuid-Holland as well.” Besides, many related companies and spin-offs are looking for a good place to test. “It is important to test new inventions outside, in all weather conditions.”

 

Source / RoboValley

Highlights Cyber Security Report

Here are a few of Cisco’s important findings. For the full report, please visite www.cisco.com.

• Supply chains
  Attacks can impact computers on a massive scale and can persist for months or even years. Defenders should be aware of the potential risk of using software or hardware from organizations that do not appear to have a responsible security posture.
• Security is getting more complex
  Defenders are implementing a complex mix of products from a cross-section of vendors to protect against breaches. This complexity and growth in breaches have many downstream effects on an organization’s ability to defend against attacks, such as increased risk of losses.
• Behavioral analytics tools
  92% of security professionals said behavior analytics tools work well in locating malicious actors in networks. Two-thirds of the healthcare sector, followed by financial services, found behavior analytics to work extremely well to identify malicious actors.
• Use of cloud is growing:
  In this year’s study, 27% of security professionals said they are using off-premises private clouds, compared with 20 percent in 2016. Attackers are taking advantage of this lack of advanced security

Last year’s evolution of malware demonstrates that our adversaries continue to learn. We have to raise the bar now – top down leadership, business led, technology investments, and practice effective security – there is too much risk, and it is up to us to reduce it.
~ John N. Stewart, Senior Vice President, Chief Security and Trust Officer at Cisco

Recommendations for defenders

• Adhere to corporate policies and practices for application, system, and appliance patching.
• Have access to timely, accurate threat intelligence data and processes that allow for that data to be incorporated into security monitoring.
• Perform deeper and more advanced analytics.
• Back up data often and test restoration procedures, processes that are critical in a world of fast-moving, network-based ransomware worms and destructive cyber weapons.
• Conduct security scanning of microservice, cloud service, and application administration systems.

More information (English / Dutch) or listen to an interview with Michel Schaalje from Cisco on BNR Newsradio (in Dutch).

 

Source / The Hague Security Delta, Cisco

The State of European Tech: 2017

Atomico and Slush provide an annual, in-depth analysis of the European tech ecosystem by addressing a number of topics, such as talent, community, capital flows, deep technology, and regulation. Working with several data partners and surveying thousands of people within Europe’s tech ecosystem enable us to develop insights about what is really going on in the ecosystem.

The highlights

Authored by Tom Wehmeier, Partner and Head of Research at Atomico, the report identifies numerous insights and trends. A few highlights:

• Total capital of $19bn invested into European tech breaks records. Invested capital is estimated to be $19bn, and the average deal size has increased compared to the record-breaking last year. Since the beginning of 2015, Europe has seen more than $3bn invested per quarter and the long-term investment trend reflects the expansion of its tech ecosystem.
• European deep tech keeps its momentum and attracts $3.5bn of investments in 2017. Last year, the report pointed out that deep tech is thriving and diversifying across the continent, and today we see that Europe has been able to maintain its momentum. Within deep tech, AI and blockchain are seen as the areas where Europe is best-positioned to gain world-leading status.
• Every European city is becoming a tech city. There are already over 160 hubs in Europe, and the number has been steadily growing during the past few years. Europe is seeing the spread of tech communities: there are hundreds of tech-related events happening daily across Europe’s tech ecosystem.

Clearly, it has been a great year for European tech and the future looks encouraging. The Huge talent pool, ambitious founders, and increasingly sophisticated investors allow Europe to march to its own beat. Questions of whether Europe can produce world-class innovation and $100bn companies are answered: definitely yes.

The challenges

But that yes doesn’t come without a but. There are some barriers on the way still:

• Regulation is considered as the biggest barrier to scaling European tech. The European market might lack common rules or there is uncertainty around future regulation of deep tech. Cooperation between corporations, startups, and regulators is much needed to transform the regulation from a hindrance into a competitive advantage.
• Gender imbalance remains a notable challenge. Since only 9% of CxO positions at venture-backed European startups are held by women, attracting more female into tech is crucial. Although the road ain’t easy, Europe could take the leader’s position in diversifying the global tech scene.

Reading this year’s report will give you a comprehensive, up-to-date picture of the state of European technology – hopefully you’ll enjoy it! The full report can be found on a slick website, provided by Atomico. You can read and download it here: www.stateofeuropeantech.com.

 

Source / Slush / StartupDelta

Growing in Delft

At the official opening, Managing Director Dennis Schipper spoke of a long-held wish: “We want to win the ‘war on talent’ and build a multi-disciplinary design team in Delft as well. The team should be 50 strong within four to five years.”

DEMCON’s arrival was welcomed by the Municipality of Delft, TU Delft (Delft University of Technology) and TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research). The company aims to use its new base to attract talent from West Netherlands and strengthen ties with knowledge institutes like TU Delft and TNO as well as (potential) clients in the region.

