In the last few months iQonic partners have been participating to a series of events, conferences, forums regarding not only optics, optoelectronics and nano-photonics but R&D, new technologies and related European opportunities in general .

The Shadow Robot Company took part in the IDEALondon, on February 22th and in the European Robotics Forum, on March 20^th.

In the first event, hosted by IDALondon, a post-accelerator centre in the heart of London’s Tech City, Shadow highlighted their commitment to collaborative R&D work and presented the case of the iQonic project and its results as an example of successful H2020 project. Notably, they focused on the general aim of the project and their role within it, which is to develop Smart grasping hands for increased precision and accuracy, in cooperation with iQonic partners. These smart grasping hands are to be capable of long-duration handling and installation of macro-scale components with sensing and interfacing to verify installation quality. Moreover, they will be an extension of FICONTEC gripper, capable of handling and placing micro-scale components with enough accuracy to be deployable in optoelectronic manufacturing.

The Shadow Robotic Company participated also in the European Robotics Forum, the most influential meeting of the robotics community in Europe, held in Bucharest, Romania, in March 2019. The forum saw the participation of over 900 European robotics top experts. It was a huge event, great for networking. Through this participation, Shadow made other industry leaders aware of iQonic project and its results.

Additionally, on April 1-12^th Ficontec Service, ALPES Laser, Fraunhofer and SENSAP Swiss AG took part in the EPIC Annual General Meeting 2019. The EPIC (European Photonics Industry Consortium) promotes organisations operating in the field of photonics in Europe. Its membership consists of the entire value chain from LED lighting, Photovoltaic solar energy, Photonics Integrated Circuits, Optical components, Lasers, Sensors, Imaging, Displays, Projectors, Optic fiber, and other photonic related technologies. It fosters a vibrant photonics ecosystem by maintaining a strong network and acting as a catalyst and facilitator for technological and commercial advancement. This annual general meeting and all coming events of EPIC are an opportunity for spreading knowledge on iQonic and to extend the iQonic network among companies.

All this created awareness for the iQonic project among entrepreneurs, academia, private enterprises and policy-makers and it helped to highlight the progressive work taking place within the project regarding innovative technology.