September 6, 2005, Canandaigua, NY--The Infotonics Technology Center of Canandaigua, along with New Scale Technologies (Victor, NY), will undertake a joint research project to produce working prototypes of a number of highly miniaturized products that integrate New Scale's piezoelectric motor with Infotonics' microsystems technology.
Infotonics will work with New Scale to further miniaturize the motor technology and integrate it into modules for specific high-potential commercial markets. Potential applications include:
--Integrated autofocus and optical-zoom modules for mobile-phone cameras. Such modules would improve image quality without adding bulk or reducing battery life.
--Medical devices, such as drug-delivery modules and pumps for microfluidic systems. The devices would be small enough to be implanted in a patient, and would be nonmagnetic and thus safe for use in and near magnetic-resonance-imaging systems.
--"Smart" clothing for commercial, defense and NASA customers, such as shoes that automatically adjust insole stiffness based on the terrain and the wearer's stride.
The Infotonics Technology Center is a not-for-profit corporation that operates New York State's Center of Excellence in Photonics and Microsystems. Infotonics is structured as a consortium whose founding participants include Corning (Corning, NY), Eastman Kodak Company, and Xerox Corporation (both of Rochester, NY). Academic participants include some 20 New York State colleges and universities. Infotonics' goal is to establish a world-class research and development facility to enable rapid commercialization of new products.