27 September, 2004

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NOPTEL OY
- At the forefront of optical measurement techniques

Founded in 1982, Noptel Oy
specialise in the design and
manufacture of applied
optoelectronic devices for the
performing of a wide range of
geometrical measurements
(distance, position, alignment,
displacement, deflection etc.).
The cornerstone of the company's
activities is the maintaining of a
highly qualified staff and the
development of the technologies
on which its products are based in advantage of the speed and
conjunction with university-level flexibility characteristic of a
research institutes. The company's small firm, high-tech knowhow
competitive position is dependent and advanced research and
on research and technical product development co-
knowhow in its own specialised operation with expert
field, applications knowhow organisations in order to extract
acquired through close co- the maximum benefit for its
operation with customers, and customers in terms of both
flexible production based on product development and
careful management of a highly production.
efficient subcontractor network. In
this way Noptel attempts to take

Main products:
1. Shooter training and analysis, optical shooting
2. Range finding devices
3. Displacement, alignment and position measurement devices
4. Military technical products

Strategy keynote: Innovative products for world markets through joint

Noptel's business idea sets out
from a thorough mastery of
optoelectronic techniques
grounded in scientific research.
The company is mainly owned
by private persons, and it is this
that dictates the guidelines for its
operational strategy.
The company concentrates on
products for which there is a
narrow but highly international
market, developing new
research and development projects
technologies for this market and This location is a crucial factor
working both in conjunction with for Noptel's commercial and
research institutions and through technical success.
customer-financed product
development projects. Joint Two main branches of
research is carried out chiefly with technology are represented in
the University of Oulu and the Noptel's products: measurement
Oulu Laboratories of the Technical of light beam flight time
Research Centre of Finland (VTT). (distance) and position
The company is based at determination.
Technopolis Oulu, where this
highly advantageous pattern of co-
operation can best be exploited.
 World-wide success:
Noptel's best-known products are
the shooting training and analysis
systems. These products account
for about a third of the company's
turnover. Shooting training
equipment has been sold to
clients in more than 60 countries
to date, and Noptel has its own
agents in many countries. The
main categories of users for this
equipment are soldiers, law
enforcement agencies and sports
marksmen, and there are also a
number companies nowadays
that have bought the equipment
for PR purposes.
The latest technology in the world: Integrated laser range finding device
Noptel's products and technical
knowhow owe their existence to
a long-term program of research
and product development focused
on techniques for the
measurement of distance,
position and vibration by means
of laser technology. This research
has led to the design of laser
range finder devices for
determining the form of hot
surfaces, the dimensions of metal
structures, vibration of paper,
maintenance of optical fibres,
target recognition, range
scanning, etc.
Particular challenges in the field
of range finding are the
extending of the range of the
device to measure distances of
several hundred meters and the
reduction of its size by
integrating the electronics. The
aim is to develop a small,
inexpensive range finder device,
which requires only a low power
Optoelectronic shooting training equipment
The idea of the optical shooting
training system is that the bullet of
a conventional weapon is replaced
by a harmless continuous or pulsed
laser beam, the hit point of which
supply and will tolerate a wide
variety of ambient conditions.
Active research and product
development work is going on, and
the latest technical innovations
have already been incorporated in
devices supplied to customers.
The research and development
work on time-of-flight range
finding technology together with
the University of Oulu has been
during the last years in the top of
the world. The technology has turn
out to be very competitive both
technically and economically in
products, where a high speed,
accurate and reliable measurement
is needed to measure distances to
natural objects (non co-operating
target). The technology is
especially effective in scanning
laser applications, but the accuracy
is good enough to meet the
can be measured to a high degree
of accuracy. It is possible to use a
continuous beam to monitor and
record the whole aiming and
shooting process in real time,
allowing a full analysis of the
shooter's performance. The
immediate feedback received
from each shot motivates the
shooter and helps him to develop
his shooting skills. The computer
to which the whole system is
connected offers both the shooter
and his instructor or trainer
excellent tools for further
analysis in order to improve the
effectiveness of the training.
requirements of traditional
surveying applications.
Natural applications for
optoelectronic range finding are
also to be found in the sphere of
military technology, and here,
again, Noptel has been actively
involved.
Design work for military
applications is often highly
demanding and calls for
particular attention to be devoted
to the reliability of the
technologies and their tolerance
of harsh ambient conditions. The
design experience gained from
such work, however, provides an
excellent point of departure for
the development of extremely
high quality measurement
devices for other uses.
 World leader:
Position sensing technology
allows a non-contact
measurement of transversal
displacement of the target. The
measurement can be done from a
distance of up to 500 meters.
Position-sensitive laser
measurement devices have
The road forward:
A substantial proportion of
Noptel's annual turnover comes
from design work in its own
specialised field carried out for
various industrial companies and
other customers, usually arising
out of a need to develop a
measurement system for use in a
product, machine or process of
the customer's own. This means
that the system has to fit its
purpose absolutely precisely in
both a mechanical and a technical
sense. The decisive factors in
these design cases are Noptel's
technical knowhow, the research
work that has already been
carried out and the contribution
Position sensing technology
already being applied to the accuracy. These systems are in
measurement of deflections in use in the most of the world’s
girders, bridges, towers and other railway maintenance machines.
metal constructions. The systems
are used both for continuous safety
control on bridges and as portable
measurement and testing system to
make condition testing for large
structures.
The latest product in this field is a
position detection unit for a
working machine in railway track
maintenance. This system employs
Noptel's own highly advanced
laser beam hit point detection
technique, which assesses the
position of the vehicle's track
reinforcement mechanism rapidly
and with a high degree of
Joint product development with the customer
of the highly trained staff, and the
result is usually an advanced,
innovative product application.
The design in such cases is usually
based either on an existing Noptel
product or on a technology developed
by Noptel, so that the necessary
additional design work and its
conversion into a product can be
accomplished quickly and without
excessive work. It is often the
customer's own contribution and
applications knowhow that has a
major effect on the emergence of the
eventual product in such cases,
however.
 Noptel Oy - the specialists in optoelectronic sensing
Noptel Oy have developed their
family of products for shooting
training and analysis and for the
measurement of distance,
deflection, position, shape and
vibration. We also offer research
and product development
services and can often work as
part of the customer's own
product design initiative. Some
products are supplied directly to
one customer according to his
own specifications and are
marketed as part of a product of
his own.
The foundation of Noptel's
commercial success is the
scientific research and teaching
carried out in the Faculty of
Technology at the University of
Oulu in the 1970s concerned with
the applications of optoelectronics
to problems in measurement
technology. It was the innovations
that emerged as a result of this that
led a group of researchers to found
their own company in 1982.
The majority of the shares in the
company are still in the hands of
the founders, with a venture capital
company owning a minority one-
third stake.
The staff is composed mostly of
highly trained professionals in the
field of electronics and in
particular optoelectronics. A great
deal of use is made of
subcontractors, and the company
also purchases outside services
for both design and production
purposes.
Joint design work is facilitated
by close contacts with a number
of universities and research
institutes. Production is mainly in
the hands of long-established
subcontractors, and the
company's own production input
is mainly limited to the final
finishing and acceptance of the
products. The total staff as of
2002 amounts to near 30 persons,
of which about a half has
academic degrees.

For further information, please contact:

Juhani Heinula, Managing Director

Markku Koskinen, Technical Director
Matti Tervaskanto, Marketing Manager

Noptel Oy, Teknologiantie 2

90570 Oulu Finland
Tel. 358-8- 551 4351 Fax. 358-8- 556 4101
Email: info@noptel.fi Web: http://www.noptel.fi/