Best software!

Ideagen has been named one of the ‘Best UK Software Companies’ for the third consecutive year in the G2 2026 Best Software Awards. The company also earned the Best Enterprise Resource Planning Products award, specifically noted for excellence in the Quality Management (QMS) and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) categories - reflecting the high esteem Ideagen solutions are held in the eyes of their customers.

Across its portfolio, the company earned an impressive 331 G2 badges in 2025, demonstrating consistent user satisfaction and product excellence.

Standout results in 2025 include Ideagen Quality Management being recognised as a Leader in 49 reports and Ideagen Quality Control winning 77 badges in 2025 - the highest number of total badges in the entire product suite. Across the portfolio, solutions achieved an impressive 125 number one rankings.

John Molamphy, Chief Technology Officer at Ideagen, said: "Being recognised in G2's Best Software Awards for the third consecutive year is a powerful validation of our AI-first approach to solving the complex challenges facing regulated industries.

“This honour reflects the trust more than 18,000 customers place in our platform to deliver the clarity and confidence they need to protect their people, operations and the world around them.

"What makes this recognition especially meaningful is that it comes directly from our customers - the safety managers, quality directors and compliance officers who rely on our software daily. Their feedback drives our innovation and reinforces our commitment to being the most insightful and enabling platform for organisations managing critical risk, quality and safety challenges."

This point was echoed by Godard Abel, co-founder and CEO at G2: "As buyers increasingly shift to AI-driven research to discover software solutions, being recommended in the 'answer moment' must be earned with credible proof. Our Best Software Awards are grounded in trusted data from authentic customer reviews. They not only give buyers an objective, reliable guide to the products that help teams do their best work, but they're also the proof AI search platforms rely on when sourcing answers. Congratulations to this year's winners, including Ideagen. Earning a spot on these lists signals real customer impact."

Customer feedback influenced the success including:

• “I have used Ideagen Quality Management for eight years and it is a great system to share documents, perform audits and report internal incidents. I use the system daily and it is a big part of my role as a quality lead.”
• “Ideagen Quality Control has been a game-changer for our team's quality management processes. The platform is incredibly intuitive, leading to a dramatic improvement in our efficiency, accuracy and compliance.”
• “Managing compliance monitoring within our organisation has always been a complex task. However, Ideagen has made this process much simpler and effective. It has significantly reduced the number of man-hours needed to manage our audits.”

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@Ideagen_Plc @G2dotcom #PAuto #Britain

Sovereign IT.

A strong European alternative to fragmented provider structures and hyperscale cloud models.

Thomas Krenn.AG and SCHÄFER IT Systems have entered into a strategic partnership. The aim of the collaboration is to provide companies and IT service providers in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland),  with a sovereign, European and economically controllable IT infrastructure. With their joint approach, the two partners are responding to key challenges facing modern IT strategies, such as increasing complexity, escalating performance requirements and the growing desire for independence from global cloud providers.

The cooperation focuses on pooling complementary expertise. SCHÄFER IT Systems contributes its experience with modular IT and data centre infrastructure, while Thomas Krenn.AG complements this with its expertise in the areas of servers, virtualisation and IT operations. Close coordination between the two companies results in an integrated approach with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. For customers and partners, this means fewer interfaces, reduced coordination efforts and significantly greater planning reliability.

Added value through integrated infrastructure.
The collaboration between Thomas Krenn.AG and SCHÄFER IT Systems has resulted in a joint product solution in the form of a coordinated all in one infrastructure platform. This connects central components of modern data centre environments to form a consistent overall system. The joint approach is based on a modular rack concept with direct liquid cooling as well as hybrid air and water cooling, and is designed for high power densities. Infrastructure, servers, virtualisation, monitoring and service are seamlessly integrated. For users, this means significantly simplified planning, faster implementation and stable, cost effective operation.

