SMARTEC: bringing fiber optic sensors into concrete applications

Five years after its foundation, it is interesting to look back at the history of SMARTEC and see how a research project at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne was turned into a successful company that is now considered a leader in the domain of structural health monitoring. We believe that the lessons learned in this process could be of interest for other researchers working in the field of fiber optic sensors and feeling the same entrepreneurial enthusiasm. We believe that the success of SMARTEC resulted from the combination of technology, partners, service and sales strategy.