Bournemouth: Second Queen’s Award for Micro Nav
Micro Nav, the Bournemouth firm formed in 1988, has received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the innovation category. This follows an award in 2010 in the international trade category, after the trebling of the company’s exports over three years. The company specialises in developing and supplying air- traffic-control and air-defence simulators and training systems.
Micro Nav received the 2016 award for its Automatic Display Alignment System (ADAS) used in 3D air traffic control simulators and training systems. These simulators rely on the use of multiple projectors to present a simulated view like that which would be seen from a control tower at an airport. Previously, setting up and maintaining the calibration of multiple-projector arrays has been achieved manually by skilled specialist engineers.
ADAS uses an array of high resolution digital cameras, together with light emitting diodes embedded in the display screen, to automatically perform a geometric alignment of each of the projected images to the screen and to one another. The system also automatically adjusts the colour and brightness, so that all the images appear to be a single large image. Micro Nav has been granted a UK patent for this display systems innovation.
Stephen Williams, managing director of Micro Nav, said: “This award for innovation reflects the high-calibre staff within Micro Nav and the on-going investment that Micro Nav has made in its products to ensure that its customers are able to deliver high-quality training in the most efficient way. In a very competitive market-place the prestige of the Queen’s Award will help us secure further business in our chosen markets.”
The company’s main export areas have been Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with the more recent addition of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. A recent customer is Papua New Guinea Air Services, which has installed Micro Nav’s BEST solution which incorporates a 240-degree curved projected display system and is enabled with ADAS.