The cooperation pursues a holistic approach. Instead of isolated individual solutions, the partners are focusing on the coordinated interaction of infrastructure, platforms and services. The aim is to make IT projects easier to plan, minimise risks and reduce complexity throughout the entire life cycle. This positions both company systems as a strong European alternative to fragmented provider structures and hyperscale cloud models.

“This collaboration enables us to create genuine added value for our customers that goes beyond the familiar SCHÄFER solutions and technologies,” explains Thomas Wermke, Division Manager at SCHÄFER IT Systems. “It is about combining IT and infrastructure solutions, thereby making them easier to operate and plan for the long term. With clear responsibilities and a strong European foundation.”

Bernhard Seibold, Vice President of Product Management at Thomas Krenn.AG, also emphasises the strategic dimension: “Many companies today want more independence, transparency and stability in their IT. At the same time, the integrated infrastructure offers customers a solution that combines performance, cost effectiveness and operational reliability in a consistent approach.”

Several target groups benefit from this cooperation. Small and medium sized enterprises gain a reliable basis for setting up and operating modern IT and private cloud structures without having to deal with the complexity of traditional multi vendor projects. System houses and resellers benefit from clearly structured, reproducible solutions that are easier to plan and integrate into existing portfolios. Managed service providers receive a stable platform on which to build scalable service and operating models and strengthen long term customer relationships.

European independence as a business advantage A central element of the partnership is the shared commitment to digital sovereignty. As members of the Verein zur Förderung der IT aus Europa e. V. (Association for the Promotion of IT in Europe), both companies are committed to European value creation, transparency and long term reliability. The cooperation is therefore not only a technical scheme but also a strategic signal for an independent and sustainable European IT landscape.

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@ThomasKrennAG #SCHÄFER #IT#Systems #DACH #Europe

Founder's death announced.

The Imaging Source has announced with deep sadness the passing of its founder, Rolf Bollhorst.

"Rolf was a distinguished engineer and a guiding presence within the organisation. Through his innovation, entrepreneurial leadership, and strong personal values, he shaped both our company and the field of machine vision."

Throughout his career, Rolf demonstrated an unwavering commitment to his work and to the people around him. He was a respected mentor, always generous with his time and expertise, and consistently offered guidance and support to all who sought it.

"His passion for engineering and his collaborative spirit have left a lasting mark on the company, and we remain committed to carrying forward his vision and the principles he championed. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time."

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 @ImagingSource @UnnGmbh

Digitiser.

Ideal for developing a new scientific instrument or upgrading an existing platform.

Part of Teledyne SP Devices' 12 bit ADQ3 series, offers an exceptional combination of speed, resolution, and flexibility, making it a strong fit for demanding scientific, industrial, and OEM applications.

The ADQ35 is engineered for use in areas such as swept source optical coherence tomography (SS OCT), time of flight mass spectrometry, distributed fiber-optic sensing, LiDAR, scientific instrumentation, and automated test equipment. These applications require digitisers capable of capturing and processing large volumes of data with high fidelity and minimal latency. To meet these requirements, the ADQ35 delivers multi GSPS performance, efficient real-time processing, and high-speed data transfer — often positioned close to the detector to maintain signal integrity in compact or noise sensitive environments.

Performance and technical highlights.

The ADQ35 provides dual‑channel sampling at 5 GSPS or single‑channel operation at 10 GSPS, all with 12‑bit vertical resolution. Its DC‑coupled analog front end supports up to 2.5 GHz of input bandwidth with a 0.5 Vpp input range, and the 8 Gbyte onboard memory enables extended data capture. For high‑throughput applications, peer‑to‑peer streaming to GPUs reaches up to 14 Gbyte/s, supporting real‑time data transfer. Additional features such as programmable DC offset and availability in both PCIe and USB 3.2 form factors ensure flexible system integration.

