CPEIA, IEEE forge strategic partnership

The Canadian Printable Electronics Industry Association (CPEIA) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Incorporated (IEEE), have entered into a strategic partnership with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the CPEIA and the IEEE Ottawa Section, to introduce printable and flexible electronics (PE) to IEEE members as a toolset for developing new products and applications and enhancing existing ones.

This MOU will open opportunities for the printable electronics industry to use IEEE’s strong technical research, industry and standards development base for developing solutions. The volunteer IEEE membership will have an opportunity to apply their knowledge, skill and career paths. These solutions will also create opportunities for applying printable electronics to development and humanitarian initiatives through IEEE.

Whole new set of building blocks for applications

“PE offers engineers, researchers and other technology developers a whole new set of building blocks for applications in automotive, aerospace, defence, mobile communications, consumer electronics, health, intelligent buildings and connected homes,” says Peter Kallai, president and CEO of the CPEIA.  “With its extensive global network, IEEE is a fantastic partner to help us reach a broader audience of innovators and build a stronger PE sector in Canada. IEEE members are the inventors who advance science and technology in their everyday research and development work; they are also the engineers who make everyday decisions about what technologies to use or include in a host of technology products. We are proud to partner with the IEEE – this is a major milestone for the CPEIA.”

“There is a natural fit between the IEEE and the CPEIA,” says Janet Davis, chair of the IEEE Ottawa Section. “Our members can take advantage of PE technologies to add intelligence to everyday objects at a fraction of the cost of conventional technologies, and develop this industry right here in Canada.  We welcome the opportunity to work together with the CPEIA to advance PE technologies.”

The MOU is a non-financial commitment between the two organizations to collaborate on a number of initiatives over the next three years with options to renew. These include participation in technical working groups and educational events such as webinars, technical seminars and conferences.

CPEIA workshops at IEEE events

The CPEIA and the IEEE have already begun to collaborate, to foster greater understanding among the IEEE membership of PE applications and their advantages versus conventional electronics.

In May in Montreal, the CPEIA hosted a special full-day session on PE at the IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS), the world’s premier networking forum of leading researchers in the highly active fields of theory, design and implementation of circuits and systems. Topics included flexible electronic circuits, printed organic photovoltaic antennas, aerosol jet printing for rapid prototyping and low-cost manufacturing methods.

In July in Montreal, the CPEIA will host a half-day session at the IEEE’s 17th International Symposium on Antenna Technology and Applied Electromagnetics (ANTEM), which will focus on printed antenna technologies.