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Central Broadcasting Network Zhongshan August 13 news (reporter Xia Yan) In 2011, the construction of global optical fiber communication projects was in full swing. That year, Wang Biwei, who was less than 18 years old, was admitted to the Optoelectronic Information Engineering major of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and just began to contact optical fiber optics and other related courses.
10 years later, when he returned from a study tour in Saudi Arabia, he neither accepted offers from large companies nor stayed in school to continue teaching, but chose the entrepreneurial road of optical fiber sensing industrialization.
"The experience of the Saudi exchange can be said to have changed the trajectory of my life and made me sure that I want to start a business." Born in 1994, the young Ph.D. is now the co-founder of Axon Optoelectronics Technology (Zhongshan) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Axon").
In an exclusive interview with a reporter from the Central Broadcasting Network, he frankly said, "I hope to apply what I have learned and contribute to the transformation and upgrading of the traditional manufacturing industry!" ”
Where the heart goes
In 2018, Wang Biwei took a photo during the International Optical Fiber Sensing Conference (referred to as "OFS") in Switzerland (courtesy of Wang Biwei)
"I just moved into the new park and haven't had time to clean up yet." On one side, there were more than a dozen cardboard boxes full of accessories, and on the other side was a workbench that had just been set up, and when I saw Wang Biwei, he was busy arranging a new office area. "I just came here this year and I love it here."
In 2021, Wang Biwei and Mao Yuan, the founder of Axon and his brother during his doctoral studies, decided to start a business and have been looking for a suitable place to start a business.
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has a well-established supply chain and has become their first choice for starting a business. After a round of inspection, they were impressed by the one-stop service of "talent + industry + platform + fund + mentor" provided by the China Zhongshan Overseas Students Entrepreneurship Park (hereinafter referred to as "Liuchuang Park"), and immediately decided to land the company in the Torch Development Zone of Zhongshan City.
"We came out of the school lab and we knew a lot about the technology, but how to run the company was a challenge, and The Lingering Park helped a lot in this regard." Wang Biwei said.
At the same time, Zhongshan Torch Development Zone has built a whole chain of talents "introduction and retention", and focused on promoting the construction of "one-stop" Zhongshan International Talent Port Torch Service Center and Zhongshan Science and Technology Innovation Talent Center, providing a good growth environment for start-ups.
At the end of 2021, Axon officially entered the Liuchuang Park, and its core product is distributed fiber optic sensors. As the company's technical director, Wang Biwei excitedly told reporters: "It is rare to be able to work in a job related to your profession and be interested in after graduation, which is a very valuable opportunity." ”
In 2017, Wang Biwei participated in the Optoelectronics and Communications Conference ("OECC") in Singapore (photo courtesy of Wang Biwei)
He was associated with research related to distributed optical fiber sensing, starting from an internship in the summer vacation of Wang Biwei's junior year. At that time, he was interning at the National Optoelectronic Research Center in Wuhan and was closely exposed to relevant research, so when he went to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for a doctorate, he did not hesitate to choose the research direction of distributed fiber optic sensors combined with machine learning algorithms.
"The field of optical fiber communication is relatively mature, but the field of optical fiber sensing is still in a state of 'waste to be revived', and there are many things worth exploring." Wang Biwei explained that this is also the reason why they chose to start a business in the field of optical fiber sensing, which is exactly what his heart desires.
Trip to Saudi Arabia
If he had not visited Saudi Arabia, Wang Biwei might not have embarked on the road of entrepreneurship.
At the end of 2019, after completing most of the research work during his doctoral period, Wang Biwei received an invitation from his brother Mao Yuan and, with the support of his doctoral supervisor, came to King Abdullah University of Science and Technology to carry out field research work.
In Wang Biwei's original plan, the study visit was only a few months, but after the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, all international flights in Saudi Arabia were suspended, and the time was extended to one year.
"It's been a blessing in disguise for more than a year, allowing me to get into these projects in depth!" The projects in Wang Biwei's mouth are one oil underground monitoring project and the other is the red palm weevil treatment project. Among them, the latter impressed him and allowed him to discover more possibilities for fiber optic sensing applications.