Firmware and FPGA options.
The ADQ35 supports a range of application‑specific firmware packages, including standard data acquisition, waveform averaging, pulse detection, and SS‑OCT signal conditioning. For users requiring custom real‑time digital signal processing, the open AMD Kintex Ultrascale KU115 FPGA offers extensive resources for implementing tailored DSP directly on the digitiser. This reduces the need for post‑processing and enables real‑time decision‑making — an advantage for OEMs and researchers developing specialised solutions.

OEM integration and product variants.
Teledyne SP Devices provides advanced hardware and software tools that simplify OEM integration, accelerate development, and reduce overall system cost. ADQ35 is available with extended warranty options and integrates seamlessly with Digitizer Studio software for configuration and control. The ADQ35 offers a reliable, high‑performance foundation that shortens time‑to‑market and enhances system capability.

It is a robust, high-speed solution for next-generation data acquisition. With its flexible firmware, open FPGA, and industry-leading streaming performance, the ADQ35 empowers users to build faster, more accurate, and more efficient systems.

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@spdevices @mepaxIntPR #TandM #PAuto #OEM

Award for outstanding team engineering and innovation.

TOPTICA Photonics' TOPTICLOCK Team has been awarded the 2026 Paul F. Forman Team Engineering Excellence Award presented by OPTICA, recognising outstanding teamwork and engineering achievement in the successful transfer of cutting-edge research into commercial optical atomic clock.

The award honours the development of TOPTICLOCK, a commercial single-ion optical clock that combines ultra-low-noise photonics with advanced quantum technology to achieve unprecedented accuracy in an industrial form factor. Within just three years, the TOPTICLOCK Team developed and qualified the commercial optical quantum clock and successfully commissioned it at a lead customer site. From fundamental metrology to industrial reality.

The TOPTICLOCK initiative originated from a close collaboration between TOPTICA Photonics and Germany’s national metrology institute PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt). Building on the joint research project opticlock, coordinated by TOPTICA and PTB, the team transferred key know-how from a research demonstrator into an industrial optical frequency standard. The TOPTICLOCK Team consists of TOPTICA engineers and scientists with deep expertise in quantum technologies, lasers, photonics, and software, and PTB optical clock expert Dr. Nils Huntemann as scientific advisor. This close collaboration across institutional and disciplinary boundaries was a decisive factor in achieving the project’s ambitious goals.

Engineering excellence at the Quantum limit.
Optical quantum clocks provide unprecedented stability and accuracy. At their heart are a local oscillator, a quantum reference, and an optical frequency comb – each requiring extreme stability and control. In TOPTICLOCK, the local oscillator is a diode laser system whose linewidth is reduced to below the Hz-level by translating the passive length stability of an optical cavity into frequency stability of the laser. For long-term accuracy, the clock laser is disciplined to the electric quadrupole transition of a single laser-cooled ¹⁷¹Yb⁺ ion at 436 nm. Four additional frequency-stabilized laser systems spanning wavelengths from 370 nm to 935 nm are required to prepare, cool, and read out the ion’s quantum state. All optical, electronic, thermal, and magnetic influences on the ion must be precisely controlled or characterized to fully exploit the potential of quantum-state-based timekeeping. What makes TOPTICLOCK exceptional is not only its performance – with relative stability and accuracy on the order of 10⁻¹⁷, outperforming thermal-vapor-based optical clocks by around two orders of magnitude – but the fact that this performance is achieved in a transportable, industrial 19-inch rack system. All subsystems are integrated into two racks, combining optics, electronics, vacuum technology, control hardware, and comprehensive software into a reliable system designed.

“The engineering challenges to transfer a laboratory setup that can only be operated by experienced scientists into an industrial footprint – while maintaining world-class performance – are enormous,” said Dr. Stephan Ritter, Senior Director Quantum Technology Solutions, TOPTICA Photonics.

Impact Beyond the Lab.
This level of performance in an industrial form factor marks an important milestone on the path toward a future redefinition of the SI second based on optical clocks. Beyond fundamental metrology, TOPTICLOCK opens new possibilities for applications such as advanced time scales and time services, network synchronization, ground references for satellite navigation, and high-precision fundamental research.

