Entrepreneurship in Sensor-Land

Abstract

Researchers in the Netherlands were among the first to realize that the lack of suitable sensors and actuators would be certain to hamper the further development of information processing systems and their introduction into new markets. As a result MESA and DIMES started sensor programs which acquired a worldwide reputation. It was expected that the academic research would lead to an increased activity in the relevant Dutch industries. Unfortunately, management in most of these industries lacked the appropriate vision and entrepreneurial skills to make use of the available information. Consequently, the academic sensor programs did not receive the necessary industrial follow up and have therefore failed to contribute to the GNP so far. The only possible way out of this impasse is to encourage and financially support MESA and DIMES graduates to start-up their own small sensor companies. In this paper some relevant data supporting this view is presented.