They did so during the annual high tech safari for students. After a day program of three routes, past our high tech companies and a concluding networking dinner at Philips, they returned home. ’’I didn't know that there are so many interesting high tech companies in the northern Netherlands.''
Saving lives
In three buses, students from the Physical-Mathematical Faculty Association, Technical Physics Association ‘Professor Francken’ and Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Cover followed the tracks of sensoring & big data, visual intelligence and robotics. It brought them to Resato in Assen where they got a demonstration of waterjet cutters and extremely high-pressure equipment. Then on to BD in Drachten for the discovery of what visual intelligence combined with big data can do for accelerated disease detection. ’’So, because you know much faster what ails someone, you can give medicine earlier and thus save lives!''
Savings
At Photonis in Roden, students caught a glimpse of the military potential of this technology with a peek through super night binoculars. That lives can also be saved with visual high tech was demonstrated at Ziuz in Gorredijk, where the linking of smart software to super lenses check medications for accuracy and quantity. The introduction to our big 5 continued at Neopost in Drachten. There, the students saw how smart technology and robotization made packing goods 10 times faster with a 50 percent volume gain. ’’That should yield huge savings in transportation and hauling.''
Cobots
Using Microsoft's Hololens, YP Your Partner demonstrated the unlimited application possibilities for industry and business of augmented reality. ’’It is as if you literally add something to reality.‘’ At Variass in Drachten, the students were introduced to ’cobots,’ robots that can safely cooperate with people. ''It still takes some getting used to, but I can well imagine that in a few years we will find working together with a robot quite normal.'' Irmato presentation at Variass all kinds of applications with robots.
Concluding there was a tour at Philips in Drachten. First in the ICD Shared Facility Center where our 3D metal printer captured the imagination. Followed by a tour along the production of shavers in the most advanced ‘robot factory’ of Northern Netherlands.