“The Paul F. Forman Team Engineering Excellence Award recognizes exactly what made this project successful – a truly collaborative team that mastered extraordinary engineering challenges to bring quantum-enabled performance into the real world,” said Dr. Jürgen Stuhler, Vice President Quantum Technologies of TOPTICA Photonics. “This award underlines TOPTICA’s commitment to translating pioneering photonics and quantum research into technologies that create real impact.”

The TOPTICLOCK project once again demonstrates how close cooperation between research institutions and industry, combined with strong systems engineering and team excellence, can turn visionary science into commercial solutions.

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• See also Innovative optical quantum clock wins. (22/1/2026)

@TOPTICA_AG @OpticaWorldwide @PresseBox@UnnGmbh  #Pauto #Photonics

Industrial communications' Cyber resilience.

The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) will require all manufacturers of products with digital elements to implement comprehensive security measures starting in December 2027. After thoroughly reviewing its technologies, PI has come to the following conclusion: PROFINET already provides the basis for CRA compliance today. Manufacturers can use existing installations and expand them step by step depending on their risk assessment. The PROFINET specification provides additional building blocks for extended security requirements.

“The CRA requirements pose major challenges for companies,” says PI Chairman Xaver Schmidt. “Our analysis shows that manufacturers who rely on PROFINET already have a solid basis for CRA compliance today. If higher security requirements are needed, manufacturers can gradually expand their products with PROFINET security features in the future – from authenticated secure communication to complete encryption.”

It requires manufacturers to assess the cybersecurity risks of their products. In doing so, they analyze possible attack scenarios and evaluate the necessary protection for industrial communication. Depending on the risk assessment, manufacturers can implement individual or multiple building blocks from the PROFINET security architecture to meet the CRA requirements for secure communication:

Secure Cell:
Network segmentation and access control (cell protection concept) can already be implemented with today’s PROFINET installations. Additional hardening measures are available with the PROFINET specification V2.5.

Secure Access:
Direct, secure access to devices from higher-level networks for applications ranging from asset management to artificial intelligence.

Secure Realtime:
Integrity, authentication and, if required, confidentiality through cryptographic protection of acyclic and cyclic real-time communication for critical infrastructures.

The Secure Access and Secure Realtime building blocks are described in the PROFINET specification V2.5, which will be published in mid-2026.

“Cybersecurity is not a one-size-fits-all approach but must be scalable – from small standalone machines to installations spread over kilometers,” says Schmidt. “The PROFINET architecture covers the entire spectrum: from network segmentation to cryptographically secured real-time communication – all while maintaining consistent performance. The key point is that many manufacturers can use their existing PROFINET installations as a basis and expand them as needed. This enables the CRA to be implemented in line with requirements without compromising data access.”

PI is developing the PROFINET specification in close cooperation with TÜV SÜD, based on the IEC 62443 industry standard.

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• See also CiA Statement on European CRA (16/2/2026)

@AllThingsPROFI #DigitalEU #Cybersecurity #Standards

Optimal cyclist position enhanced using thermal imaging.

One of the most advanced bike-fitting studios worldwide is tapping into the benefit of Flir thermal imaging technology to push the boundaries of sports science and biomechanics at all levels of cycling. Bikefit Van Staeyen (Antwerpen B) uses Flir-generated infrared images to visualise body heat and pressure distribution in real time, subsequently optimising rider position and bike set up. The enterprise offers professional bike fitting based on more than 20 years of experience in cycling. Founded by brothers Kevin and Michael Van Staeyen (a former professional road racing cyclist), the business has built its success on extensive expertise in sports science, biomechanics and cycling. What started as a passion for precision and performance evolved into one of the world’s most advanced bike-fitting studios.

