Smart Antenna Technologies (SAT), a spinout of Birmingham University developing an antenna for smartphones and laptops, revealed on Friday that it is set to open a research facility in Taiwan’s capital.
SAT has developed technology to combine multiple antennae, such as wifi, GPS, 4G and Bluetooth, into a single unit. The technology reduces the amount of space required by separate antennae and boosts battery life by up to 10%.
The announcement follows news in January 2017, when SAT became the first spinout to secure money from the Spinout Investment Fund, a seed fund managed by Birmingham’s tech transfer office Alta Innovations.
The research facility in Taipei will initially employ five engineers and focus on client demand in Taiwan, China and Japan. The company currently counts a total of 19 staff in Birmingham and Bath.
James Wilkie, director of enterprise and innovation at Birmingham University, said: “Smart Antenna Technologies was formed as a spinout from Birmingham University, who supported the technology when it was at the invention stage.
“We are enormously pleased that the company has developed as an exemplar of how inventions from Birmingham are being commercialised internationally.”
