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offered by glassproducts on display and adds that specialtouch to attract customers' attention to akey product or service. When used in afaçade (houses, industrial sites andoffice/apartment buildings), Glassiled is theperfect way to combine the potential of LEDswith the technical specifications andaesthetics of glass. Glassiled is a dynamiclight source, bathing buildings in light andcolour and creating new landmarks on theurban landscape.And Jean-François Heris to conclude“Glassiled is a wonderful example of theunlimited possibilities offered by glass innever before expected applications. Itinsulates, protects, reflects, adds comfort,is energy efficient, can produce energy, canintegrate light, wellbeing , health and designaspects … the added value is immense.With our R&D Centre in Jumet, we are todaymore than ever committed to furtherpushing the boundaries of glassapplications, glass functions and glasstechnologies to create the best possibleglass products.” ■versity research10 MWe, Xylowatt is able to replace annual oilconsumption of 55 million liters and cut outaround 250,000 metric tons of carbon dioxideemissions per year!After Belgium, the company has its sights onGermany, a country where this advancedtechnology, which outperforms all its rivals interms of electricity yield, appears to have ahuge potential. Xylowatt is in an excellentposition to take advantage of the wave ofgreen energy projects in Europe and themarkets for access to energy, "both in theemerging economies and the developingcountries". Gilles Barchman believes that "thecompany is giving itself the means to do this:the best proof of this is that we have decided,in spite of our small size – 25 people – to sendone of our commercial engineers to spend ayear looking at prospects in India. This shouldallow us to prepare for business in 2010, 2011and beyond."Thanks to its constant investment in researchand development, Xylowatt is now in a positionto effectively process biomass containingpollutants. ■After the lawn mower comes the Ballpicker ®Belrobotics:robots for green spaces!What does theKremlin have incommon withItalian soccer clubs?Or more specifically,what do theKremlin’s lawnshave in commonwith the fields oftop Italian clubs?A piece of Walloontechnology thatgrows morepopular by the day:robot-mowers fromBelrobotics. Now thecompany’s latestproduct, a robot that collectsgolf balls, gives it a niche marketall to itself.Since 2002, Belrobotics has stepped up agear thanks to its export sales. The resultis a jump of over 80% in its sales figuresfor 2008. A third of these derive from theBelgian market, while two-thirds areexported to the four corners of the world.The robot mower is the company’s firstproduct.From industry to golf clubs, sportsgrounds, private properties and soonpublic services (for mowing parks andedges of highways), the robots developedby Belrobotics are aimed at all markets.The beauty is that they work entirelyautomatically, to the extent that theyeven return to recharge when they sense areduction in capacity. The next developmentwill be a solar power supply for therecharging stations. This would save ametric ton of CO 2 per year for each robot!With its sonar system, the robot can avoidany obstacle in its path. Environmentalfriendliness, autonomy, efficiency, silentoperation… this box of technologicaltricks has everything going for it.Depending on the model chosen, themowers can autonomously tend lawnsof up to a hectare in size.If you already have expertise regardingwide-open green spaces, it makes sense toleverage your technology. This was theinspiration behind an even cleverer versionBELROBOTICS SA• FOUNDED: 2002• LOCATION: Wavre• BUSINESS: design and marketing of robotmowersand “ballpicker” robots• 2008 TURNOVER (PROVISIONAL):1.8 million EUR• WORKFORCE: 20 FTE• MARKETS: international: Belgium, exports insideand outside the EUof these mowers: the Ballpicker ® , amachine that scours driving ranges tocollect the players’ balls. Once it hasfinished its round, it returns to its base todrop off its harvest.With its electric motor, the Ballpicker ® isable to collect balls in perfect silence, andthe light-weight design stops it frompressing the balls into the ground. Whenyou think that some golf courses lose up to25,000 balls a year…It also saves on staff, as the machinecollects the tens of thousands of balls thatcustomers go through on a good day. Themachine is constantly collecting, meaningthat opening hours can be extended, andallowing for faster ball rotation. The clubtherefore has to buy a lot fewer balls. All inall, these robots can save a lot of money! ■Dynamisme December 2008 .27