According to Wang Biwei, dates are a specialty of Saudi Arabia, but the date palm tree is very vulnerable to red-brown weevil beetles. "This bug will lay eggs in the tree, then hatch, slowly hollow out the tree, and by the time everyone finds out, it has grown wings and flew away, and quickly spread to other trees."
The red-brown weevil beetles infested wildly, causing serious economic losses to the local area. Local farmers have also tried many ways to control these insects, but with little success.
The project team did simulation experiments in the laboratory (courtesy of Wang Biwei, CCTV)
Therefore, the project team used optical fiber sensing technology to do early detection and early warning, the optical fiber was wrapped around the date palm tree, and the sound of such insects eating trees was induced through the optical fiber, and it could be dealt with immediately when detected, so that the spread of insect pests could be controlled soon, and the local media also reported on the matter.
According to Wang Biwei's recollection, in order to do this project, they got up at five or six o'clock every morning and did not finish work until it was dark.
"The experimental conditions are still relatively difficult, and the daytime in Saudi Arabia is very hot, and every day it is gray." Still, when I saw the techniques I learned being applied to the actual scene, I felt a sense of accomplishment, "all the hard work was not important in that moment."
Wang Biwei (left) and project team member Mao Yuan (right) wrap optical fibers around a date palm tree (courtesy of Wang Biwei)
Stepping out of the laboratory and applying what he has learned to reality, Saudi Arabia's study visit experience has made Wang Biwei more clear about his interests: "I prefer to do something more industrialized!" ”
New value
From being invited to visit and learning to start a business together, in Wang Biwei's heart, his brother Mao Yuan is the guide of his own entrepreneurship.
In 2021, Mao Yuan ended his work at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and returned to China to start a business. "He feels that at this point in time, it has reached the stage of vigorous development of related distributed optical fiber sensing applications, and it is necessary to seize the opportunity."
As early as around 2015, academia and industry began to tap the potential of distributed fiber optic sound sensing related applications. In 2017, the Photonics Laboratory team in Saudi Arabia began the research related to the distributed optical fiber sensing system, from the verification of the principle to the procurement of suitable devices to assemble, and then a series of work such as debugging and selection, so far the prototype has been iterated for 4 to 5 generations.
Photo of Wang Biwei working in the laboratory of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (courtesy of Wang Biwei)
"The structure is more compact, the interior design is more optimized, and it is now a relatively mature stage." Wang Biwei told reporters, but in the future, according to the specific market, more research and development work is needed. "The early R&D work is more technical, and the later R&D work is more inclined to practical application."
He explained that in practical applications, not only to consider the cost, but also to ensure the stability of the instrument, "the laboratory environment is relatively simple, there will be no drastic environmental changes, but the field application scenarios are very complex, sometimes to be able to withstand high temperature and high pressure." ”
Everything is ready, only the east wind is owed.
Thanks to the accumulation of early system research and development, the industrial application of Axon has achieved results quickly. Less than half a year into the Zhongshan Overseas Students Business Park in China, Axon has received more than $500,000 in orders.
Wang Biwei participated in the 11th China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition (Guangdong Zhongshan Division) (courtesy of Wang Biwei)
"This distributed optical fiber sensing system has great application value and prospects in the fields of oil and gas downhole and pipeline monitoring, coal mine monitoring, rail transit, perimeter security, water conservancy facilities, and power cables." Wang Biwei said.
He revealed that recently Axon also has two projects in talks, one is oil mine underground monitoring, and the other is railway safety monitoring.
Taking railway safety monitoring as an example, they will lay optical fibers along the railway tracks to monitor the status of train operation in real time, and in the event of mudslides, heavy rainfall, tunnel collapses and other disasters, they can issue early warnings in advance to avoid casualties and economic losses.
However, the process of starting a business is always full of uncertainty, and Wang Biwei is very determined: "I am sure that I like to do this thing, it does not matter if I encounter difficulties, I believe that through sustained efforts, I can do better and leave no regrets!" ”
At present, lasers and information acquisition are the main difficulties in the development of distributed optical fiber sensing systems. Due to the high requirements of the system for the laser light source, the narrow line width laser is currently only able to meet the requirements of high performance by one or two foreign companies.
"Now that the domestic technology is getting better and better, we will also seek localization in the future." Wang Biwei said, "I hope to continue to consolidate and develop this technology and bring some new value to the manufacturing industry." ”