Branch close to TU Delft and TNO

This year, DEMCON has increased its staff by more than 100, bringing its total workforce to over 400, and has raised turnover by 40%. Schipper believes that the company’s success is embedded in its DNA, as indicated by a recent employee survey. “Our employees have a passion for difficult jobs and don’t accept half-solutions. They are entrepreneurial and able to deliver, and they act like a partner to the customer. They don’t disappear when things get tough,” said Schipper.

DEMCON already works with Delft-based clients such as TNO and Mapper Lithography. By having its own branch in the city, however, the company is now in a better position to put its resources to work and reach out to a wider audience within the region. Factor in the technological talent turned out by TU Delft and the universities of applied sciences, and it’s easy to see why DEMCON has such a keen interest in Delft. And that interest is mutual. “Delft has welcomed us with open arms, especially Delft Technology Partners,” explained Schipper.

Perfect match

Delft Technology Partners, an initiative of TU Delft and the Municipality of Delft, helps new knowledge-intensive businesses to settle and become established in the city. Deputy Mayor Ferrie Förster (economic affairs) outlined the perfect match between DEMCON and Delft at the official opening of the branch by saying, “There’s an abundance of talent at TU Delft and the universities of applied sciences: Inholland and The Haagse Hogeschool. We not only have top incubators in the form of YES!Delft and RoboValley, but there are also R&D institutes like the Dutch Optics Centre. We are delighted that DEMCON is going to contribute to the Delft ecosystem.”

Deputy Mayor Förster, Professor Karel Luyben, rector magnificus of TU Delft, and Rinke Zonneveld, director of regional development agency InnovationQuarter, presented Dennis Schipper with a plaque commemorating DEMCON’s arrival in Delft.

“It’s fantastic news that a renowned Dutch high-tech company like DEMCON has chosen our region for further expansion. The sectors with a strong presence in the province of Zuid-Holland, such as oil and gas, shipbuilding and aerospace, offer new and interesting markets for DEMCON,” said Zonneveld. “In addition, with the office in YES!Delft Labs, the company is assured of sufficient access to technical talent from various quarters, including TU Delft. We shall ensure that DEMCON also connects with relevant parties and networks, not least Holland Instrumentation, Medical Delta and RoboValley, to help realise its ambitions for growth.”

Mechatronic design challenges

DEMCON has grown from a mechatronic design agency into a high-end technology supplier of mechatronic products and systems and is an excellent match with TU Delft. Professor of Structural Optimization and Mechanics Frederik van Keulen brought some depth to the opening ceremony with a story about TU Delft’s mechatronic design research challenges. It became clear that combining complex design tasks with an eye for manufacturability fits well with the work of DEMCON, which, in the words of its MD Dennis Schipper, has developed into a leading design house with extensive production facilities. And the match can only get stronger now that the Department of Precision and Microsystems Engineering, which Professor Van Keulen’s team forms part of, is gaining a new chair in Micro-Optics and Optomechatronics Systems.

Optomechatronics with TNO

Optomechatronic systems is also the name of DEMCON’s newest business unit, headed by Gerard van den Eijkel. Focusing on the design, realisation and integration of high-quality optomechatronic modules and systems, the unit works closely with TNO and TU Delft in the Dutch Optics Centre as well as other places. Arnold Stokking is director of TNO Industry and, along with Van den Eijkel, is very enthusiastic about the collaboration, which has resulted in the founding of DUI (Dutch United Instruments). DUI’s first product will be Nanomefos, the advanced measuring instrument that TNO has developed for freeform optical surfaces.

“TNO believed 10 years ago that if you could make freeform optics, you should also be able to measure them,” explained Van den Eijkel. “We are currently developing our advanced measuring instrument with DUI and marketing it in China to start with.”

“I’m enormously proud of the knowledge we have built at TNO as well as the instruments we’ve made,” said Stokking. “For example, there is Tropomi, the climate research instrument that recently went into orbit on a satellite. But knowledge needs to flow and TNO wants to help SMEs. That’s why I’m so happy with DEMCON, an entrepreneurial company that has a hunger for knowledge and which is helping us realise the value of what we come up with. I’d like to invite other companies to seek collaboration with TNO and the entire Delft ecosystem in the same way DEMCON has.”

Microcoolers

To illustrate DEMCON’s entrepreneurship, Pieter-Paul Lerou closed by sharing his adventures in cryogenic technology. Lerou, who is currently business developer at DEMCON kryoz, began Kryoz Technologies in 2008. His company developed microcoolers for use in medical, aerospace and semicon applications. In addition to being extremely compact, these microcoolers are completely vibration-free, which is an essential requirement for the operation of highly accurate instruments that need to be cooled. Last year, Kryoz became part of DEMCON to help boost the company’s strengths, market its technology more widely and contribute to multidisciplinary DEMCON projects.

About DEMCON

DEMCON employs over 400 people and is a high-end technology supplier of mechatronic products and systems. It is focused on high-tech systems, medical systems, industrial systems and vision, optomechatronic systems and embedded systems. With its head office in Enschede, the company has branches in Son, Delft, Groningen, Oldenzaal and Münster (Germany).