1. ERC 2016 Info Session ERC-PoC Testimony Danaë Delbeke, PhD, IOF BD manager
PLATEAU - Photonics Innovation Center
Ghent University
September

2. Résumé Danaë Delbeke, PhD
IOF Technology and Business Development Manager
TT and BD in the field of Photonics at UGent
Consortium: UGent (21 ZAP, 250 researchers)
Managing IP portfolio (> 50 patents)
International and national industrial collaborations
BD coordination of incubation projects
3 spin-offs and 4 spin-off incubation projects
Entrepreneurial lectures
6 ERC grants in Plateau (finished and ongoing, excl PoC)
5 ERC-PoC
e.g. ERC- PoC
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3. ERC-PoC guidelines
The ERC Proof of Concept Grants aim to maximise the value of the excellent research that the ERC funds, by funding further work (i.e. activities which were not scheduled to be funded by the original ERC frontier research grant) to verify the innovation potential of ideas arising from ERC funded projects.
The objective is to provide funds to enable ERC-funded ideas to be brought to a pre-demonstration stage where potential commercialisation opportunities have been identified.
verify
Confirm/ establish
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4. ERC-PoC guidelines
Verify and establish the innovation potential of their idea during the pre-demonstration phase by (12M, 150 Keuro):
establishing viability, technical issues and overall direction
Market research
clarifying IPR position and strategy
providing feedback for budgeting and other forms of commercial discussion
providing connections to later stage funding
covering initial expenses for establishing a company
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5. Example ERC-PoC: CUP The idea
ERC-Starting Grant NaResCo (Prof. P. Bienstman): photonic reservoir computing
We will develop nanophotonic reservoir computing as a novel paradigm for massively parallel information processing. Reservoir computing is a recently proposed methodology from the field of machine learning and neural networks, which has been used successfully in several pattern classification problems, like speech and image recognition. However, it has so far been used mainly in a software implementation, which limits its speed and power efficiency.
Photonics could provide an excellent platform for such a hardware implementation, because of the presence of unique non-linear dynamics in photonics components due to the interplay of photons and electrons, and because light also has a phase in addition to an amplitude, which provides for an important additional degree of freedom as opposed to a purely electronic hardware implementation.
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6. Example ERC-PoC: CUP The idea
ERC-Starting Grant NaResCo (Prof. P. Bienstman): photonic reservoir computing
Caphe: software developed in the framework of NaResCo to facilitate the simulation of photonic reservoir computing
We will develop nanophotonic reservoir computing as a novel paradigm for massively parallel information processing. Reservoir computing is a recently proposed methodology from the field of machine learning and neural networks, which has been used successfully in several pattern classification problems, like speech and image recognition. However, it has so far been used mainly in a software implementation, which limits its speed and power efficiency.
Photonics could provide an excellent platform for such a hardware implementation, because of the presence of unique non-linear dynamics in photonics components due to the interplay of photons and electrons, and because light also has a phase in addition to an amplitude, which provides for an important additional degree of freedom as opposed to a purely electronic hardware implementation.
Confidential

7. Example ERC-PoC: CUP The idea
ERC-Starting Grant NaResCo (Prof. P. Bienstman): photonic reservoir computing
Caphe: software developed in the framework of NaResCo to facilitate the simulation of photonic reservoir computing
ERC-PoC CUP (12M): PoC extending the software to bring it to commercialisiation in fields outside of photonic reservoir computing.
Innovation potential: Caphe is aimed at narrowing the "design gap" experienced by photonic IC designers today
Unexistent today.
We will develop nanophotonic reservoir computing as a novel paradigm for massively parallel information processing. Reservoir computing is a recently proposed methodology from the field of machine learning and neural networks, which has been used successfully in several pattern classification problems, like speech and image recognition. However, it has so far been used mainly in a software implementation, which limits its speed and power efficiency.
Photonics could provide an excellent platform for such a hardware implementation, because of the presence of unique non-linear dynamics in photonics components due to the interplay of photons and electrons, and because light also has a phase in addition to an amplitude, which provides for an important additional degree of freedom as opposed to a purely electronic hardware implementation.
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8. Example ERC-PoC: CUP
Caphe is aimed at narrowing the "design gap" experienced by photonic IC designers today

9. Example ERC-PoC: CUP Expected impact (at the moment of application)
Economic/societal benefits
Bridging the design gap: making better and faster design cycles possible
Commercialization process
The final exploitation strategy can be either through a new university spin-off company or licensing to an existing software vendor.
Preliminary business plan
Competition, users/customers, IPR and license model, etc
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10. Example ERC-PoC: CUP
The proof of concept plan (application + in facts)
development of a roadmap
Technical/product plan and business plan
Financial plan and partner selection
technical improvements to make the tool commercially viable
demonstrate and document user cases (alpha-customers).
elaboration of a licensing scheme (pre-commercial and commercial)
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11. Example ERC-PoC: CUP Budget Post-doc (100%) Software engineer (60%)
(did his PhD in the framework of ERC-Starting Grant)
Software engineer (60%)
Industrial expert (future CEO) (5%)
(small amount of working costs)
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12. Example ERC-PoC: CUP Spin-off: Luceda Established in 2014
Photonics IC design software
Incubated 2-3 months after ERC-PoC CUP finished
6 people active
Licensing Caphe software from UGent
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