BRIDG facility expects to roll out 1st silicon wafer by June, CEO says

A high-tech sensor-research facility in Kissimmee should produce its first silicon wafer, or the mold used in the fabrication of integrated circuits, by June, one of its leaders said Thursday.

The milestone would give the BRIDG facility a chance to show off the kind of work its high-tech hardware could enable for businesses, providing a more concrete way to attract customers.

“You have to prove that you can deliver,” said Chester Kennedy, BRIDG CEO. He’s previously said he received some interest in the research facility during a trip to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. However, some prospective partners would not commit until they saw a working process.

Leaders at BRIDG hope to partner with private industry on research projects related to sensors and Internet of Things-based products such as smart cars and wind turbines.

On Thursday, Kennedy led a presentation that formally announced a partnership with the energy giant Siemens that provides the company’s $30 to BRIDG.

The product will enable BRIDG leaders to create “digital twins,” or virtual representations of actual products, as it conducts research on smart sensors, imagers and other devices.

Kennedy said applications could include the food production, aerospace and defense industries.

“This is a way to broaden our ability to reach and accelerate innovation in the [Internet of Things] market segment,” said Rob Rudder, vice president of Siemens software.

Officials announced several million software partnerships last year, including one with St. Petersburg-based Aurora Semiconductors. Aurora has been developing technology that could shrink microchips, potentially to a size that would allow 100 small components to be packaged in a thumbnail-sized device.

“When you think about the sophistication of … getting detailed systems to interact, we are four to five months away,” Kennedy said. “It’ll be a big milestone to be able to turn on that equipment.”