Engineers at Aston University and Birmingham business Arden Photonics have won an award for jointly developing the Modcon Mode Controller, a device which tests the capabilities of optical fibre communication systems.
The team received the Best Knowledge Transfer award at the ICT Excellence Awards 2008, held at Birmingham Motorcycle Museum in November.
The Modcon device is claimed to be unique, as no other company in the world manufactures mode control units that comply with ISO safety standards.
The joint development project between Aston University's Photonics Research Group and 4-man company Arden, based at the Aston Science Park, was part of the university's successful Knowledge Transfer Initiative, which encourages links between the university and regional businesses.
The ICT Excellence Awards, backed by Advantage West Midlands, were originally designed to recognise and showcase the talents of West Midlands ICT businesses.
Now in their fourth year, the Awards are open to all UK organisations.
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