ASTRI and Velosti of Silicon Valley to co-develop USB 3.0

Aug. 9, 2010 - PRLog -- Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) and Velosti Technology Limited, a technology firm based in Silicon Valley, have recently signed a two-year agreement under the institute’s Industry Collaborative Project (ICP) scheme to co-develop a USB 3.0 chip to tap into the rapidly expanding market.
   
Under the agreement, ASTRI will support Velosti’s development of the chip in Hong Kong by furnishing facilities and human resources. In return, ASTRI researchers will be able to acquire the world class expertise in USB 3.0 technology from Velosti. While most of the design work will be done by ASTRI, Velosti’s headquarters in the U.S. is preparing for the production.

Velosti’s Founder and President Dr Patrick Hung took a special trip from California to meet with ASTRI researchers in late July to roll out the project. “Velosti is excited to collaborate with ASTRI to develop the state-of-the-art data storage device in Hong Kong. The institute has the R&D talents we need for this project. We also believe that by partnering with ASTRI we can significantly reduce the development cost and increase our chance to successfully enter the Chinese mainland market,” Dr Hung said.

A.k.a. “super-speed USB”, USB 3.0 promises a transfer rate up to 4.8 Gbps, 10 times faster than USB 2.0, and is compatible with devices and computers using the lower version USB. Applications including thumb drive, solid state hard drive and hub constitute a market with huge potential. It is estimated that over six billion electronic devices are using USB as the de-facto standard for connecting peripherals. Widespread adoption of the new version is expected, with global shipment estimated to reach 2.3 billion pieces by 2015.

With the support of the Hong Kong SAR Government through the Innovation and Technology Commission, ASTRI launched the ICP scheme in late 2008 to attract global technology entrepreneurs to partner with the institute in creating mutually successful technology developments in related businesses. Under the scheme, the industrial partner can license the resulting intellectual properties exclusively for a period of time or own the IP if its contribution exceeds 50 per cent.

Dr Cheung Nim-kwan, ASTRI’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “ASTRI has signed nine ICP agreements so far and two more contracts are under negotiation. By and large, funding of an ICP is equally shared with the partner. Hopefully, Hong Kong will benefit from these synergistic relationships that combine technological entrepreneurship with local design talents.”

Among the first-batch ICP partners is Credo Semiconductor Inc., a start-up company from Santa Clara, California. Credo and ASTRI signed an agreement in May last year to forge ahead the development of high speed data communication IC products for the global market. The collaboration pulled together ASTRI's expertise in 10G data communications system and Credo's strength in low power mixed signal designs. The project not only brought in the most advanced technology in IC designs from the U.S., but also created immediate job opportunities for Hong Kong’s science and engineering graduates. It is expected that prototypes will be released in a few months.

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The Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (ASTRI) was founded by the HKSAR Government in 2000 with a mission to enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness in technology-based industries through applied research.

Visit http://www.astri.org for more information about ASTRI.