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In combating SARS, the world now has a palm-sized weapon that is both convenient to use and highly effective - and was made entirely in Singapore, from conception to packaging. SI News looks at the GlowCard, the company behind it, and speaks with Dr Zheng Zheng, CEO of IMD.
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Called GlowCard, this handy device looks like a simple building-entrance ID card, but it packs a lot of technological prowess. Basically, GlowCard measures body temperatures. Users simply press a button on the card, place the device to their forehead, wait until the card beeps twice, then read the recorded temperature. The card is also ideal for schools as students can place the devices to their foreheads while the teachers go around to read the numbers.
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And it's all the ultimate product of a Singapore-based company, Intelligent Micro Devices (IMD). IMD is a spinoff of Institute of Microelectronics, an institute formed under the joint auspices of Singapore's EDB and National University of Singapore. The Institute develops new critical technologies that cut across a wide spectrum, engaging largely in R&D activities.
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Of GlowCard, IMD CEO Dr Zheng Zheng admitted, "Actually, that was a very challenging task for us. We were expected to design the IC, then have it produced at Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, inspect it, and calibrate it - all within eight weeks."
"At first, we said this was Mission Impossible," recalled Dr Zheng. But they accepted the assignment and were actually able to finish the entire project within that eight week period. "Actually, three people in our company didn't sleep at all during three days of the calibration period."
NICHE AREAS SOUGHT AND COVERED
IMD was founded in early 2002, with a mandate to search out special niche areas in its field. It's one of the new wave of fabless IC design firms - small operations which solely design microchips for specially designated purposes, then outsource the actual production of these chips and circuits to the larger semiconductor companies. For instance, in the case of GlowCard, the IMD design is produced by Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing and assembled by ST Assembly Test Services, all local companies. As Dr Zheng put it, this is a product "designed in Singapore, produced in Singapore, marketed from Singapore".
Dr Zheng further pointed out, "Our ICs are different from those of most design houses in that they have some intelligence inside the IC. For instance, you can actually change or configure the output according to the users' specifications." IMD's devices are not micro-controlled, meaning they are ICs that can be programmed. Every IC the firm designs contains a patented memory inside the IC. This special property is patented by Institute of Microelectronics, which then licenses out the patent.
SYNERGY MADE IN SINGAPORE
IMD is a prime example of the creative synergy between Singapore's EDB and private industry. A recipient of EDB's Startup EnterprisE Development Scheme (SEEDS) funding, IMD used this funding to get rolling with its strategy of searching out those special niche areas. It also received support from A*STAR, through A*STAR's Exploit Tech Pte Ltd.
The company started out small - very small, with only a single employee. When it had grown to all of three employees, it was able to convince major Japanese MNC Matsushita, to sign a contract for a large-scale project. As Dr Zheng related, "After finishing the project with Matsushita, they said, 'We would like to invest in your company.' And this was after we had existed for only 15 months."
In fact, the Matsushita investment amounted to three times as much as the initial SEEDS funding. But as Dr Zheng stated, "We're very happy about it (the Matsushita investment), but I think we should give credit to EDB because it actually saw the opportunity, the potential in our company. So actually, when we applied for the SEEDS funding, everything came very fast. SEEDS gave us a very good kickstart."
Today, the firm runs with a staff of 11. The excitement generated by IMD's ambitions and projects actually drew some of the current staff back from jobs in the US. "We've built the team up gradually," said Dr Zheng.
SUCCESS BREEDS SUCCESS
Over the last six months, the young firm has rung up revenues of roughly S$1million. This includes IMD's contract with Matsushita.
Buoyed by its success so far, IMD has signed two further contracts with Matsushita to produce sensor interface designs for them. It's now in the enviable position of having to turn down offers from other companies because it does not want to over-commit its resources.
The firm has quickly leveraged its unique strengths in low-cost CMOS memory technology to become a leading provider of programmable mixed signal IC for the communications, consumer and industrial markets. Other major IMD projects include other sensor interface designs, along with systems which produce 'intelligent' automobile airbags, as well as wireless tire pressure indicators.
PROTECTING THE PRODUCTS
For an IC design house like IMD, which licenses most of its IC designs, intellectual property protection is essential. Here again, Dr Zheng has high praise for Singapore's system. "This is very important: actually in Singapore, I think the IP protection is not only by the government, but also by the culture here, the people's mentality. I'm so small, if people want to copy my design, I can't sue everyone. I'm not Intel or whatever, with a team of lawyers."
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THE MAN AT THE HELM
- Dr Zheng Zheng was born in Xiamen, a port city in southeastern China better known to some by its former name, Amoy.
- He took his first university degree, in microelectronics, at Zhejiang University in his homeland.
- He took his PhD at the University of Manchester.
- He subsequently did post-doctoral work at Cambridge University, before accepting a position with a company in Cambridge Science Park.
- In 1997, after two years with the Cambridge firm, Dr Zheng received an offer to come to Singapore to work for Institute of Microelectronics, focusing on the Institute's plans for developing a series of intelligent micro-devices. "My job in the UK was actually quite good, but I still joined the Institute because I got pretty excited about the plans," he said.
- In 2002, IMD spun off from the Institute with Zheng assuming the position of CEO of the new firm.
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