The principal differentiator of Bikefit Van Staeyen is its dual-expert approach: every bike fit is performed by both brothers working together, merging technical analysis and professional cycling experience with medical understanding.

“This synergy allows us to identify patterns and dysfunctions far beyond what conventional systems can capture,” explains Kevin.

Real-time insight.
Central to the process is the use of advanced thermal imaging technology from Flir, which provides a real-time view into physiological asymmetries, pressure distribution, and underlying muscular imbalances.

“We use a Flir infrared camera to study a heat map of a rider pedaling to optimise body position and bike set up,” says Kevin. “By combining thermography with motion tracking, force analysis, and EMG [electromyographic] data, we can see what others can only guess: how the rider’s body reacts, compensates, and adapts under load. We’ve named our thermography application ‘Lava.flow’, a process that allows us to understand and optimise injury-prone areas, muscle activation, and pressure points in a completely new way.”

Bikefit Van Staeyen initially used a Flir E76 thermal imaging camera but has since migrated to the newer E96. The E96 is Flir’s first pistol-grip camera with 640 × 480 thermal resolution, allowing users to survey targets safely and quickly. This advanced sensor offers complete coverage of near and distant targets through a range of lens options. In addition, Flir Ignite provides the automatic uploading of E96 images directly from the camera to the cloud for easy, secure storage and sharing.

As pioneers in thermal analysis for cycling applications, Bikefit Van Staeyen works in close collaboration with Thermal Focus, a Flir Platinum Partner and stockist of the largest selection of Flir infrared cameras in the Benelux region.

Temperature in focus.
The hot spots and cold spots identified by Flir thermal cameras serve as direct indicators of how a cyclist’s body functions on the bike. An excessive temperature increase in certain areas can indicate overexertion, friction, or poor posture.

Using the Flir E96, Bikefit Van Staeyen can: detect hot spots and elevated pressure zones on the saddle, shoes, or handlebars; identify asymmetric muscle loading and unbalanced activation patterns; analyse vascular restrictions that may lead to numbness or reduced performance; and detect thermal irregularities that could indicate overload.

Bikefitter adjusting cycleheight

With this in-depth thermal analysis, the brothers are able to identify a range of issues that prompt adjustments for the optimal riding experience. For instance, asymmetric heat distribution around the kneecap points to a possible biomechanical problem, while too much heat in the ball of the foot typically means incorrect positioning of the cleat position. Similarly, increased temperature in the lower back could be the result of a compensatory mechanism or incorrect saddle adjustment.

"While traditional bike fits are often based on observation and feel, we use objective, data-driven measurements from the Flir thermal camera,” reveals Kevin. “Our Lava.flow process gives us unique, real-time insight into how a rider’s body responds while cycling. By way of example, we recently helped a cyclist experiencing unexplained knee pain during rides. Using our Flir infrared imaging technology, we observed excessive heat accumulation in the tibia [tibialis anterior muscle]. Thanks to the Flir imaging of this increased heat and our leg length software, we discovered that this leg was structurally shorter and that the rider had to pull the pedal excessively upward when cycling, resulting in knee pain.”

All levels of cyclist.
Cyclists turning to Bikefit Van Staeyen for assistance range from dedicated amateurs to World Tour professionals. They trust the company for the same reason: attention to detail. From saddle pressure to neural load; from crank dynamics to thermal asymmetry - no variable is left unexplored. The company is also pioneering the bike-fit domain at university level, a first in Europe, by collaborating with the University of Antwerp to integrate data-driven approaches.

“We want to serve as the fundamental partner and reference point for thermal camera technology within the sport of cycling,” concludes Kevin. “Our ambition is to help shape the future of performance diagnostics, not just for our own athletes, but as a knowledge and technology hub for teams and riders worldwide. With our expertise and experience we can demonstrate the immense potential of thermography in biomechanical and performance analysis.”

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@Van_Staeyen_M @flir @mepaxIntPR  #BikeFit #Sport