Pyreos, the Edinburgh-based passive infra-red sensor developer, has won its first volume contract for its ezPyro chip, which incorporates both a sensor and a processing unit.
The order was secured from a South Korean customer, which is deploying the sensor in two of its products.
The ezPyro component has been designed into a standalone fire-detection device and a standard closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera, adding a flame-detection feature to the system.
Pyreos already has a well-established customer base in South Korea, mainly in gas detection and fire detection.
Exports account for about 78 per cent of the company’s total revenues, with 44 per cent of sales coming from Asia.
Andrew Wallace, chief executive at Pyreos, said: “Winning our first volume order for ezPyro so soon after launching the sensor is a real validation of the how our customers value this new product.
“Our client in South Korea will not only include ezPyro in a fire-detection device, but will also build it into standard CCTV cameras, adding extra value to those cameras for its clients.
“This is just one example of how our sensors can help move customer devices up the value-chain, adding features that will set equipment apart from its competitors.
“There’s a lot of careful work that’s gone into the development of ezPyro and I’m really pleased to see that’s now being rewarded with volume shipments.”
The ezPyro chip is the world’s smallest pyro-electric sensor with a digital interface. It was launched last May at the Sensor+Test measurement fair held at Nuremburg in Germany.
The component is much smaller than a five pence coin and can both detect gestures and provide information on the direction and speed of a movement.
The company’s pyro-electric sensors allow its devices to have response times measured in milliseconds, one thousand times faster than the timescale measured in seconds offered by some rival components.
Mr Wallace added: “Our South Korean deal demonstrates the broad range of applications for the ezPyro sensor.
“It can be incorporated into a wide variety of devices, from fire and gas detection systems through to wearable technology like smart-watches and fitness trackers.
“Pyreos’ sales have been growing by 25-50 per cent quarter-on-quarter since the middle of last year.
“That growth demonstrates how popular our chips are becoming and ezPyro is a big part of that success.”
Pyreos’ expansion has been fuelled by £1.8 million raised last September from new and existing investors.
The company was spun out from German industrial firm Siemens in 2007. Shareholder include Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH, the Scottish Investment Bank (the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise), Seraphim Capital and Siemens Technology Accelerator.
They were joined by new investor London Business Angels, one of Europe’s most respected and active private investment groups.
The investment followed on from the £2.5m funding package that Pyreos secured from its shareholders in 2015.
