Without hesitation, the VVD state party in Fryslân accepted the invitation to pay a working visit to the companies of Innovatiecluster Drachten. The visit on December 4 exceeded the expectations of Member of Parliament Esther de Vrij and the members and staff of the group. On paper, such a cooperation of high-tech companies with schools and governments looks different from reality. The conclusion: ’’Our money is well spent''.
He is the surprise of the morning. At the invitation of the Parliamentary Party, the brand new liberal alderman of the municipality of Smallingerland, Sipke Hoekstra, came to Gorredijk. He also wants to see with his own eyes what Innovatiecluster Drachten is doing. Not for the first time, by the way, because the high-tech companies are no stranger to him. During the introduction to two presentations and a tour, Hoekstra wants to know whether the companies can still get enough staff. According to Joost Krebbekx, program manager of Innovatiecluster Drachten, that is becoming more difficult. †Philips is currently looking for 150 new employees and for the first time is having trouble filling vacancies. Our other companies are also noticing the scarcity, especially in attracting IT professionals. That is why we are presenting ourselves next week during Connect.FRL, to show IT students what exciting companies there are in the northern Netherlands.’’
rotate
Marco Molhoek, council member for the VDD in Smallingerland, wonders about filling these vacancies by employees from the ICD companies. ’’Can they rotate between the ICD companies?'' Gerrit Baarda, owner and founder of ZiuZ, would prefer that people continue working for him until retirement. ,,But life isn't like that. If you don't like it anymore, or are looking for a new challenge, you have plenty of choice to move on. We encourage that, of course, within the ICD companies. The result is that I'm left with employees who are really motivated to work at ZiuZ.’’
child porn
This motivation is necessary because sometimes the work is emotionally demanding. For example, at ZiuZ Forensic, which is working on special software to help vice police and prosecutors track down child pornography. ,,We are the market leader in this field and active in 50 countries. Our software enables investigators to find the right one from hundreds of thousands of images that can be used as evidence in a vice case,’’ explains CEO Bert Garlich. ’’Criminals are always making up something new to avoid being caught.'' State member Marten Dijkstra questions whether so-called ‘back doors’ in software are a solution to detecting child pornography. Garlich: ,,I don't like back doors and wonder if this is the solution. I do get discouraged by the rapidly growing scale of this problem. In the Netherlands alone, 30,000 official reports of child pornography are made each year, while the vice police can only deal with a thousand each year. So our work is very socially relevant and poses a great technical challenge.’’
Impression
During the explanation with a tour of pharmacy automation, with which ZiuZ supports health care providers in the control of medication, Esther de Vrij, a member of the provincial government, was impressed. These are fantastic companies. They work with great clout on solutions to social issues. I didn't expect that.’’ From paper, such a collaboration of high-tech companies with education and governments always looks different from reality, according to De Vrij. ’’The combination with education really appeals to me. It is future-oriented and the approach is nice and practical with sufficient opportunities for mbo students as well. Fryslân really needs this kind of cooperation. Our money is well spent here.''
traffic accident
With a short video Dirk Aalbers from Horus in the next presentation will see how 360-degree cameras are used to secure stadiums and events and virtual reality enables seriously ill children to be in touch with friends or family. ’’We make software to tie together data collected by sensors and cameras.’’ Dik gives an example. ''Cars today are full of sensors and cameras. Our software ensures that what the sensors and cameras register appears in a comprehensible way in the car's dashboard. We do this so quickly that the driver is able to make a good decision based on the information. For example, a traffic accident can be prevented.''
Coffee break
With the combination of mobile mapping and virtual reality, Horus makes it possible, for example, to check traffic signs, the condition of asphalt or buildings from a car. ,,Using artificial intelligence, we automate, for example, a thermal camera that scans buildings for insulation. But you can also check asphalt for quality this way. Based on the temperature several years after construction, you gain insight into whether the asphalt of the entire road was laid at the same temperature, or whether there was a coffee break in between. That's how you learn for the construction of the next road.’’
Visual awareness
For Horus, the fastest growing market is that of safety and security. According to Aalbers you don't get in just like that. With police and defense you have to build up a certain name to be able to work for them. We managed to do that. We now receive one order after another for ‘visual awarness’. For example, a camera system for accident investigation. A video of a traffic accident explains to the court what happened where.’’ Horus is also helping with systems that allow the police to monitor large groups of people from a bus. ’’To track down a troublemaker and thus prevent escalations or violence.’’ Defense has also enlisted Horus’ help for a system that continuously records the environment. ’'If a shot is fired, you can scan the environment in near real-time to see where the shot came from and you can locate and apprehend the perpetrator more quickly.'' The question arises whether you want to sell this technology to countries with questionable human rights records, such as China. For Aalders, that is not a discussion. ''We are careful about our relationship with the Dutch police.''
