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On March 10, the Long March-3B carrier rocket ignited and took off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, and the communication technology test satellite 15 successfully entered the scheduled orbit. Nanjing Gaohua Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Gaohua Technology”) provided a variety of self-developed sensors for this launch, with high reliability and good consistency, helping the launch mission to achieve a complete success. The sensor is equivalent to the human sensory organs, such as the facial features and skin, with high technology content, many application scenarios, and wide development prospects, reflecting the characteristics of “specialization, refinement, and innovation”. Founded in 2000, Gaohua Technology is a state-level specialized and new “little giant” enterprise, mainly engaged in the research and development, design, production and sales of high-reliability sensors and sensor network systems.
Every step forward is accompanied by a technological breakthrough
“We are responsible for measuring temperature, humidity, pressure, vibration, heat flow and other signals in multiple systems, and transmitting various perceived data to the monitoring center through telemetry to realize real-time monitoring of key parameters on the arrow and in the fairing to ensure that the load environment meets the requirements.” Li Weiping, chairman of Gaohua Technology, said proudly.
Up to now, Gaohua Technology’s sensor-related products have been widely used in aerospace, aviation, high-speed rail bullet trains, high-end equipment and other industries, and have participated in and successfully completed key projects such as manned space project, lunar exploration project, Beidou project, space station construction and other key projects. Look up at the stars and keep your feet on the ground. Li Weiping recalled the company’s journey for more than 20 years and said with emotion: “Every step forward of the company is accompanied by a technological breakthrough, and scientific and technological innovation runs throughout. Back in 2000, China’s communications industry developed rapidly. Li Weiping is keenly aware that with the transformation and development of high-end equipment to automation, informatization and intelligence, their demand for sensors will be greatly increased, so he came to Nanjing with his entrepreneurial dream, founded Gaohua Technology with several small partners, and plunged into the research and development of sensors. However, sensor development is not so easy. It is a fusion of multiple technologies, including chip packaging, circuits, structures, scene matching and other technologies. “At that time, the scale was small and the conditions were poor, and each team member not only had to do R&D, but also products, management, marketing, and even took turns to buy vegetables in the vegetable market in a rented house and become a chef.” Li Weiping said, but every time the start-up team receives a task, they will continue to conduct in-depth research, never let go of problems, and meet customer needs through technological innovation, so as to bring market breakthroughs. In 2005, the sensors and other imported electrical and electronic control equipment used in the construction of the “Harmony” in the high-speed rail were incompatible with domestic working conditions, and it was urgent to achieve a breakthrough in localization. “When we found Gaohua Technology, we did not hesitate to take on this task, and it took two years to overcome a series of technical problems and realize the localization of sensors.” Li Weiping said that this breakthrough also allowed them to open up a huge market in the field of high-speed rail. The same is true for the aerospace sector. Among the sensors that follow the rocket liftoff, there is a kind called pulsating pressure sensor, which is used to monitor the gas fluctuation during the operation of the rocket to accurately grasp the operation status of the rocket, and has the requirements of small pressure range, fast response, high reliability, small size and high integration. ”Only by gnawing this hard bone can we enter a new field!” With this energy, the R&D team of more than 20 people of Gaohua Technology at that time threw themselves in the laboratory without sleep and food, and went all out to successfully solve these technical “stuck points” and meet the standard requirements of the aerospace field.
Go all out to show corporate responsibility in scientific and technological innovation
Walking into the hall on the first floor of the Gaohua Science and Technology Office Building, several erected rocket models are very realistic, and they are about to be launched, which fully demonstrates the “indissoluble bond” between this company and China’s aerospace industry in recent years. The third floor is the company’s R&D center, a group of R&D personnel are busy in their respective positions, and there is a laboratory on the same floor, which is convenient for them to implement innovation inspiration in time. “Sensors in the aerospace field are disposable and require strong functionality, while the sensors used in the aerospace field have very high reliability requirements.” Qin Lei, deputy director of the R&D center, told reporters that they would use simulation software to simulate and verify at the beginning of the design, and strictly screen manufacturing materials, and then “temper them thousands of times” in the laboratory. The technical requirements are high and the R&D cycle is long. “For example, pulsating pressure sensors have to go through tens of thousands of pulsating shocks and pass anti-interference tests in the electromagnetic compatibility laboratory to ensure that the reliability meets the design requirements.” Qin Lei said.
Hydraulics, engines, cockpits…… There are hundreds or thousands of different sensors in various important parts of an airplane, and at present, Gaohua Technology is able to provide full-chain solutions with years of technology accumulation. This is the result of continuous innovation and development. At present, Gaohua Technology has nearly 500 employees, with more than 30% of R&D personnel, and dozens of professors from key universities as visiting experts.
“The company’s annual R&D investment accounts for about 15% of revenue, and has invested more than 1,000 sets of various production, R&D and testing equipment, including automated production/calibration systems, high-voltage pulse test benches, vibration acceleration test systems, thermal vacuum test chambers, X-ray/CT detection, electronic scanning electron microscopes, EMC electromagnetic compatibility test systems, far-field antenna anechoic chambers, etc., with a total investment of more than 100 million yuan.” Li Weiping introduced.
In the development of scientific and technological innovation, but also in the scientific and technological innovation to show the responsibility of enterprises. Whenever there is a need for a national key project, Gaohua Technology goes all out to concentrate the company’s best quality resources to “roll up your sleeves and work hard”. The sensor is connected by cables, but there are problems such as high load and complex assembly, and breaking through the wireless sensor network system has become a “national task”. “There is no domestic company to overcome the wireless sensor network system on the rocket, which is very different from the wireless sensing technology popularized on the ground, facing a complex electromagnetic environment, space environment, etc., research and development is extremely difficult.” Li Weiping said. The project began in 2014, and after more than three years, it finally achieved a breakthrough in 2017, and successfully flew on a rocket in May of the following year. Gaohua Technology has also become the first enterprise in China to master the wireless sensor network system.
Practice your skills and strive to be the vanguard of industry development
“There are a lot of research and technological achievements in these universities, and we just want to transform these innovative achievements into practice and achieve industrial development.” In the interview, Li Weiping kept talking on the phone and had been discussing the topic of “production, education, research and application” with the company’s employees. Science and technology have created “high-precision” barriers, performance has shown a “high-growth” curve, and the development of the industry has continued to be “high-booming…… After more than 20 years of development, Gaohua Technology has fully demonstrated the characteristics of “three highs”, continuously promoted the development of the industry, and won wide recognition from customers and a good reputation in the market. On April 18, 2023, Gaohua Technology successfully landed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Since the listing, Li Weiping has been busier than before, and has spent more time on the road, “before the listing, the company has completed the breakthrough of ‘from 0 to 1’; ”
In recent years, with the hot development of national emerging industries and future industries such as commercial aerospace, Gaohua Technology has also accelerated its layout, entered new fields such as commercial aerospace, low-altitude economy, robotics and intelligent manufacturing, and firmly followed the road of high-end, intelligent, green and integrated, and deeply empowered the development of new quality productivity.
